Cairo | Feb 9

AP -  American archaeologists have made the first discovery of a new tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings since King Tutankhamen's was uncovered in 1922, Egypt's antiquities chief has announced.

The 18th Dynasty tomb included five mummies in intact sarcophagi with colored funerary masks, along with more than 20 large storage jars, sealed with pharaonic seals, Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in a statement.

Still unknown is who the tomb belonged to. The U.S. archeologist Kent Weeks, who was not involved in the discovery but has seen photographs of the tomb's interior, said its appearance suggested it did not belong to a king. "It could be the tomb of a king's wife or son, or of a priest or court official," he said Thursday.

No matter who is in the new tomb, its discovery shatters the nearly century-old perception that there was nothing left to discover in the Valley of the Kings, where it was long thought that the 62 previously known tombs were all there was, said Weeks, who made the last major discovery in the valley.

"It clearly proves that the Valley of the Kings is still not exhausted," he said. "There are probably more tombs to be found in it."

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