SOHAG, Egypt — Archaeologists in Egypt have recovered about 50 mummified animals, including mice, from a well-preserved and finely painted tomb thought to date from the early Ptolemaic period, more than 2,000 years ago.
The tomb, which was built for a man named Tutu and his wife, is one of seven discovered near the town of Sohag in October, when the authorities found smugglers digging illegally for artifacts, officials said on Friday.
Its painted walls depict images of funeral processions and 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,” Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said on Friday. He described the burial chamber as a “beautiful, colorful tomb.”
Egypt’s ancient sites are a huge draw for tourists, and the authorities hope new discoveries can help bolster the sector, which has been slow to recover in the aftermath of the 2011 popular uprising, including terrorist attacks.
The government has described Sohag as “one of the most historically rich cities in Egypt,” and a museum opened last year in the city, which is in a desert area near the Nile about 240 miles south of Cairo.
Mr. Waziri said two mummies — a woman, age 35 to 50, and a boy, age 12 to 14 — were on display outside the shallow burial chamber. The 50 mummified animals recovered from the tomb included mice and falcons.
“The tomb is made up of a central lobby, and a burial room with two stone coffins,” Mr. Waziri said. “The lobby is divided in two. It shows images of the owner of the burial room, Tutu, giving and receiving gifts before different gods and goddesses.”
“We see the same thing for his wife, Ta-Shirit-Iziz,” he added, saying that it included “verses from a book, the book of the afterlife.”
Ptolemaic rule spanned about three centuries until the Roman conquest in 30 B.C.
