The Mummies

Archaeologists say they have found a gold leaf-covered mummy sealed inside a sarcophagus that has been unopened for 4,300 years.

The Mummy , The Remains of A Man named Hekashepes, is thought to be one of the oldest and most complete non-royal corpses ever found in Egypt.

It was discovered down a 15m (50ft) shaft at a burial site south of Cairo, Saqqara, where three other tombs were found.

One tomb belonged to a " secret keeper".

The largest of The Mummies that were unearthed at the ancient necropolis is said to belong to A Man called Khnumdjedef - a priest, inspector and supervisor of nobles.

Another belonged to A Man called Meri, who was a senior palace official given the title of " secret keeper" which allowed him to perform special religious rituals.

A judge and writer named Fetek is thought to have been laid to rest in The Other tomb, where A Collection of what are thought to be the largest statues ever found in the area had been discovered.

Several other items, including pottery, have also been found among The Tombs .

Archaeologist Zahi Hawass , Egypt's former antiquities minister, has said all the discoveries date from around the 25th to the 22nd centuries BC.

" This discovery is so important as it connect The Kings with The People living around them, " said Ali Abu Deshish, another archaeologist involved in the excavation.

Saqqara was an active Burial Ground for More Than 3,000 years and is a designated Unesco World Heritage Site. It sits at what was the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis and is home to More Than a dozen Pyramids - including the Step Pyramid, near where the shaft containing The Mummy was found.

Thursday's discovery comes just A Day after experts in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor said they had discovered a complete residential city from The Roman era, dating back to The Second and third centuries CE.

Archaeologists found residential buildings, towers and what they've called " metal workshops" - containing pots, tools and Roman coins.

Egypt has unveiled many major in recent years, as part of efforts to revive its tourism industry.

The government hopes its Grand Egyptian Museum , which is due to open this year following delays, will Draw In 30 million tourists a year by 2028.

But, critics have accused Egypt's government of prioritising media-grabbing finds over hard academic research in order to attract more tourism.

Source of news: bbc.com