Dutch team uncovers 3,000-year-old Paser tomb in Luxor

Archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown 3,000-year-old tomb in the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna on Luxor's West Bank, officials announced on July 12, 2026. The tomb, belonging to a man named Paser, was uncovered by a Dutch archaeological mission from Leiden University during its current excavation season.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities stated that the tomb dates to the Ramesside period, which spans the 19th and 20th dynasties of the New Kingdom, based on the distinctive artistic style of its decorations. The structure is located east of the known Theban Tomb No. 45, within an area that has been the focus of a collaborative research and field project between the university and Egyptian authorities since 2018.

According to Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, the tomb follows the traditional layout of elite private tombs from the New Kingdom era. It consists of an open forecourt leading to a rock-cut chapel shaped like an inverted T, with underground burial chambers beneath. The courtyard features well-preserved architectural elements, including a mudbrick bench with a niche for a funerary stela and a staircase flanked...