Archaeologists uncover 3,000-year-old tomb near Egypt’s Luxor

Archaeologists uncovered a 3,000-year-old tomb near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, authorities said on Sunday, the latest in a series of discoveries that officials hope will boost tourism.

The tomb, identified as belonging to a man named Paser, was found by a Dutch archaeological mission from Leiden University in the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna necropolis on Luxor’s West Bank, according to Egypt’s tourism and antiquities ministry. The team of archeologists will work to identify people buried there and learn more about them. 

Specialists believe the tomb dates to the Ramesside period, which spans Egypt’s 19th and 20th dynasties, based on the artistic style of its inscriptions.

Located east of a previously known burial site, the tomb follows the traditional layout of private Theban tombs from the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BC), they added.

It consists of an open courtyard leading to a rock-cut chapel shaped like an inverted “T”, with burial chambers carved beneath ground level.

Archaeologists found several well-preserved architectural elements in the courtyard, including a mudbrick bench designed to hold a funerary stela and a staircase flanked by sloping ramps leading to the entrance.

Inside, inscriptions bearing Paser’s name depict him worshipping various deities inside shrines, as well as seated with his wife before an offering table.

The excavation team said further documentation and study will continue in order to determine who was buried in the tomb and to better understand its historical and archaeological context.

The discovery comes as Egypt seeks to promote new archaeological finds to support tourism, a key source of foreign currency for the country.

Luxor is home to some of the world’s most significant ancient monuments and archaeological sites. The recent discovery is part of a research project that’s been ongoing since 2018, according to the tourism and antiquities ministry.

Last year, also near Luxor, a large tomb belonging to a pharaoh was reopened to visitors after more than 20 years of renovation. That tomb features paintings of Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt between 1390 B.C. and 1350 B.C., along with a group of ancient Egyptian gods.

Also this year in Egypt, in the northern Beheira province, near the Mediterranean coast, archaeologists said they’d found artifacts in part of a Greco-Roman cemetery that dates back more than 2,300 years. The artifacts show the evolution of funerary practices over some six centuries.