Category Archives: Archaeological Discoveries

A Swedish-Egyptian mission led by Maria Nilsson and John Ward from Lund University has discovered a New Kingdom sandstone workshop and several sculptures during excavations carried out at Gebel El-Silsila archaeological site in Aswan.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the mission discovered among the debris in the workshop a large criosphinx (ram-headed sphinx) statue.

The statue, approximately 5 metres long, 3.5 metres high, and 1.5 metres wide, is carved in a style comparable to the criosphinxes to the south of Khonsu Temple at Karnak. The sphinx is believed to be dated to Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty.

Minister of Antiquities Dr.Khaled El-Enany announced today Saturday the first discovery of year 2019 from Tuna El-Gebel archaeological site in Menia.

A joint mission from the Ministry of Antiquities and the Research Center for Archaeological Studies of Menia University has stumbled upon a collection of Ptolemaic burial chambers engraved in rock and filled with a large number of mummies of different sizes and genders.

The Egyptian-Austrian mission working in Kom Ombo has discovered a large number of cylinder seals bears inscriptions of 5th Dynasty King’s names.

Dr. Mostafa Waziri said that the names discovered on one of the seals is the King “Userkaf” as well as King “Neferirkare”. He added “It is the first time that Kom Ombo witness Kings names of Old Kingdom.”

Dr. Irene Forstner-Müller, director of the Austrain Archaeological Institute mission at the site said” The mission started working at the site in 2018 to investigate the history of the town of Kom Ombo. The first season of survey and excavation brought to light a First Intermediate Period Cemetery with the town of the Old Kingdom below it as well as a seal of King “Sahure”. These discoveries emphasise the great importance of old Kom Ombo as an administrative capital in Upper Egypt during the Old Kingdom.

The Swedish-Egyptian mission at Gebel el-Silsila, Aswan Region, led by Dr. Maria Nilsson and John Ward (Lund University), under the supervision of the inspectorates of Aswan and Kom Ombo, has discovered an undecorated shaft tomb (5 m deep) with two chambers dating to the 18th Dynasty (Thutmosid period). The tomb is water filled and requires pumping to allow excavations. Since a recent looting attempt in the tomb is also filled with sand and silt, and the extent of damage that was caused to the monument is still to be assessed. Mr. Abdel Moniem, General Director of Aswan and Nubia, says that the team is currently estimating the preservation of the tomb, as the movement of water and sand has caused great disturbance to the interior, artefacts and osteological remains, but it appears to be intact and undisturbed from looting. So far, the team has discovered three sandstone sarcophagi, two of which have been excavated, revealing an infant and a young child. The third sarcophagus was also made for an infant; its contents await excavation.

The burial goods contain several artefacts of importance, including dozens of scarabs, amulets, beads, seals, bracelets, large amphorae, beer jugs, bowls, pilgrim flasks, and various storage jars, etc.

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Chronologically, there are indications of at least three generations, ranging from Thutmosis II to Amenhotep II (c. 3400 years ago). Exceptionally, the team has documented the remains of so far a minimum of over 60 individuals (2/3 adults and 1/3 children) have been discovered, but with excavations still ongoing the team estimates the amount to increase. No other tomb documented at Gebel el-Silsila previously has contained such a high number of entombed individuals. One of the more important results of the discovery at Gebel el-Silsila is the amount of buried children and women, indicating that there was a complete society with entire families living and working in ancient Kheny. Excavations are scheduled to continue until the end of the year.

The Egyptian archaeological mission working at Kom El Khelua necropolis in Fayoum directed by Dr. Aiman Ashmawi has discovered during their work started last month, a burial shaft to the east of Prince Waje’s Middle Kingdom tomb.

Dr. Mostafa Waziri said “El Khelua is located at the far south of Fayoum about 40 km from the town. It is a Middle Kingdom necropolis and precisely the time of King Amenemhat III (1842-1799 B.C) and it was reused as a Christian settlement during Byzantine time, The tomb of prince Waje the govener of Fayoum was also found along with the tomb of his mother Nebt Mot.

Dr. Ashmawi said that this tomb looks like it was robed long time ago and then reused ages later.

A team of Egyptian archaeologists discovered a 3000-year-old Ramesside tomb in Assasif area on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, Egypt.

The work started in March 2018 and stopped in May 2018 then resumed in August 2018 and still ongoing.

During the work, over 300 cubic meters of debris was cleared. The tomb shows depictions of Queen “Ahmos-Nefertari” and her son “Amenhotep I” according to minister of antiquities, Dr. Khalid El-Enany.

The tomb belongs to a man called “Shu En Khet.ef” meaning “North Wind in his back” who was a “Scribe of the mummification chapel in Mut temple” as Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said during the press conferece held this morning a couple of hundred meteres away from the famous temple of Deir Bahari in the background and a few steps of the said discovered tomb.

