Egypt exhibiting previously unseen Ptolemaic artifacts

CAIRO – Egypt is exhibiting artifacts from the Ptolemaic period for the first time in The Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani said Wednesday the exhibit displays around 300 artifacts that show the life of the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for some 300 years — from around 320 B.C. to about 30 B.C.

A Dominican archaeological mission unearthed the artifacts in the Taposiris Magna area in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

Mission chief Kathleen Martinez tells The Associated Press the artifacts will help solve the mystery surrounding the burial of the Queen Cleopatra, the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

Egypt hopes such exhibitions and discoveries will spur tourism, partially driven by antiquities sightseeing, which was hit hard by political turmoil following the 2011 uprising.