Egypt s state minister for antiquities said that a pyramid that dates back more than 3,000 years and built for an advisor to King Ramses II has been discovered in Luxor.

The remains of the large mudbrick pyramid -- whose original height was 15 metres (49 feet) -- was unearthed during excavations on the hill of Sheikh Abdel Qurna by a Belgian mission of the Universite libre de Bruxelles and Universite de Liege, Mohammed Ibrahim said.

Stamp impressions on the bricks indicate that the pyramid belongs to a vizier of Upper and Lower Egypt named Khay, who held this charge for 15 years during the reign of pharaoh Ramses II (1279 -1213 BC) in the 19th dynasty," the mission said in a statement."The monument was largely dismantled in the 7th and 8th century AD, when the tomb was transformed into a Coptic hermitage," it said.

The discovery is of major importance "since the vizier Khay was known to Egyptologists by a large number of documents but the location of his tomb remained undiscovered," the mission said.Luxor, ancient Thebes, is a treasure trove of ancient Egyptian architecture and artefacts.The city, a major tourist spot, has been badly affected by insecurity gripping the country since the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.