CAIRO, Apr 2; French archaeologists say they have discovered the remains of a 4,000-year-old queen's pyramid, re-ports AP.

The French Egyptologists uncovered the foundation stones of the pyramid, which belonged to the wile of King Pop! I. on March 25 tn Sakkara, an ancient royal cemetery about 32 kilometres south of Cairo, archaeologists announced this week.

The finding of the pyramid was one of several discoveries revealed at the Eighth International Congress of Egyptolo-flsts, which has drawn some ,500 archaeologists to Cairo.

The French team, led by archaeologist Jean Leclant, quickly dug Into the burial chamber of Queen Ankh-sn-Pepi and found a stone bearing pyramid texts, or special prayers to protect the/lead and ensure sustenance in the afterlife.

Until this discovery, such

texts had been found only in the pyramids of kings. It is not yet known why they were in the queen's burial chamber.

"Who knows what else they may find?" said Gaballa All Ga-balla, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. The team will work at the site, now one of the country's largest, until the end of May.

In another discovery, Egyptian archaeologists said they have found a painted tomb in the Western Desert from a 600 BC culture that exported wine to the Nile valley.

Leading Egyptian archaeologist Zahl llawass, who Is chairing (he congress, said (hat through a hole In a wall of the tomb he could see a burial chamber containing a 4-by-2 meter stone coffin.

"It may be Intact, and Inside there is likely a wooden sarcophagus and maybe even a mummy," Hawass said. "We will start excavating next week "