Swiss archaeologists have discovered the tomb of a female singer dating back almost 3,000 years in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, Antiquities Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said.

...it shows that the Valley of the Kings was also used for the burial of ordinary individuals and priests of the 22nd Dynasty

The rare find was made accidentally by a team from Switzerland’s Basel University headed by Elena Pauline-Grothe and Susanne Bickel in Karnak, near Luxor in Upper Egypt.

The woman, Nehmes Bastet, was a singer for the supreme deity Amun-Re during the 22nd Dynasty (945-712 BC), according to an inscription on a wooden plaque found in the tomb.

She was the daughter of the High Priest of Amon.

The discovery is important because it shows that the Valley of the Kings was also used for the burial of ordinary individuals and priests of the 22nd Dynasty,” Mr Ibrahim said.

Until now the only tombs found in the historic valley were those linked to ancient Egyptian royal families.