Ancient tombs unveiled

2010-07-08 16:17

Saqqara - Egyptian archaeologists have unveiled their latest discovery - two 4 300-year-old tombs carved out of stone and unearthed in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara near Cairo.

The tombs have false doors with paintings depicting their owners - a father and a son who served as heads of the royal scribes. Antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said the new findings are "the most distinguished tombs ever found from the Old Kingdom".

Humidity had destroyed the sarcophagus of the father, Shendwas, while the tomb of the son, Khonsu, was robbed in antiquity. The discovery was shown to media on Thursday.

The tombs lie just west of Saqqara's most famed pyramid - the Step Pyramid of King Djoser. Saqqara's burial grounds contain tombs from Egypt's earliest history up through Roman times.

- AP

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