Egyptian archaeologists unearth 4,500 year old tomb

Antiquities chief Zahi Hawass says the discovery could indicate a larger necropolis near the Giza plateau where the 3 famed pyramids are located.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Giza pyramids (photo credit: Egypt)
Giza pyramids
(photo credit: Egypt)
CAIRO — Egypt's antiquities authority says archaeologists have unearthed a nearly 4,500-year-old tomb of a pharaonic priest close to the Giza Pyramids.
Antiquities chief Zahi Hawass says the discovery could indicate a larger necropolis near the Giza plateau where the three famed pyramids are located.
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The tomb dates to the 5th Dynasty, 2465-2323 B.C., belonged to Rudj-ka, a priest who headed the mortuary cult of the pharaoh Khafre, builder of the second largest of the Giza Pyramids.
Khafre died around 2494 B.C., but the cult of worship of pharaohs sometimes lasted after their deaths, Hawass said in a Monday statement.
Hawass said the tomb's walls were decorated with painted reliefs showing Rudj-ka with his wife in front of offerings.
Earlier this month, archaeologists unearthed the upper part of a double limestone statue of a powerful pharaoh who ruled nearly 3,400 years ago.
A statement from Egypt's Ministry of Culture said the team of Egyptian archaeologists discovered the 4-foot (1.3-meter) by 3-foot (0.95-meter) statue of Amenhotep III in Kom el-Hittan, the site of the pharaoh's mortuary temple in the southern city of Luxor.
The temple is one of the largest on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor.
The statue portrays Amenhotep III wearing the double crown of Egypt, which is decorated with a uraeus, and seated on a throne next to the Theban god Amun.