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Snacks included: Egyptian Tomb opened with mummified Cats, Falcons, and dozens of Mice.
A tomb unveiled Friday near the Egyptian town of Sohag by the Antiquities Ministry of Egypt, held more than 50 mummified cats, falcons, and mice. [aljazeera.com]
The well preserved and finely painted tomb...is thought to be from the early Ptolemaic period, dating back nearly 2,000 years ago.
The tomb was built for a man named Tutu and his wife, and is one of the seven discovered in the area last October, when authorities found smugglers digging illegally for artefacts, officials said.
Its painted walls depict funeral processions and images of the owner working in the fields, as well as his family genealogy written in hieroglyphics.
The tomb also contained a boy aged 12-14 years and a woman aged 35-50 years. Ptolemaic rule lasted about 300 years, and ended around 30BC after the Roman conquest.
Egypt's tourism industry has been struggling due to internal strife in recent years
and the antiquities ministry said Friday's presentation was intended to "draw the world's attention to the civilisation and antiquities of Egypt".
The country's plethora of heritage sites is a major draw for tourists and the ministry described Sohag as "one of the most historically rich cities in Egypt", where a museum opened last year.
Tourism revenues employs 12% of the workforce in Egypt and accounts for 11% of its GDP.
