Developments in Brief : Grave of Maya, Pharaoh’s Treasurer, Found at Sakkara After 12-Year Hunt

Archeologists in Egypt, using a map drawn by a 19th-Century scholar, have unearthed the grave and temple of Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s treasurer after a 12-year search, a Dutch museum announced last week.

The archeologists found wall paintings, statues and reliefs in chambers at Sakkara, where the treasurer and priest Maya was buried with his wife about 1400 BC, said a spokeswoman for the National Museum of Antiquities, near the Hague.

Seven Dutchmen and experts from London’s Egypt Exploration Society broke into the chambers, 65 feet below ground, during a recent three-month expedition. “They climbed through a hole and were surprised to find it was the grave of Maya,” the spokeswoman said.

The museum became interested in Maya 150 years ago after buying statues taken from the site, but previous attempts to find the tomb failed because sand had blown over the area.