ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed the tomb of an ancient beer brewer in the city of Luxor in Egypt that is more than 3,000 years old.

Egypt's minister of antiquities Mohammed Ibrahim said the tomb was discovered by Japanese archaeologists and belonged to Khonso Em Heb. The tomb of Khonso Em Heb., who lived 3,200 years ago, was "one of the most important discoveries made in the city of Luxor ... at the Thebes necropolis", he said. The tomb dates back to the Ramesside period and belongs to the chief "maker of beer for gods of the dead" who was also the head of a warehouse. More coloured inscriptions on a newly discovered tomb in Luxor, Egypt. Picture: AP Photo/Supreme Council of Antiquities He added that the walls of the tomb's chambers contain "fabulous designs and colours, reflecting details of daily life ... along with their religious rituals." MORE HIDDEN TOMBS POTENTIALLY IN EGYPT The archaeologists discovered the site while cleaning the courtyard of "another tomb belonging to a top official from the reign of King Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty", said Jiro Kondo, head of the Japanese team from Waseda University. The tomb will be placed under tight security until the excavation work is completed, the ministry said. HOW KING TUTANKHAMUN REALLY DIED Luxor, a city of around 500,000 residents on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt, is an open-air museum of intricate temples, tombs of Pharaonic rulers and landmarks such as the Winter Palace hotel where crime novelist Agatha Christie is said to have written Death on the Nile.