Recently discovered tomb of official dating back more than 2,000 years contains dozens of animals and two mummies

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Dozens of mummified mice were among the animals found in an ancient Egyptian tomb that was unveiled on Friday.

The well-preserved and finely painted tomb near the Egyptian town of Sohag – a desert area near the Nile about 390km (242 miles) south of Cairo – is thought to be from the early Ptolemaic period, dating back more than 2,000 years.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mummified mice and falcons on display at the recently discovered burial site near Sohag. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Two mummies, of a woman and a child, were also displayed. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters

The tomb is believed to have been built for a senior official named Tutu and his wife, and is one of seven discovered in the area last October, when authorities found smugglers digging illegally for artefacts.

Its painted walls depict funeral processions and images of the owner working in the fields, as well as his family genealogy written in hieroglyphics.

“It’s one of the most exciting discoveries ever in the area,” said Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of Egypt’s supreme council of antiquities. He said it was a “beautiful, colourful tomb”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fragments of decorative faces at the tomb, which is believed to have been built for a senior official during the early Ptolemaic period. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Wall paintings inside the tomb, dating back more than 2,000 years, are well preserved. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters

“It shows images of the owner of the burial room, Tutu, giving and receiving gifts before different gods and goddesses,” Waziri said.

“We see the same thing for his wife, Ta-Shirit-Iziz, with the difference that [we see] verses from a book, the book of the afterlife.”

Two mummies, a woman aged between 35-50 and a boy aged 12-14, were on display outside the shallow burial chamber, along with more than 50 mummified mice, cats and falcons.

Ptolemaic rule spanned about three centuries until the Roman conquest in 30 BC.

The government has described Sohag as “one of the most historically rich cities in Egypt”, where a museum opened last year.

Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributes to this report