Pair of tombs dating back to 4,300 years discovered in Egypt

London, Dec 24 (ANI): Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a pair of 4,300-year-old tombs that indicate a burial site south of Cairo is bigger than expected.

The tombs, found at the Saqqara necropolis, belong to two officials from the court of the Pharaoh Unas, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities chief told BBC News.

While one tomb was for the official in charge of quarries used for building pyramids, the other was for the head of music.

Hieroglyphics decorate the entrances of both the newly discovered tombs.

The entrance of the tomb of the official in charge of music, Thanah, shows carved images of her smelling lotus flowers.

The other official whose tomb was discovered, Iya Maat, oversaw the extraction of granite and limestone from Aswan and other materials from the Western Desert for the construction of nearby pyramids.

According to Zahi Hawass, the tombs represented a "major" find.

"The discovery of the two tombs are the beginning of a big, large cemetery," he said. But, the contents of the newly found tombs have long since been stolen, he added.

"We are continuing our excavation and we are going to uncover more tombs in the area to explain the period of dynasty five and dynasty six," he further added, referring to a period more than 4,000 years ago.

New discoveries are frequently made at Saqqara, including the unearthing of the remains of a pyramid in November this year. (ANI)