( CNN ) A Czech archeology team in Egypt has uncovered an intriguing find : the tomb of a previously unknown queen . The discovery was made in an Old Kingdom necropolis southwest of Cairo in Abusir , home to the pyramid of Pharaoh Neferefre , who ruled 4,500 years ago . The tomb was found in Neferefre 's funeral complex , and it 's believed that the queen was Neferefre 's wife . In a statement to the Agence France-Presse , Egypt 's Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty called the queen Khentakawess III , noting that this is the `` first time we have discovered the name of this queen who had been unknown before the discovery of her tomb . '' The tomb , which one official said dated back to the middle of the 5th Dynasty ( 2994-2345 BC ) , had an inscription that indicates its owner was the `` king 's wife . '' Archaeologists also found roughly 30 utensils made from limestone and copper . `` This discovery will help us shed light on certain unknown aspects of the Fifth Dynasty , which along with the Fourth Dynasty , witnessed the construction of the first pyramids , '' el-Damaty told the AFP . The expedition was led by the Czech Institute of Egyptology , which is affiliated with Charles University in Prague . The team 's leader , Miroslav Barta , said in a statement that their newest find is just more proof of how ripe the Abusir site is for further research . `` This is another significant discovery in the last few years ( that ) have repeatedly confirmed that the Abusir necropolis provides a number of unique sources for the reconstruction of major epochs of ancient Egyptian history , '' Barta said .
A team of archaeologists discovered the tomb of a previously unknown queen . The tomb is believed to belong to the wife of Pharaoh Neferefre . The discovery was made in a necropolis north of Memphis .