/ 26 June 2000

ANCIENT TOMBS FOUND IN EGYPT

A TEAM of Japanese archeologists excavating near the Giza Pyramids have found three 4500-year-old tombs, one containing a skeleton in a sitting position. Egyptian antiquities authorities said on Monday the walk-in limestone tombs each contained open burial holes in the ground, including one with the skeleton. The skeleton was seated cross-legged with the head turned north and the front facing east. The discovery was made in the area just south of the three pyramids of Giza, which is adjacent to Cairo. The tombs date back to the Old Kingdom, around 2700-2300 years before Christ, officials said.