3,000-year-old tomb discovery aims to revive Egyptian tourism

Archaeologists have unearthed a 3,000-year-old tomb near Luxor, Egypt, a discovery officials hope will revitalize the country's vital tourism sector. The tomb, identified as belonging to a man named Paser, was found in the Sheikh Abd el-Kurna necropolis on Luxor's west bank.

A Dutch archaeological mission from Leiden University made the find. Experts believe the tomb dates back to the Ramesside period, encompassing the 19th and 20th Egyptian dynasties, based on the style of its inscriptions. The tomb follows the traditional design of private Theban tombs from the New Kingdom period (1570–1069 BC).

It consists of an open courtyard leading to a T-shaped, rock-cut chapel. Below the chapel are the burial chambers. Archaeologists discovered well-preserved architectural elements in the courtyard, including a mud-brick bench and a staircase flanked by ramps leading to the entrance.

Inscriptions inside the tomb depict Paser honoring various deities and show him and his wife seated before an offering table. The team will continue documenting and researching the tomb to better understand its historical and archaeological context and identify who was buried there. This discovery comes as Egypt actively promotes new archaeological finds to support its tourism industry, a crucial source of foreign currency.