4,400-year-old tomb discovered outside Cairo in Egypt

Egypt's Antiquities Ministry announced the discovery Saturday and said the tomb likely belonged to a high-ranking official known as Hetpet.

Update: 2018-02-03 15:40 GMT
Wall paintings inside a 4,400-year-old tomb near the pyramids outside Cairo, Egypt. Egypt's Antiquities Ministry announced the discovery Saturday and said the tomb likely belonged to a high-ranking official known as Hetpet during the 5th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. The tomb includes wall paintings depicting Hetpet observing different hunting and fishing scenes. (Photo: AP)

Cairo: Archaeologists in Egypt say they have discovered a 4,400-year-old tomb near the pyramids outside Cairo.

Egypt's Antiquities Ministry announced the discovery Saturday and said the tomb likely belonged to a high-ranking official known as Hetpet during the 5th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. The tomb includes wall paintings depicting Hetpet observing different hunting and fishing scenes.

Mostafa Al-Waziri, leader of the archaeological mission, says the scenes depict a monkey - at the time commonly kept as domestic animals - reaping fruit and another dancing before an orchestra.

He believes Hetpet, a woman thought to be close to ancient Egyptian royals, had another tomb in Giza's western necropolis, which is home to the tombs of top officials of Egypt's Old Kingdom.

Al-Waziri says excavation work is underway for the other tomb.

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