Archaeologists have discovered a wall painting, dating back over 4,300 years, in a tomb near the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Scientists discovered the painting while restoring the tomb of Perseneb, a man who was a "priest" and "steward," according to the tomb's inscriptions.
The tomb, located 1,000 feet east of the Great Pyramid of Giza, is believed to date to the middle or late fifth dynasty (2450-2350 BC) and contains an offering room, central room and burial chamber, 'Live Science' reported.
The painting, discovered in 2012 by a team from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, shows vivid scenes of life, including boats sailing south on the Nile River, a bird hunting trip in a marsh and Perseneb who's shown with his wife and dog.
"Known since the 19th century, the [tomb] could hardly present any new principal features. Therefore, it was a real surprise to discover an Old Kingdom painting on the eastern wall of the central room," said Maksim Lebedev, a reader at the Russian State University for the Humanities.
"The painting was made on a thin layer of fine white plaster darkened with 19th-century soot and dirt. By the time of recording, only about 30 per cent of the original plaster had preserved on the wall," Lebedev said.
Nevertheless, "none of the scenes has been lost completely. The remaining traces allow [for the] reconstruction [of] the whole composition," Lebedev said.
