Archaeologists have made a stunning discovery of an “extraordinary” 4,000-year-old burial chamber of an Egyptian priestess which, interestingly, is a coffin within another coffin.

The burial was found in the town of Assiut, located 200 miles south of Cairo and is believed to belong to Idy, daughter of a wealthy governor Djefai-Hapi I who lived around 1800 BC.

In a Facebook post, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said he was “one of the most important rulers of the territories of ancient Egypt.”

“Djefai-Hapi I was deified in antiquity and his tomb has been an integral part of the cultural memory of ancient Egypt for more than 2,000 years,” said Professor Jochem Kahl, an archaeologist at Freie Universität Berlin who led the discovery, while speaking to the Daily Mail.

“Idy was a priestess of the goddess Hathor and was called ‘mistress of the house,’ which identifies her as a woman from a wealthy family,” Kahl said.

According to archaeologists, these are “some of the most astonishing coffins ever discovered” and were covered with illustrations and text “describing the deceased’s journey into the afterlife.”

After her death, Idy’s internal organs – spleen, liver, intestines and lungs – were removed from the body and preserved in jars.

Idy’s body was then mummified, a process by which the body is preserved after death by deliberately embalming or drying the flesh.

During the preliminary study of the bones, it was found that the princess died before the age of 40 due to a congenital foot defect.

Archaeologists also found her with grave goods including a dagger and wooden figurines, which were likely kept with the intention that she could use them in her afterlife.

Archaeologist from Freie Universitat Berlin, Professor Jochem Kahl, who led the discovery, called it “extraordinary both aesthetically and scientifically.”

According to Kahl, the study will “make new and far-reaching statements about the position of women and the transfer of knowledge in ancient Egypt.”

Kahl added that there was a need to further study the discovery that would shed light on the lives of Idy and her father.

“After an initial conservative consolidation of the wooden objects in the burial chamber and the subsequent laborious recovery of the narrow 14-meter-deep shaft, the findings will be handed over to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism,” he added.

(With contribution from agencies)