Egypt archaeologists uncover tomb's secret tunnel

After a 23-year effort, archaeologists have uncovered a secret tunnel in the tomb of Seti I, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, the culture minister said on Wednesday.

The Egyptian team, headed by antiquities chief Zahi Hawass, had been "searching for this tunnel for over twenty years in the West Bank necropolis" of Luxor, south Egypt, Faruq Hosni said in a statement.

Hawass said it then took three years to excavate the 174 metre-long (570-foot) tunnel, in which archaeologists found shards of pottery and fragments of statuettes.

The tunnel was painted with preliminary sketches for decorations and instructions from the architect to workmen carving out the tunnel, Hawass said.

"Move the door jamb up and make the passage wider," read the inscription on a false door, Hawass said.

"It appears that Seti I was trying to construct a secret tomb inside a tomb," Hawass said.

Seti I was one of ancient Egypt's greatest rulers and a formidable military commander from the 19th dynasty. His tomb in the Valley of the Kings is the largest ever discovered, but archeologists have yet to tap all its mysteries.