During a diving expedition in the Nile River, archaeologists in Egypt discovered rock carvings showing depictions of several ancient Egyptian pharaohs, along with hieroglyphic inscriptions.
A joint French-Egyptian team found the underwater carvings south of Aswan in an area that was flooded when the Aswan High Dam was built between the 1960s and 1970s. Before the flood, there was a major effort led by UNESCO to record and moved as much as possible. archaeological remains as much as possible from the area. However, many objects could not be moved in time and were quickly absorbed by the construction project.
Aswan was important to the ancient egyptians for at times it was close to the southern border of the country and a number of important temples are located nearby. This includes Abu Simbel, a site that has four colossal statues of Ramesses II (lived 1303 to 1213 BC) each about 69 feet (21 meters) tall. Aswan is also home to the Philae temple complex, where the last Egyptian hieroglyphic inscription was written in 394 AD.
The team’s work aims to identify and record the surviving inscriptions and carvings that are now underwater, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a translation. STATEMENT. To do this, team members are diving down to the remains and recording them using photography, video and photogrammetry, a technique that involves taking dozens of pictures of an object that can later be used to create a 3D digital model of his.
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Recently found depictions of pharaohs include those of Amenhotep III (reigned c. 1390 to 1352 BC), Thutmose IV (reigned c. 1400 to 1390 BC), Psamtik II (reigned c. 595 to 589 BC), and Apries (reigned ca. 595 to 589 BC) to 5850 BC. ) — rulers from the 18th and 26th dynasties, ministry officials wrote in the statement. The statement had little information about what the inscriptions say or what the carvings look like, but noted that they are well preserved. More remains are likely to be found as the team’s work continues.
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Live Science reached out to scientists who weren’t involved in the research to get their thoughts on the carvings. Jitse Dijkstraa professor of classics and religious studies at the University of Ottawa, said the findings are interesting, but more information is needed to know their significance. William Carruthersa lecturer at the School of Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Essex in the UK, said the findings show that more remains survived the flood than UNESCO thought possible when the organization carried out rescue campaigns in the 1960s and 1970s. .
Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano, an archaeologist leading excavations at a necropolis near Aswan and a professor of Egyptology and Near Eastern Archeology at the University of Jaen in Spain, told Live Science that Aswan was an important quarry site for granite, and it is possible that the remains of newly found to be destined for transport to another part of Egypt. Alternatively, they could have been part of temples near Aswan.
Live Science also attempted to contact archaeologists involved with the work, but they did not respond by the time of publication.
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