A cemetery containing more than a million mummified human bodies has been unearthed in central Egypt, according to archaeologists

Scientists have already excavated more than 1,700 mummies, preserved by the hot dry desert in the Faiyum region of Egypt about 60 miles south of Cairo. But those leading the work believe their could be up to a million similar bodies buried in shafts cut into the limestone rock that are at times up to 75 feet deep. It is thought that the mummies were buried around 1,500 years ago, between the 1st and 7th Century AD, when Egypt was controlled by the Roman and Byzantine Empire. Archaeologists have also uncovered a bizarre range of mummies, including one man who is more than seven feet tall. They have also discovered that the mummies appear to be clustered together by hair color, with those with blond hair in one area and all of those with red hair in another. Some of the clusters by hair color may actually be due to people being buried in family groups and so are related. Genetic testing may be possible to help show how some of the mummies were related to each other.