Pyramid of pharaoh's adviser discovered

A pyramid that dates back more than 3000 years and was built for an adviser to King Ramses II has been discovered in Luxor.

Egypt's state Minister for Antiquities Mohammed Ibrahim said the remains of the large mud brick pyramid, whose original height was 15 metres, were unearthed during excavations on the hill of Sheikh Abdel Qurna by a Belgian mission of the Universite libre de Bruxelles and Universite de Liege.

A statement from the mission said stamp impressions on the bricks indicated that the pyramid belonged to a vizier of Upper and Lower Egypt named Khay, who held his position for 15 years during the reign of pharaoh Ramses II (1279-1213 BC) in the 19th dynasty.

It says the monument was largely dismantled in the 7th and 8th century AD, when the tomb was transformed into a Coptic hermitage.