Egypt announces discovery of 3500-year-old Luxor tomb

Egypt's Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani announced on Saturday the discovery of a Pharaonic goldsmith tomb that dates back to 1000 BC.

The fanfare surrounding Saturday's announcement is created to boost Egypt's slowly recovering tourism industry.

He said a shaft in the tomb contained mummies belonging to ancient Egyptian people who lived during the 21st and 22nd dynasties.

Waziri pointed out that the tomb has two burial shafts: the first one is located to the right of the chamber, while the other is seven meters deep where a collection of mummies, funerary masks and a collection of statuettes of the tomb's owner and his wife were found.

The same city earlier this year yielded a New Kingdom tomb belonging to...

Among the items discovered inside was a statue of the goldsmith Amenemhat, sitting beside his wife.

The tomb contained two burial shafts.

Archaeologists discovered the family burial of a woman and her two children, including two wooden coffins with mummies and a collection of head-rests.

The woman reportedly died at the age of 50 and tests showed she had suffered from a bacterial bone disease, the ministry quoted bone specialist Sherine Ahmed Shawqi as saying.

The discovery was carried out by an Egyptian archaeological mission led by Dr. Mostafa Waziri, director general of antiquities in Upper Egypt's Luxor Province.

The team also discovered 150 small funerary statues carved in wood, clay and limestone.

He added that the mummies in the tomb are in fairly good condition, dated to the tenth and eleventh century BC.

Egypt's ancient relics are a draw for tourists and authorities hope new finds can also help attract more visitors.