EGYPT UNVEILS ANCIENT

MINYA - EGYPT: Egyptian archaeologists uncovered a tomb containing 50 mummies dating back to the Ptolemaic era, in Minya, south of Cairo, the ministry of antiquities said on Saturday.

The mummies, 12 of which were children, were discovered inside four, nine-meter deep burial chambers, in the Tuna EI-Gebel archeaological site.

The identities of the mummies were still unknown,  said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

''We have not found names written in hieroglyphics ,'' he said, adding it was obvious from the mummification method that the individual whose remains were found had to some extent important or prestigious positions.

Visitors, including ambassadors from from several countries, gathered at the discovery site, where 40 of the mummies were exhibited during the announcement ceremony.

Some of the mummies were found wrapped in lined while others were placed in stone coffins or wooden sarcophagi. [Agencies]