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.
This image taken from video on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018, shows wall paintings inside a 4,400-year-old tomb near the pyramids outside Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/APTN)
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.
