A group of Spanish archaeologists has unearthed 60 mummies in two tombs located in the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor, according to first reports by Art News and Efe.

The recently found rooms are connected to the tomb of Amenhotep-Huy, which has a chapel with 30 columns. He was a vizier or high-ranking figure in the 18th Dynasty under the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who ruled from 1390 to 1352 BC.

This combination of images taken on November 6, 2022 shows miniature statues of the ancient Egyptian goddesses (from left to right) Neith, Nebet-hut (Nephthys), Iset (Isis) and Serqet guarding the golden sanctuary that previously contained the Canopic jars of New Kingdom pharaoh Tutankhamen (1332-1323 BC) in his tomb KV62, on display with the Tutankhamun collection at the Egyptian Museum in central Egypt’s capital, Cairo.

The tomb of vizier Francisco J. Martin, head of the Vizier Amenhotep-Huy Project, said the site abounds with historical artifacts. He noted that tombs of various dynasties were built on the vizier’s tomb as the site was sacred.

The tombs were dated following the tomb of the vizier Amenhotep-Huy in the 18th Dynasty, according to Martin, who is in charge of a group of 22 Spanish Egyptologists and eight Egyptian experts.

Amenhotep-Huy resisted Akhenaten’s attempts to end Egypt’s polytheism and replace it with a single deity, the Aten. It is worth noting that Akhenaten was the son and heir of Amenhotep III.

Aten, which represents the disk of the sun and was initially an element of the ancient sun deity Ra, became the focus of a controversial new belief system known as Atenism and eventually the “Amarna heresy,” according to ArtNews.

Amenhotep Huy, who served as the leader of the opposition to this controversial new religion, was revered as a martyr and retained considerable power after his death.

Martin said that Amenhotep-Huy was an important person, which gives his tomb great historical significance.

Senior members of Amun of Thebes’ clergy who thought his tomb was a place of distinction were represented by the mummies discovered in the rooms next to his resting place, according to Teresa Bedman, co-director of the project.

As a result, a necropolis was built inside the tomb of the vizier.