Photo showing party inside ancient Egypt tomb sparks outrage

A photo showing a party inside an ancient pharaonic tomb where people were eating cake and having soft drinks, while leaning against the historic paintings on the walls has sparked outrage.

The image went viral with Facebook users voicing outraged by the photo said it looked like the group was holding a birthday party at the site. One user wrote: "They threw a birthday party inside the tomb and are leaning their backs on its engraved walls as if it was normal."

Al Arabiya English contacted Dr. Youseff Khalifa, Egypt’s former head of antiquities, who verified the picture, saying it showed an archeological site in the New Valley, a governorate located in the southwestern part of the country.

Khalifa said the ancient tomb shown in the picture was located in El Dakhla Oasis and those appearing in the picture were antiquity restorers working on the site.

However, Khalifa told Al Arabiya English that this is an old photo and that it made no sense to circulate it now.

“This should not happen inside an ancient tomb, its sanctity needs to be respected,” he said. “But this is indeed an old picture, which dates back to three years.”