AKIPRESS.COM - A well-preserved mummy of a woman inside an unopened coffin dating back more than 3,000 years has been unveiled in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, Independent reports.

The sarcophagus was one of two found earlier this month by a French-led mission in the northern area of El-Asasef necropolis on the western bank of the Nile.

The first one had been opened earlier and examined by Egyptian antiquities officials, but the unveiling of the second on Saturday was the first time authorities had opened a previously unopened sarcophagus before international media.

The 18th dynasty dates back to the 13th century BC, a period noted for some of the most well-known pharaohs, including Tutankhamen and Ramses II.

Among the finds in the tomb were five coloured masks and around 1,000 Ushabti statutes – the miniature figurine of servants to serve the dead in the afterlife.

Egypt has revealed over a dozen ancient discoveries since the beginning of this year.