A 3,000-year-old Pharaonic coffin lies in a newly discovered tomb at the valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt February 10, 2006. (Xinhua photo)

    BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhuanet)-- Five mummies in wooden sacrcophagi and coloured funeral masks from the 18th pharaonic dynasty were discovered by a US team from the University of Memphis, in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt on Friday.

    This is the first such discovery since the grave of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was uncovered in 1922.

    The mummies were found inside an undecorated tomb measuring about two metres by 150 centimetres. Alabaster jars, some broken, surround the sarcophagi.

    "Since the tomb of King Tut was found in 1922, no major discovery happened in the valley," Egypt's chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass told Reuters Television from the tomb during a media visit to mark the official opening.

    "We don't really know what kind of people are inside but I do believe they look royal. Maybe they are kings or queens or nobles," said Hawass.

    The tomb did not contain the treasures of Tutankhamun's grave, which included items such as the gold death mask of the young Egyptian pharaoh.

    The tomb will be cleaned before scientists try to open the sarcophagi and attempt to identify the mummies through any hieroglyphic evidence that may be there, Hawas said.

    The Valley of the Kings is perhaps best known as the site of King Tutankhamun's tomb, which was opened in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter and revealed a treasure trove of gold artifacts along with the boy-king's mummy.

    The 18th Dynasty, which lasted from about 1500 B.C. to 1300 B.C., was the first dynasty of the New Kingdom, the pharaonic empire that lasted until about 1000 B.C. and made its capital in Thebes -- the present day city of Luxor, 300 miles south of Cairo. Tutankhamun is believed to have been the 12th ruler of the 18th Dynasty.

    The Valley of the Kings was used as a burial ground throughout the New Kingdom, though contrary to its name, not all the tombs found there have housed kings. Enditem

(Agencies)

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