A French-Swiss archaeological mission has discovered a 4,000-year-old mastaba at the Saqqara site near Cairo.

The mastaba, a tomb used in early dynastic Egypt, belonged to a royal doctor from the reign of Pepy II (c. 2278-2184 BC).

The well-preserved tomb walls feature inscriptions and drawings that offer new insights into daily life during Egypt’s Old Kingdom.

The discovery also included a sarcophagus with inscriptions identifying the tomb’s owner, Xinhua has reported.

Preliminary studies suggest the mastaba may have been looted in ancient times.

Written by B.C. Begley