Ancient Rock Tombs Uncovered in Egypt

Italian archaeologists have uncovered 3,000-year-old rock tombs under a mortuary temple in the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor.

A team led by Italian archaeologist Angelo Sesana unearthed the tombs while excavating the funeral temple of the Pharaoh Amenhotep II, who ruled the country from 1427 to 1401 B.C. He was the seventh pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. The funeral temple is located on the western bank of the river Nile.

The rock tombs discovered are said to be part of a recent cemetery. Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mohammed Ibrahim announced Thursday that the rock tombs date back to the transitional period that lasted from 1075 to 664 B.C., reports NBC News.

"It's a very important discovery that highlights the importance of King Amenhotep II's temple years after the pharaoh's death," Ibrahim told Egypt's Ahram Online.

Each tomb had a burial chamber with wooden sarcophaguses. The coffins were painted in red and black ink and remains of human skeletons were found in them.

They also recovered 12 canopy jars that were made of either limestone or fired clay. The jars were in good quality, suggesting that the tombs belonged to wealthy people. The jars were used to preserve human organs like the stomach, intestines, liver and lungs. During the mummification process, organs were removed and placed inside the jars to prevent them from getting decayed.

The lids of the jars adorn images of the four sons of the god Horus, who are perceived as guardians of the internal organs.

The four sons are the baboon-headed Hapi who guards the lungs, jackal-headed Duamutef who guards the stomach, human-headed Imsety who guards the liver and falcon-headed Qebehsenuef who protects the intestines.

The canopy vases came from the tomb of an unidentified woman. The images on the jars were believed to have helped the departed souls find their way to heaven, according to a report by The Associated Press.

The vases have been moved to storage in Luxor for further study.