EGYPT UNVEILS ANCIENT

EGYPT unveils ancient tomb and sarcophagi in Luxor :

Egypt on Saturday unveiled an ancient tomb, sarcophagi and funerary artifacts discovered in the  Theban necropolis of AI-Assasif in the southern city of Luxor.

In a ceremony in front of the temple of Queen, Hatsgepsut, Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani anniunced that French and Egyptian archaeologists had discovered a new tomb.........with very nice paintings.''

Located between the royal tombs at the Valley of the Queens and the Valley of the Kings, the AI-Assasif necropolis is the burial site of nobles and senior officials close to the pharaohs.

Among the finds in the tomb are sarcophagi, statues and some 1,000 funerary figurines called  ''Ushabtis'' made of wood, faience and clay.

The tomb dates back to the Middle Kingdom, which spanned the 11th and 12th dynasties, and belonged to ''Thaw-Irkhet-If'', mummification supervisor at the Temple of Mut in Karnak, according to the Ministry.

Separately, archaeologists from the  French Institute of  Eastern Archeology [IFAC] and the  University of Strasbourg  have discovered two sarcophagi dating back to the 18th dynasty, Anani told a news conference.

Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Enany inspects a sarcophagus at the AI-Assasif necropolis in the southern city of Luxor on November 24, 2018.

One of the  two contains the ''well  preserved'' mummified remains of a woman named Thuya, the antiquities ministry said in a statement.

But ministry spokeswoman Nevine Aref told AFP later that work was still ongoing to definitely identify the name of the mummy. [AFP].