Several 3,000-year old tombs were discovered in Minya, about 245 kilometres (152 miles) south of Cairo, Egyptian authorities announced Friday.
Khaled al-Anani, the minister of antiquities, said in a statement that eight tombs containing 40 sarcophagi and roughly 1,000 figurines had been unearthed.
He added that it might take a few years to collect detailed information about the tombs.
Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri said the ancient graves dated back to the late period of Ancient Egypt.
Excavation work, which began in 2017, will continue for the next five years, he added.
