Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany witnessed on Saturday the unpacking process of two ancient sarcophagi ahead of their restoration and display in a new museum.

The mummies in the two sarcophagi belong to a senior official of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and his wife, according to Mostafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The official is named Sennedjem, and he served as the overseer of the workers at Deir al-Medina necropolis in Luxor during the reigns of Seti I and Ramsesses II of the 19th Dynasty, some 3,400 years ago. Sennedjem was the nickname of the servant of the Palace of Truth, Ahmad al-Sherbini, general supervisor of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), told Xinhua.

According to Sherbini, the bodies are perfectly preserved and their mummification process resembled that of the royal kings. After removing the covers of the two sarcophagi, the mummies will be transferred to the restoration lab and placed in a sterilization capsule for more than 20 days.

"The fumigation process is similar to a sophisticated surgery conducted by very skillful restorers," Anany said. The mummies will also undergo a process to remove any insects for at least one month.

The bodies were found along with other 20 mummies in a tomb in 1886 on the west bank of the Nile by French Egyptologist Maspero. The two sarcophagi were sent from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to the NMEC, which partially opened in February 2017.

The official opening of the NMEC is scheduled in the beginning of December after inaugurating the mummies hall that will include 17 royal mummies. Located in the ancient city of Fustat in Cairo, the museum will display a collection of 50,000 artifacts, presenting Egyptian civilization from prehistoric times to the present day.

Covering an area of 23,235 square meters and composed of nine halls by the side of Ain el-Sirah lake, the NMEC is the second largest museum in Egypt now, and will also be an integrated cultural center in the future.