- A Dutch mission from Leiden Museum last week came across a huge tomb that dates back to the era of King Akhenaton, the 19th dynasty of Ancient Egypt, some 3,400 years ago.
Located in Giza's Saqqara area, a half hour from Cairo, "the tomb belongs to a priest called Meri Neet, who had become known as the chief superintendent of god Aton at the time," according to information released by the Egyptian government.
The discovery was made during research to the east of the tomb of high priest Meryneith from the same period, discovered by the team from Leiden in 2001. The newly discovered tomb is a important addition to the information on what is known as the Amarna period - named after Akhenaton's capital in central Egypt.
A source with the Dutch mission said they also found the burial chamber, but were not that lucky with the mummy.
But the tomb had contained canopian utensils on which the names of the four sons of god Horus are engraved, he said.
Not just that, the Dutch mission also discovered a rare stone slab bearing the image of a woman holding a bunch of flowers, he said, noting that the design followed ancient Egyptian art known in Menya at the time.
Also found was a cartouche belonging to King Snosert III, an indication that the tomb had been re-sued later on.
"The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities has prepared a detailed report on the new discovery to refer it to Culture Minister Farouq Hosni to endorse the finances needed to complete the digging operations around the area and touch up discovered items," according to Cairo authorities.
"It seems that one can keep on digging to unearth more ancient Egyptian monuments without getting to the very last item buried, for little do we know about what the wily Pharaohs had been capable of," authorities add.
The archaeological research in Saqqara aims to collect information on the historical context of the museum's Egyptian collection. "Starting early December, the museum is staging the exhibition 'Excavation in the Orient' on the history of the museum's archaeological digs, with a prominent role assigned to the work in Saqqara," the Dutch museum recently announced.
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