Dr. Waziri added that the Scribe’s wife was a “Chantress of Mut”.
In their tomb, over 1000 ushabtis, coloured wooden masks, faience figurines and papyri bears a part of chapters 125 of Book of the Dead were found.

Then during the work and in September 2018, a side room was discovered and it was sealed with mud bricks.
Inside that room, 2 wooden coffins were found with flowers on top of them and in perfect condition of preservation. The coffins are dated to 25th or 26th Dynasty.
First one for a man called “Padiese” who was a high priest of Amun and the other coffin for his wife who was a chantress of Amun.

CAIRO: Egypt says archaeologists have uncovered parts of a booth with a seat that belonged to famous pharaoh Ramses II, one of the longest ruling pharaohs in antiquity.

Thursday’s statement from the Antiquities Ministry says the artifacts were found during an excavation in eastern Cairo’s Matariya neighborhood.
Egyptologist Mamdouh el-Damaty says the structure was probably used in celebrations and for public gatherings, and dates back to the 19th Dynasty.
Ramses II ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. He is credited with expanding ancient Egypt’s reach as far as present-day Syria and Sudan, campaigns that earned him the title “Ramses the Great.”
Egypt frequently announces archaeological discoveries, hoping this will spur interest in the country’s ancient treasures and revive tourism, which was hit hard by political turmoil following the 2011 uprising.

An archaeological mission from Egypt’s Ain Shams University has completed the excavation of a shrine to King Ramses II discovered last year in Cairo’s Matariya district.
The head of the mission Mamdouh El-Damaty explains that the shrine was once used during festivals.

The mission has also unearthed a collection of lintels, scarabs, amulets, clay pots and blocks engraved with hieroglyphic text.

El-Damaty says the discovery is important because it is a unique shrine from the New Kingdom that was used for the Heb Sed festival, not only during the reign of King Ramses II but throughout the Ramesside period.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Antiquities, a mummy uncovered in Deir El-Madina Village on the West Bank of Luxor featuring 30 tattoos belongs to a young woman.

The mummy was found in 2014 by the French Archaeological mission from the French Institute of Oriental Studies (IFAO) which carried out the scientific research of the mummy and its tattoos using infrared technology.

Dr. Mostafa Waziri, General Secretary of the Supreme council of Antiquities explained that the studies revealed that woman probably had lived between 1300 and 1070 BC and died between 25 to 34 years old.

The mummy has 30 unique tattoos etched on different parts of the body, including the neck, back, shoulders and arms. The tattoos are of bulls, lotus flowers, a group of cattle and the Udjat eye, which reflect that this mummy belongs to a woman who had an important religious status during her lifetime.

The remains of a tomb complex belonging to the “sole friend” of an Egyptian pharaoh have been discovered near a pyramid at Abusir in Egypt.

The burial site contains the remains of a small chapel and tomb. Inside the tomb, which was robbed in ancient times, archaeologists found the remains of a statue with inscriptions referring to a priest named Kaires who was “sole friend of the king” and “keeper of the secret of the Morning House” — the place where the pharaoh got dressed and ate breakfast, a team of archaeologists with the Czech Institute of Egyptology said in a statement Oct. 2.

The archaeologists aren’t sure which pharaoh the inscription is referring to, but they have some clues: The tomb complex was found near a pyramid belonging to the pharaoh Neferirkare (reign 2446–2438 B.C.); and another of the titles recorded on his statue says that Kaires was “inspector of the priests serving in the pyramid complexes” belonging to Neferirkare and his predecessor, Sahure.

The statue lists several other important titles held by Kaires: “overseer of all king’s works” and “foremost of the House of Life,” which was a library of sorts that contained papyri that recorded knowledge on a variety of subjects, the archaeologists said in the statement. Very few papyri dating back more than 4,000 years have been found in Egypt.

No idle boast
The archaeologists will never know if Kaires was truly a “sole friend” to one or more pharaohs. However, he must have been highly regarded judging by his elaborate burial, the archaeologists noted. He was buried in a place reserved exclusively for members of the royal family and the highest state dignitaries, they said.

Additionally, the chapel at the site has basalt blocks at its base, something that is highly unusual given that only the pharaohs themselves were allowed to use basalt in tomb construction, the archaeologists said.

Although Kaires’ sarcophagus was found in his tomb, his mummy has not been found yet, but excavations are ongoing.

The Czech Institute of Egyptology is based at Charles University in Prague. The archaeologists’ expedition to Abusir is led by Miroslav Bárta, who is a professor at the institute. The excavations are being carried out in cooperation with the Egyptian antiquities ministry.