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Egypt says 4,400-year-old tomb discovered outside Cairo

Egypt says 4,400-year-old tomb discovered outside Cairo

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Archaeologists work on mummies found in the New Kingdom tomb that belongs to a royal goldsmith in a burial shaft, in Luxor, Egypt, on Saturday, September 9, 2017. Photo: AP

CAIRO: Archaeologists in Egypt say they have discovered a 4,400-year-old tomb near the pyramids outside Cairo. Egypt's Antiquities Ministry announced the discovery Saturday and said the tomb likely belonged to a high-ranking official known as Hetpet during the 5th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. The tomb includes wall paintings depicting Hetpet observing different hunting and fishing scenes. Mostafa Al-Waziri, leader of the archaeological mission, says the scenes depict a monkey — at the time commonly kept as domestic animals — reaping fruit and another dancing before an orchestra. He believes Hetpet, a woman thought to be close to ancient Egyptian royals, had another tomb in Giza's western necropolis, which is home to the tombs of top officials of Egypt's Old Kingdom. Al-Waziri says excavation work is underway for the other tomb.