Archeologists at the site recently discovered a network of vertical shafts leading to a network of tunnels and tombs containing 40 mummies “believed to be part of the noble elite.” In one of those, a limestone sarcophagus holding a 3,000-year-old mummy is to be opened during the show.Discovery declined to disclose the identity of the mummy prior to the broadcast.

Prominent Egyptian archaeologist and former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass will also participate, Discovery previously announced.Asked by AFP about a possible financial deal between the channel and the Egyptian state for permission to film and open the grave, the spokesman for Discovery refused all comment.“It’s a media spectacle in the end -- but it could make people love antiquities and is a good promotional opportunity for tourism, if done right,” an Egyptian archeologist who asked to remain anonymous told AFP.

She said the broadcasters should not open the tomb without providing solid archeological context, but “the main problem” is something else.The tourism sector has begun to return, with arrivals reaching 8.3 million in 2017, according to government figures.That still falls far short of the 14.7 million tourists in 2010. Discovery’s broadcast also comes with global interest in Egyptian archeology generated by a “once in a generation” exhibition about the pharaoh Tutankhamun, which opened in Paris last month and will tour the world.- AFP