Minister to inaugurate Maia's tomb Sunday

Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh el Damati will inaugurate Maia's tomb, the wet nurse of King Tutankhamun, in Saqqara area on Sunday.

The tomb will be open to tourists for the first time since it was discovered in 1996, Damati said Wednesday.

Maia's tomb was discovered by the French Egyptologist Alain Zivie.

In the tomb, Tutankhamun is shown sitting on Maia's lap and the king is mentioned several times in the tomb's inscriptions.

The tomb consists of the cult chambers with three decorated rooms and the underground, mostly undecorated, burial chambers.

The first room of the cult chapel of her tomb is dedicated to the life of Maia. This includes a scene showing Tutankamun sitting on the lap of Maia and there is a badly damaged scene showing Maia in front of the king.

The second room is dedicated to the burial rites associated with Maia. Maia is shown in front of offering bearers.

The third room is the biggest and has four pillars. The pillars are decorated with the image of Maia. The back of the room shows a stela carved into the rock with Maia. In this room there is also a staircase leading down to the burial chambers.