Archaeologists discover ancient Egyptian tomb in Luxor

Spanish archaeologists unearthed a tomb dating back to the 11th dynasty of ancient Egypt in the city of Luxor, Egypt's Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said Monday.

The tomb belonged to a senior statesman, and was found in the Zeraa Abu el-Nega area in western Luxor, which is about 600 km south of Cairo, Egypt's state news agency quoted the minister as saying, according to Xinhua.

Ibrahim said the tomb consists of a square-shaped burial chamber and that the wide chamber showed this tomb belonged to "a person from a royal family or a very senior statesman".

The minister said the tomb was discovered by a Spanish team of archaeologists in tandem with his ministry.

Jose Galan, who heads the Spanish team, said the discovery of the tomb suggests that the area has several tombs from the 11th dynasty.

Luxor was once the capital of ancient Egypt. It is now a key tourist attraction luring thousands of visitors every year for its temples and pharaonic tombs.