Cairo, Egypt: Spanish archaeologists have discovered a millennia-old mummy in "very good condition" near the southern Egyptian town of Luxor, the antiquities ministry said on Sunday.
The find was in a tomb probably dating from between 1075-664 BC, on the west bank of the Nile river 700 kilometres (435 miles) south of Cairo, a statement said.
The mummy had been bound with linen stuck together with plaster.
It was in a brightly coloured wooden sarcophagus and had been buried near a temple from the era of fourth-millennium warrior king Thutmose III.
The tomb was likely to have belonged to a nobleman, Amenrenef, who was "a servant of the royal household", the ministry said.
The archaeological team's head, Myriam Seco Alvarez, said the mummy was decorated with "many colourful decorations recalling religious symbols from ancient Egypt, such as the goddesses Isis and Nephtys displaying their wings, and the four sons of Horus".
The earliest evidence of mummification in Egypt suggests that the practice of wrapping bodies to preserve them after death dates back as far as 4500 BC.
Luxor, a city of half a million people on the banks of the Nile, abounds with temples and tombs built by Egypt's pharaohs.
It is a key site for Egypt's tourist industry which has been battered by political instability and jihadist violence since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.
The find was in a tomb probably dating from between 1075-664 BC, on the west bank of the Nile river 700 kilometres (435 miles) south of Cairo, a statement said.
The mummy had been bound with linen stuck together with plaster.
The tomb was likely to have belonged to a nobleman, Amenrenef, who was "a servant of the royal household", the ministry said.
Advertisement
The earliest evidence of mummification in Egypt suggests that the practice of wrapping bodies to preserve them after death dates back as far as 4500 BC.
Advertisement
It is a key site for Egypt's tourist industry which has been battered by political instability and jihadist violence since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Dozen Severed Hands Found In Egyptian Pits Point To A Grisly Practice Archaeologist Unveil Possibly 'Oldest' Mummy Found In Egypt Archaeologists Unveil 3,500-Year-Old Royal Tomb In Egypt Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Siddaramaiah's Swipe At Governor Amid Calls For Resignation: 10 Points Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops Watch: Russian Woman Travels In Mumbai Local Train, Chats With Passengers Germany To Cut Down Military Aid For Ukraine In 2025: Report Hundreds Evacuated Amid Raging Forest Fire In Turkey: Report Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.