4,000-year-old funerary garden discovered in Luxor

A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities on May 3, 2017, shows the remains of a nearly 4,000 year old model garden following its discovery at the Draa Abul Nagaa necropolis on the west bank of the Nile River in the southern city of Luxor. (AFP PHOTO / HO / EGYPTIAN MINISTRY OF ANTIQUITIES)

CAIRO: Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry said that a Spanish archaeological mission has discovered a nearly 4,000-year-old funerary garden in the southern city of Luxor.
In a Wednesday statement, the ministry said the rectangular-shaped garden was found during excavations in an open courtyard of a rock-cut tomb belonging to the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt.
The garden is divided into four squared sections. Each covers 30 square cm and is believed to have contained different kinds of plants and flowers.
The head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector, Mahmoud Afifi, said the discovery is the first of its kind in the area.