An American archaeological team affiliated with New York University has made a significant discovery in the area of the Temple of King Ramses II in Abydos.
They uncovered over 2,000 mummified rams' heads from the Ptolemaic era and a large building from the Sixth Dynasty. The discovery was announced by Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Temple of King Ramesses II
Dr. Waziri emphasized the importance of the discovery, which provides valuable insight into the history of the Temple of King Ramesses II in Abydos and the surrounding area.
The temple has significant archaeological and historical importance, contributing to knowledge of the site and the life it witnessed for over two thousand years, from the Sixth Dynasty to the Ptolemaic era.
The mission also found several mummified animals, including ewes, dogs, wild goats, cows, deer, and mongooses, in one of the newly discovered storage rooms inside the northern area of the temple.
The mission's leader, Dr. Sameh Iskandar, suggests that the numerous mummified rams may have been utilized as votive offerings during the Ptolemaic era's unheard-of worship of rams in Abydos.
It could also mean that King Ramesses II was highly regarded in Abydos and that this veneration persisted a thousand years after his passing.
The enormous structure was found to be from the Sixth Dynasty and has a distinctive architectural layout with around five meters wide walls.
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A Glimpse of the Old Kingdom
Dr. Iskandar noted that the building's discovery will contribute significantly to rethinking the activities and architecture of the Old Kingdom in Abydos and the nature and shape of the place and activities that were taking place before Ramesses II established his temple.
The team also succeeded in exposing some of the northern walls around the temple and its appurtenances, according to Professor Mohamed Abdel-Badi, head of the Central Department of Upper Egypt Antiquities at the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
This calls for changing what has been entrenched in the minds of scholars and researchers about the shape of the temple of King Ramses II and what was described and drawn for it.
It has been circulated among scholars and researchers since its discovery over 150 years ago.
The team also found parts of statues, parts of papyri, remains of ancient trees, clothes, and leather shoes.
The mission will carry out more excavations there in order to understand the history of the location and to examine and document the data obtained from the current excavation season.
The discovery is anticipated to significantly advance the existing knowledge on the location and the life that existed there from the Sixth Dynasty to the Ptolemaic period.
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