Eye-in-the-Sky Infrared Reveals Buried Pyramids, City

Well, here's something that the Egyptian caretaker government will definitely cheer right along with the Egyptian people: Tourism income is likely to go up after the announcement of the discovery of 17 "lost" pyramids. Yes, those pyramids were lost to the sands of time, revealed only by infrared scanning from on high.

A group of archaeologists made the announcement after satellite imaging revealed the buried treasure, and then the archaeologists confirmed the findings with evidence at digs on the ground.

The buried pyramids are near Saqqara, site of the famous Step Pyramids, the antecedents of the more traditionally shaped pyramids, like those at Giza.

More exciting for many archaeologists, however, was probably the revelation of images of a street plan for Tanis, the ancient capital. (Indiana Jones fans will remember this city from the first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark.) Tombs and other structural ruins of Tunis have been found, but this find would greatly expand the modern understanding of the city's ancient reach.

The images showed thousands of tombs and buildings, which will take the government perhaps years to dig up, providing lots of media releases detailing whose burial site has revealed what hidden treasures.

The scanning searched for mud bricks, which were used to build homes and temples.