Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed a 3,300-year-old tomb that had a 23-foot-high pyramid at its entrance.

The site, discovered in the ancient burial grounds of Abydos, contained skeletal remains from three to four men, at least two children and about 10 to 12 women, separated at the joints.

According to a story by ABP, an India-based news operation, archaeologists found an intricately crafted sarcophagus made from sandstone and painted red.

The researchers reported no mummy in the sarcophagus, but plenty of evidence the site had been ransacked at least twice, a very long time ago.

The archaeological team, which included Kevin Cahail, a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania who led excavations, believe the chambers they uncovered were originally constructed underground, so that only the steep pyramid was visible.

"Originally, all you probably would have seen would have been the pyramid and maybe a little wall around the structure just to enclose everything," said Cahail in the ABP story.

Cahail told LiveScience there was likely a small mortuary chapel established inside the pyramid that probably contained a statue or some sort of slab bearing the names and titles of the people buried there.

But, all that's left of the pyramid now are the thick walls of the tomb entrance that would have formed the base of the pyramid. Other segments of the pyramid either didn't survive the many centuries or haven't yet been located.

Cahail indicated that during the period the tomb was believed built, it was not uncommon for the tombs of the elite to contain their own small pyramids.

The tomb was excavated in the summer and winter seasons of 2013. Cahail is scheduled to fully present the findings of the excavation at a meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt, to be held in Portland in April.