Archaeologists have discovered dozens of mummies and several sarcophagi in a tomb estimated to be more than 4000 years old, says the Egyptian ministry of culture.

The find was made at Gisr al-Moudir, west of Egypt's first ever pyramid at Saqqara, the step pyramid of Djoser built by architect Imhotep in around 2700 BC, the ministry says in a statement.

The mummies appear to vary in age. One dates from about 640 BC while the unopened sarcophagus, which is made of limestone and sealed with plaster, is probably much older.

"The tomb dates from the era of the sixth dynasty of the Old Kingdom, about 4300 years ago," says Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass.

"Thirty mummies and skeletons were discovered, including a wooden sarcophagus that has been sealed since the pharaonic era in the burial chamber at a depth of 11 metres."

Four other stone sarcophagi and another wooden one were also found in the tomb. Twenty of the mummies were stored in niches.

Another shaft leading to the burial chamber, thought to have been built around 640 BC, was also discovered.

The mud-brick tomb commemorates a priest who was also a choir leader, says Hawass.

Archaeologists say it is unusual to find intact burials in well-known necropolises such as Saqqara, which served the nearby city of Memphis, because thieves scoured the area in ancient times.

They expect to open it later this week and they may find amulets among the mummy wrappings.A storehouse of 30 Egyptians mummies has been unearthed inside a 2600-year-old tomb, in a new round of excavations at the vast necropolis of Saqqara outside Cairo

by:ABC Science