17 Mummies Discovered In Egypt, Tom Cruise Hilariously Weighs In With One Tweet
05/14/2017 02:43 pm EDT
A group of Egyptian researchers near the Nile Valley city of Minya has discovered a necropolis containing 17 unearthed mummies. In response to the news, actor Tom Cruise found it a good opportunity to remind his followers that he's starring in this summer's The Mummy with a single tweet.
Cruise's film, which will be hitting theaters June 9 and is the first film in Universal Studios' attempt to create a cinematic universe featuring its iconic monsters.
The discovery was made in an area known for containing thousands of mummified ibis and baboon birds. In addition to those mummified specimens, it also contains tombs and a funerary building.
Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani explained to reporters at the site, "It's the first human necropolis to be found here in Tuna al-Gabal."Due to the elaborate preservation of the mummies at the site, they were most likely priests and officials, according to al-Anani.
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In addition to the mummies, researchers discovered six sarcophagi, two clay coffins, two papyri written in demotic script, plus a number of other vessels.
The necropolis, which was over 20 feet underground, most likely dated back to the Late Period of Ancient Egypt and the Greco-Roman period.
The work being done is only currently in the preliminary stage, with the minister explaining that the findings "will be much bigger" as they continue working on the site.
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The country has been trying to revive its tourism sector, which has been struggling since the political turmoil that began back in 2011, which is mostly based on antiquities sightseeing.
Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy.
Thought safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen (Sofia Boutella) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.
From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.
The cast features Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher, Top Gun), Russell Crowe (The Nice Guys, Gladiator), and Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Star Trek Beyond), as well as Courtney B. Vance (The People Vs. O.J. Simpson), Annabelle Wallis (Annabelle, Peaky Blinders), Marwan Kenzari (Ben-Hur), and Jake Johnson (New Girl, Jurassic World).
Alex Kurtzman, the screenwriter and producer behind Star Trek Into Darkness and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, is on board to make his directorial debut, working off of a script penned by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Doctor Strange).
[H/T AP/Twitter, TomCruise]
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