Egypt's top archaeologist has shown off the newly discovered tomb of a pharaonic priest, a find he says could point the way to a new necropolis to be excavated near the famed Giza pyramids.

Standing inside the 4,300-year-old structure on Tuesday, Zahi Hawass said hieroglyphics on the tomb's walls indicate it belonged to Rudj-ka, a priest inspector in the mortuary cult of the pharaoh Khafre, who built the second largest of Giza's pyramids.

The tomb - about the size of a train car - was adorned with paintings, some of them still vivid.

Images on one wall depict a man standing on a boat, spearing fish....