Almost 100 ancient coffins – some with mummies inside – have been discovered in an Egyptian necropolis.

Around 40 golden statues were also found in a 2,500-year-old tomb at a massive burial site south of the capital of Cairo.

Officials say the remains are interred in colourful sealed sarcophagi.

Archaeologists discovered a well-preserved mummy wrapped in cloth – which they later X-rayed to find out how the body had been conserved.

Tourism and antiquities minister Khaled el-Anany said the items date back to the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for 300 years – from around 320BC to around 30BC and the Late Period (664-332BC).

They have now been put on display in a makeshift exhibit by the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Sky News reports.

Another discovery at the Saqqara necropolis is expected to be announced later this year.

The artefacts will be moved to at least three museums in Cairo – including the Grand Egyptian Museum which is currently being built near the Giza pyramids.

Saqqara has been at the centre of other recent discoveries.

Since September, antiquities experts have found around 140 sealed sarcophagi, featuring mummies inside almost all of them.

Archaeologists discovered other "shafts full of coffins, well-gilded, well-painted, well-decorated", said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The Saqqara site is part of the necropolis located at Egypt's ancient capital of Memphis – which includes the famous Giza Pyramids.

The ruins of Memphis were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in the 1970s.

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