Egypt yields Pharaonic priestly tomb‎

Cairo, Egypt - Egyptian archeologists have discovered the tomb of Rudj-ka, a priest living at the time of Pharaoh Khafre, who built the second largest of the Giza pyramids.

"It is very clear that this man was carrying out a very important role," said head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass, who unveiled the 4,300-year-old structure on Tuesday.

The tomb is about the size of a train car and is adorned with paintings and hieroglyphics on its walls, the Associated Press reported.

One of the walls bears the image of a man spearing fish on a boat, with lotus flowers and birds around him.

The opposite wall depicts a number of false doors with a painting above one of them showing two figures seated opposite of each other at an offering table.

According to Hawass, the priest was buried with his family and would have had the responsibility of supervising those presenting sacrifices to the pharaoh.

Although the tomb belongs to the time between 2465 and 2323 BCE, after pharaoh Khafre's death, Hawass said pharaohs were often worshipped after death and the tomb most probably belonged to him.

The tomb, the first to be found to the west of Khafre's pyramid, was broken into and looted in the 19th century, but it still remains in good condition and could lead to more discoveries nearby.