Egypt's former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass gives an interview with media at his office in Cairo on May 22, 2017. (AFP Photo)

CAIRO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Antiquities Ministry of Egypt said Tuesday that three tombs dating back to the Ptolemaic era were unearthed in the Upper Egypt province of Minya.

"A mission from the ministry has found the tombs in the southwest of Samalout city, some 241 km from the capital," Ayman Ashmawy, head of the ministry's antiquities sector, said in a statement.

In the first tomb, the excavating team found four coffins for two men and two women, as well as nine holes with remains of buried bodies, Ashmawy said.

The second tomb has two burial chambers and some wooden residues were unveiled during the excavation, while the cleaning in the third tomb isn't finished yet.

The excavation in Samalout started in May, according to the official.

The newly-discovered tombs would uncover more information about the Ptolemaic era starting 332 B.C., he noted.