Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced on Saturday the discovery of an ancient tomb in Luxor province in Upper Egypt.

Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany said that the tomb was unearthed by an Egyptian archaeological mission working at al-Asassif area on the West Bank of Luxor.

According to al-Anany, the discovery has seen the light after five months of excavation work carried out by the Egyptian mission led by Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

"After removing about 300 cubic meters of rubble, the mission succeeded in discovering the tomb of Thaw-Irkhet-If, who was an official of the mummification shrine in Mut Temple," Waziri told Xinhua.

The walls of the tomb are decorated with colored scenes depicting the owner with members of his family, Waziri said.

Inside the tomb, excavators found two coffins with two mummies in good conditions.

Two wooden statues, a collection of 1,000 Ushabti statues carved in wood, faience and clay as well as five colored masks were found in the tomb.

In the same area, al-Anany witnessed the opening of a colorful sarcophagus of a mummified woman made of wood.

The sarcophagus was discovered by an archaeological mission affiliated to the French University of Strasbourg.

A mummy of a woman wrapped in linen was found inside the sarcophagus in a good conservation condition. The mission is set to conduct archaeological and scientific studies to uncover the historical era of the mummy.

Egypt, one of the most ancient civilizations, has been working hard to preserve its archaeological heritage and discover the secrets of its ancient antiquities in a bid to revive the country's ailing tourism sector.

Tourism sector has suffered an acute recession over the past few years because of political turmoil and relevant security issues.

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