<p>"Dressed" in Roman robes, a 2,000-year-old coffin stares back from a rare Egyptian grave in the Bahariya Oasis, about 225 miles (362 kilometers) southwest of <a id="jwmd" title="Cairo" href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/cities/city_cairo.html">Cairo</a> (<a id="xukn" title="Egypt map" href="http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/map-machine#s=r&amp;c=29.24806324379655, 29.58618164062499&amp;z=6">Egypt map</a>).</p><p>The as yet unopened plaster sarcophagus, believed to contain a mummy, is among the ancient treasures uncovered at a newfound cemetery, Egyptian officials announced on April 12.</p><p>The site contains at least 14 tombs from the era when ancient Rome controlled <a id="xiuf" title="Egypt" href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/egypt-guide/">Egypt</a>, from&nbsp;30 B.C. to A.D. 395. Jewelry, funerary masks, and pottery were also found, though the sand-covered tombs have been damaged by humidity and seeping groundwater.</p><p>Measuring just 3.2 feet (97 centimeters) long and carved with the finery of an influential woman, the sarcophagus remains something of a mystery.</p><p>"When I saw it for the first time, I thought it was a dwarf. ... ," said Mahmoud Affifi, director of Cairo and Giza antiquities for Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. "Maybe she was a small girl, but [even] now we don't know," he said.</p><p>(See <a id="f5vk" title="pictures of more tomb finds in Egypt's Bahariya Oasis" href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/09/01/html/zm_20010901.2.1.html">pictures of more tomb finds in Egypt's Bahariya Oasis</a>.)</p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> —Andrew Bossone in Cairo</em></p>

Dwarf Mummy?

"Dressed" in Roman robes, a 2,000-year-old coffin stares back from a rare Egyptian grave in the Bahariya Oasis, about 225 miles (362 kilometers) southwest of Cairo (Egypt map).

The as yet unopened plaster sarcophagus, believed to contain a mummy, is among the ancient treasures uncovered at a newfound cemetery, Egyptian officials announced on April 12.

The site contains at least 14 tombs from the era when ancient Rome controlled Egypt, from 30 B.C. to A.D. 395. Jewelry, funerary masks, and pottery were also found, though the sand-covered tombs have been damaged by humidity and seeping groundwater.

Measuring just 3.2 feet (97 centimeters) long and carved with the finery of an influential woman, the sarcophagus remains something of a mystery.

"When I saw it for the first time, I thought it was a dwarf. ... ," said Mahmoud Affifi, director of Cairo and Giza antiquities for Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. "Maybe she was a small girl, but [even] now we don't know," he said.

(See pictures of more tomb finds in Egypt's Bahariya Oasis.)

—Andrew Bossone in Cairo

Photograph courtesy Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities

Egypt Pictures: Roman-Style Mummy, Tombs Found

Dwarf? Woman? Girl? The occupant of a tiny, Roman-style coffin remains largely a mystery even as the burial hints at a golden past.

Read This Next

This biblical villain’s tomb was lost for centuries
How ancient Egyptians of all classes strived for eternal life
Who were the Tarim Basin mummies? Even scientists were surprised.

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet