Archeologists find three mummies

2003-06-15 12:43

Cairo - Archeologists in Egypt discovered three mummies after stumbling across an underground burial chamber during a routine inspection of a field, a local expert said on Saturday.

The discovery was made in the Minya region, 200 kilometres south of Cairo, as archeologists were examining the terrain in order to grant a farmer permission to use it, said Adel Hussein, director of antiquities for the region.

In Egypt, farmers are required to have new plots of land inspected before they can begin working on them to ensure there are no archeological sites or artifacts hidden underneath.

"The team discovered an underground burial site made of stone and containing three mummies, an old man, a woman and a young man," Hussein said, without giving further details.

The Minya region is a goldmine of ancient Egyptian vestiges, notably from the Greco-Roman period that spanned 332 BC to 395 AD.

- AFX