3,000-Year-Old Tomb with Colorful Murals Unearthed in Luxor

A Dutch mission from Leiden University uncovered a previously unknown rock-cut tomb in the Lower Sheikh Abd el-Qurna area of Luxor's Theban Necropolis. Inscriptions identify its owner as Paser, and the painted style places the monument in the Ramesside Period (19th–20th Dynasties), about 3,000 years ago. The tomb follows classic New Kingdom Theban form: an open courtyard, a rock-cut chapel with an inverted T-shaped plan, and underground chambers. Well-preserved features include a mudbrick platform with a stela niche and a staircase flanked by ramps. Wall paintings show Paser worshipping deities within shrines and seated with his wife before an offering table. The team, collaborating with Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and researching Theban Tomb 45 since 2018, now views the discovery as part of the evolving burial landscape. Excavators plan to consolidate the structure, conserve the paintings, and continue documentation.