Cairo: A total of 85 tombs, dating from the period of the Old Kingdom of Egypt about 4 500 years ago until the Ptolemaic dynasty, spanning from 305 BC to 30 BC, were unearthed in the southern province of Sohag, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said.
An Egyptian archaeological mission in the Gabal El Haridi region, about 350km south of the capital Cairo, found 30 death certificates next to the mummies. The death certificates showed the dead person's name, job and age and their parents' names, written in old Greek letters and ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.
Some tombs were embedded in the mountain, and some have one or more wells with corridors leading to burial rooms.
The mission also unearthed a mudbrick tower house dating from the era of King Ptolemy III, the third pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty who ruled from 246 BC to 222 BC.
The tower house was built to monitor the borders, levy taxes and secure the navigation traffic on the Nile River, the ministry said.
The discoveries also include remains of a Ptolemaic-era temple built to worship the goddess Isis, measuring 33m long and 14m wide.