Egypt has refused to allow images of its Pyramids to be used on a Portuguese postal stamp featuring sites in a competition to name the new seven wonders of the world, the state-run news agency said on Sunday.

The Middle East News Agency (MENA) quoted Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities chief, as saying the pyramids at Giza should not be used on stamps issued for commercial purposes or included in a competition that is not based on scientific standards...

Egypt says no pyramids photo on Portuguese stamps, Reuters, UK, June 03, 2007.

A Dutch mission from [National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden] has just come across a huge tomb that dates back to the era of King Akhenaten, the 19th dynasty, some 3,500 years ago.

Located in Giza's Saqqara area, the tomb belongs to a priest called Meri Neet [Meryneith], who had become known as the chief superintendent of god Aten at the time.

A source with the mission said they also found the burial chamber, but were not that lucky with the mummy.

But the tomb contained canopic utensils on which the names of the four sons of god Horus are engraved, he said.

Not just that, the Dutch mission also discovered a rare stone slab bearing the image of a woman holding a bunch of flowers, he said, noting that the design followed ancient Egyptian art known in Minya at the time.

Also found was a cartouche belonging to King Senwosret III, an indication that the tomb had been re-sued later on...

Saqqara Online, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities) at Leiden, The Netherlands. Their dig diary finished at the start of March? So this is in fact old news – see the link below. I think the only new bit that has warranted this press release is this paragraph.

The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities has prepared a detailed report on the new discovery to refer it to Culture Minister Farouk Hosni to endorse the finances needed to complete the digging operations around the area and touch up discovered items.

Egyptian tomb discovered in Saqqara, Egypt State Information Service, Egypt, June 02, 2007.

Previously:

Pair of 3,000-year-old tombs are found in Egypt, February 20, 2007.

Bent at the waist, with legs in squat position, I duck-walked down the narrow shaft descending into the bowels of one of the Pyramids of Giza.

A stream of faces, shiny with exertion and the high humidity inside the pyramid, approached me from the opposite direction. As we squeezed by each other in the tight passage, I took note of their features and caught bits of conversation. Most seemed to be from Europe, some from Asia and yes, a few from America.

Seeing the Pyramids of Giza, the only surviving monuments of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, might be a desire of many Americans, but until recently few chanced realizing their dream. Of all the tourists visiting Egypt in 2005, U.S. visitors ranked in ninth place, behind tourists from the U.K., Russia, Germany and other European and Middle Eastern countries.

In 2006, however, their rank rose to the No. 6 position. The number of Americans travelling to Egypt soared 16.5 percent over 2005, a remarkable figure given the global growth rate for tourism worldwide stood at just 4.5 percent.

Why are more Americans going to Egypt now? ...

Tut tourism: A boy king inspires resurgence in travel to Egypt, Kathy Rodeghier, Chicago Daily Herald, Illinois, June 03, 2007.