A LOST ancient tomb containing the “Book of the Dead” and 3,400-year-old mummified bodies has been uncovered.
The burial site was discovered in the Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt, archaeologists said today.
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It is understood to have included the bodies of a number of high-ranking officials and high priests from Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom, Egypt Today reports.
Archaeologists found rock-cut tombs, each containing a number of precious antiques.
Also discovered was an 18-metre long papyrus with texts said to be about the “Book of the Dead”, along with an engraved and coloured coffin belonging to a daughter of ancient Egyptian god Djehuti.
Some are also thought to have been owned by “Nani”, a chantress for the god.
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Safeguarding mummies, amulets, stone, figurines and jewellery were also among the finds.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told news agency Xinhua: “We have been looking for this New Kingdom cemetery for seven years and we finally found it in this excavation season.”
It is the first archaeological discovery relating to the New Kingdom in the area.
Previously, all all endeavours have resulted in finds related to the Old Kingdom, First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom eras.
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It comes after a 4,500-year-old chamber inside one of the famous Great Pyramids was revealed earlier this year.
The secret passageway is around 30ft long and more than six feet wide – but where it leads to remains a mystery.
The discovery was revealed as part of the Scan Pyramids project which began in 2015.
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