Egypt has unveiled the 4,300-year-old tomb of a Fifth Dynasty nobleman adorned with colourful reliefs and well preserved inscriptions a month after being discovered.
The tomb is located south of Saqqara, a vast necropolis south of Cairo, and belongs to a senior official named Khuwy.
It is mostly made of white limestone bricks and is adorned with ornate paintings that contain a special green resin and oils used in the burial process.
Mohamed Megahed, the excavation team's head, said:'The L-shaped Khuwy tomb starts with a small corridor heading downwards into an antechamber and from there a larger chamber with painted reliefs depicting the tomb owner sitting at an offerings table.'
The tomb's north wall indicates that its design was inspired by the architectural blueprint of the dynasty's royal pyramids, Mr Megahed added.
The excavation team has unearthed several tombs related to the Fifth Dynasty.
Archaeologists recently found an inscription on a granite column dedicated to Queen Setibhor, who is believed to have been the wife of King Djedkare Isesis, the eighth and penultimate king of the dynasty.
Last week, British engineers completed a £7 million ($9 million) restoration project on Egypt's oldest pyramid that is also located in Saqqara.
The step pyramid, known as the Pyramid of Djoser, was built in 2,700 BC for the third dynasty Pharaoh Djoser.
The six-step pyramid is thought to be the country's earliest colossal stone structure and mummified remains were recovered at the site in the 1930s.
Giant air bags were used to help support the monument while engineers stitched the stone structure back together using steel rods.
The air bags used by the engineering firm to temporarily support the ceiling allowed repairs to the crumbling structure of the 196 foot (60 metre) high pyramid to be undertaken.
The restoration work exposed the pyramid's sarcophagus - once the resting place of the mummy of the Pharoah Djoser - which had been completely buried when the ceiling collapsed.
The tomb is located south of Saqqara, a vast necropolis south of Cairo, and belongs to a senior official named Khuwy.
It is mostly made of white limestone bricks and is adorned with ornate paintings that contain a special green resin and oils used in the burial process.
Mohamed Megahed, the excavation team's head, said:'The L-shaped Khuwy tomb starts with a small corridor heading downwards into an antechamber and from there a larger chamber with painted reliefs depicting the tomb owner sitting at an offerings table.'
The tomb's north wall indicates that its design was inspired by the architectural blueprint of the dynasty's royal pyramids, Mr Megahed added.
The excavation team has unearthed several tombs related to the Fifth Dynasty.
Archaeologists recently found an inscription on a granite column dedicated to Queen Setibhor, who is believed to have been the wife of King Djedkare Isesis, the eighth and penultimate king of the dynasty.
Last week, British engineers completed a £7 million ($9 million) restoration project on Egypt's oldest pyramid that is also located in Saqqara.
The step pyramid, known as the Pyramid of Djoser, was built in 2,700 BC for the third dynasty Pharaoh Djoser.
The six-step pyramid is thought to be the country's earliest colossal stone structure and mummified remains were recovered at the site in the 1930s.
Giant air bags were used to help support the monument while engineers stitched the stone structure back together using steel rods.
The air bags used by the engineering firm to temporarily support the ceiling allowed repairs to the crumbling structure of the 196 foot (60 metre) high pyramid to be undertaken.
The restoration work exposed the pyramid's sarcophagus - once the resting place of the mummy of the Pharoah Djoser - which had been completely buried when the ceiling collapsed.
Music: "Hidden Wonders" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Source: Daily Mail
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