Egypt unveils new archaeological wonders in Luxor

Egypt on Wednesday unveiled new archaeological discoveries, including the 4,000-year-old tombs of high-ranking officials and artwork from the time of Queen Hatshepsut, at an ancient necropolis in the famed city of Luxor.

The artefacts, unearthed during a three-year-long excavation, were found in Deir al-Bahari area in the necropolis of Thebes on the west bank of the Nile, renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who led the mission in cooperation with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in a statement.

The findings date from the time of the 15th dynasty (1650-1550 BC) to the powerful 18th dynasty (1550-1292 BC), which included pharaohs such as Queen Hatshepsut and King Tutankhamun.

The team unveiled an intact part of the foundations for the valley temple of Queen Hatshepsut's funerary complex as well as intricate artwork rendered in vivid bas-reliefs and inscriptions with remarkably preserved colours.

Some of the 1,500 decorated blocks depict the queen and her successor, Thutmose III, performing sacred rituals.

"(It is) the most beautiful scene I have ever seen in my life," Hawass, who personally unveiled the new discoveries at the temple, said. "This is the first time that we have a final programme of the decoration of a temple dating to the 18th dynasty," he told reporters.

Beneath the temple's foundation, archaeologists also discovered a pristine set of ceremonial tools inscribed with Queen Hatshepsut's name.

Other major finds included the rock-cut tombs of high-ranking Middle Kingdom officials and an 18th-dynasty tomb of "the Overseer of the Palace" of Queen Tetisheri. Tetisheri was the grandmother of King Ahmose I, who expelled the Hyksos, a Western Asian people who invaded Egypt and controlled the Nile Delta for nearly a century.

Also uncovered were burial shafts containing wooden coffins marked with a feather emblem of the 17th dynasty as well as children's graves complete with toys.

Wednesday's announcement came as Egypt ramped up efforts to revive its tourism sector, a key source of foreign currency for the country's struggling economy. Last year, Egypt received 15.7 million tourists and aims to attract 18 million this year.