Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed several mummies, colourful wooden sarcophagi and more than 1,000 funerary statues in a 3,500-year-old tomb near the city of Luxor hailed as an "important discovery", AFP reported Tuesday (April 18th).
Antiquities officials had initially said six mummies along with partial remains were discovered near the southern city, but said they had later identified two more mummies.
"There are 10 coffins and eight mummies. The excavation is ongoing," said Mostafa Waziri, the head of the archaeological mission.
The 18th Dynasty tomb, discovered in the Draa Abul Nagaa necropolis near the famed Valley of the Kings, belonged to a nobleman named Userhat who worked as the city judge.
It was opened to add more mummies during the 21st Dynasty, about 3,000 years ago, to protect them during a period when tomb-robbing was common, said Waziri.
"It was a surprise how much was being displayed inside" the tomb, Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Enany told reporters outside the tomb.
"We found a large number of Ushabti (small carved figurines), more than 1,000 of them," el-Enany said.
"This is an important discovery," he said.
Ushabti figurines were often placed with the deceased in ancient Egyptian tombs to help with responsibilities in the afterlife.
