Egypt opens two ancient pyramids for the first time for tourists

Cairo: Egypt is opening two of its earliest pyramids, located about 40 kilometres south of the capital Cairo, to visitors for the first time since 1965.

Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany also told reporters on Saturday that Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered a collection of stone, clay and wooden sarcophagi, some of them with mummies, in the Dahshur royal necropolis. He says archaeologists also found wooden funerary masks along with instruments used in cutting stones, dating to the Late Period (664-332 B.C.).

The Dahshur necropolis area is home to what is considered to be some of the earliest pyramids, including Sneferu's Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid. Egypt hopes such discoveries will spur tourism, which is partially driven by antiquities sightseeing hit hard by political turmoil following the 2011 uprising.