Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Staff and agencies

Ancient tomb discovered in Egypt dating back 4,500 years

An Egyptian archaeologist works on sarcophagi at the newly discovered burial site dating back to around 2400BC ( Reuters )

Archaeologists have uncovered part of a cemetery thousands of years old near Egypt’s famed pyramids on the Giza plateau near Cairo

The cemetery houses burial shafts and tombs of top officials.

The most significant artefact uncovered was a limestone statue of the tomb’s owner, his wife and his son dating back to the fifth dynasty (2465-2323 BC), officials said. 

Ashraf Mohi, head of the archaeological site, said it was known that the cemetery had been reused extensively in the Late Period (664-332 BC), as archaeologists found painted and decorated wooden anthropoid coffins, and wooden and clay funerary masks from that period. 

Egypt has touted a series of archaeological finds recently, hoping such discoveries will spur tourism, which suffered a major setback during the unrest that followed the 2011 uprising. 

Secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr Mostafa Waziri, said the tomb belonged to two men.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.