Antiquity News from Egypt – May 2008
Remnants of Pharaonic temple and Romanian church discovered in Aswan
Part of Khnum Temple in Elephantine Island to the second side of “Cataract” Hotel in Aswan city was discovered 40 meters deep under the Nile water.
The Egyptian archaeological mission also unearthed part of a church and two granite columns.
Egypt announces new archaeological discovery in Luxor’s Valley of Kings
Egypt announced Thursday 10/4/2008 the discovery of a quartzite Ushabti figure and the cartouche of King Seti I, second king of the 19th Dynasty (1314-1304 BC).They were found inside the corridor of the tomb of Seti I (KV 17) in the Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s west bank.
A number of clay vessels were also unearthed along with fragments of the tomb’s wall paintings which may have fallen after its discovery. During the process of cleaning the tomb, it was also revealed that the length of the corridor measures 136 meters, and not 100 meters as the tomb’s discoverer, Giovanni Battista Belzoni, originally mentioned in his report, Hawass said.
First River Nile survey for sunken treasures
Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said that the first survey for sunken treasures at the River Nile will take place within the coming few months.
Hosni said the survey will be conducted in the area between Aswan and Luxor.
"We will use state-of-the-art equipment in searching for artifacts like Pharaonic statues and obelisks that probably fell into the water during the establishment of the temples of Karnak, Luxor and others," the Minister said.
He said that an Egyptian team of young archeologists will be assigned for the job to enlist their experience in surveys they had conducted under the Red Sea and the Mediterranean to recover Roman or Coptic monuments.
Greek temple discovered in Alexandria
A team of archaeologists have unearthed a Greek temple in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, showing that the Greeks worshipped Pharaonic deities more than 2,500 years ago.
An official of the expedition said that the temple was found during the renovation of an area of Alexandria with the relics of the temple unearthed evidence that Greeks were influenced by the ancient Egyptian civilization.
He added that the Greeks believed in the holy trinity of Isis, Osiris and the child Horus, developing these gods after Alexander the great conquered the city in 332 BC.
Egypt’s Sunken Treasures’ exhibition goes to Madrid
The treasures will be on display in a special 4,000-square-metre (43,000-square-foot) area in the city’s former slaughterhouse, said Alicia Moreno, in charge of culture in Madrid’s city hall.
The artifacts are from the legendary lost cities of Herakleion and Canopus, and a submerged part of the port of Alexandria.
They disappeared in the eighth century AD when the cities were submerged by an earthquake or other natural disaster, sinking to the seabed near Alexandria.
Spending thousands of hours under water, the French-led team of archeological divers brought to the surface gold jewellery, coins, heads of sphinxes and the biggest statue of Hapy, the god of the Nile, ever found in Egypt.
The artifacts span from the days of the last pharaohs to Alexander the Great and the period of Greek rule to the Roman conquest then to the Byzantine times until the beginning of the age of Islam.
Ministerial decree to consider “Tal el-Masharba” as a monumental place
Egypt’s Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif issued a ministerial decree to consider Tal el-Masharba area in Dahab as an archeological area and to be subject to the Monument Protection Law.
The area includes Dahab’s harbor in Anbat era in the 1st and 2nd century to serve trade between East and West. Zahi Hawas Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Antiquities said that the harbor was discovered by South Sinai Islamic and Coptic Monumental Authority in their excavations from 1989 to January 2008.
Abd el-Reheem Rehan, head of Dahab Antiques
area said that the monumental excavations in Sinai emphasize its Egyptian, Arab and Islamic identity.
He added that the excavations include a lighthouse, good storages and trade service offices.
12 Egyptian artifacts on display at Expo Zaragoza 2008
The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has approved the display of 12 Egyptian artifacts at the Expo Zaragoza 2008 due in Spain June 14 for three months.
Minister of Industry and Trade Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed and the Egyptian Embassy in Madrid have asked the SCA to approve the display of the 12 antiques in the exhibition which will be inaugurated by the Spanish King and Queen.
Expo Zaragoza is an International Exposition organized by the B.I.E., the French abbreviation for the International Expositions Bureau (Bureau International des Expositions).
The Exposition has 140 pavilions.
The Expo Zaragoza 2008 site will host 4,529 different shows in 13 different venues during the 93 days of the event.
Added to this figure are more than 1,000 performances that comprise the participating countries’ cultural programs.
For further information, please visit our website at:
www.southsinai.com
www.egyptholidays.com
May 5, 2008
Posted in: Egypt