Egypt – where there are Archaeological Discoveries Every week!
Archaeological discovery in Saqqara
Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, announced that Egyptian archaeologists, performing routine conservation work at the southern side of Saqqara’s step pyramid (2687-2668 BC), have stumbled upon what is believed to be a deep hole full of the remains of animals and birds. The mission has also found that the hole’s floor is covered with a layer of plaster.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), has stated that the mission unearthed a large quantity of golden fragments during their restoration work at the southern tomb of Djoser’s pyramid. These may have been used by the ancient Egyptians of the Late Period to decorate wooden sarcophagi or to cover carttonage. Thirty granite blocks were also discovered, each weighing five tons. These blocks, Dr. Hawass explained, belonged to the granite sarcophagus that once housed Djoser’s wooden sarcophagus – the final resting place of the king’s mummy.
While cleaning the internal corridors of the pyramid, the mission has also found limestone blocks bearing the names of King Djoser’s daughters, as well as wooden instruments, remains of wooden statues, bone fragments, the remains of a mummy, and different sizes of clay vessels.
Islamic Cairo restoration work complete
The Ministry of Culture is set to hold soon a special ceremony to celebrate the end of the restoration work in el-Moez Ledinullah el-Fatimi Street, which has been turned into an open museum for Islamic antiquities at a cost of about LE35 million.
This major project has helped restore the magnificent architecture in this famous street in Islamic Cairo.
Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni explained that the purpose of this project, paid for by the State, is part of a bigger plan to develop Islamic Cairo and save 517 unique Islamic monuments battered by the earthquake that hit Cairo in October 1992.
The project in el-Moez Ledinullah el-Fatimi Street involved overhauling 34 ancient buildings and transforming it into an open museum for I According to Minister Hosni, the Government had earmarked LE850 million for the entire project to restore Islamic Cairo, a task assigned to the Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with other ministries and authorities. “Because of el-Moez Ledinullah el-Fatimi Street’s historical value, it has been given much attention.
It is now an open museum for the pedestrians only, and all the workshops in the street, which clashed with its historic nature, have gone,” Hosni added. He said that lorries were banned from the street between 9am and 12am, while electronic gates had been installed in all the entrances to and exits from the street to control the traffic flow.
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Ancient military town dating back to 26th Dynasty discovered in Ismailiya
Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni said an archeological mission discovered the remnants of an ancient military town in the governorate of Ismailiya.
The discovered military town dates back to the 26th Dynasty (664-625 BC).
It was found in Tel Defna between Al-Manzala Lake and the Suez Canal.
The area had been chosen by king Rameses II to avoid attacks from the eastern borders.
In addition, the area was used as crossing point by trade convoys coming from east . The discovered military city belongs to king Ibsemalik.
A Beautiful Mosaic in the New Library of Alexandria
This fragment of a mosaic floor, showing a dog alongside an overturned bronze jug, was found during the construction of the New Library of Alexandria. It is now part of the library’s museum. The mosaic is extremely detailed; the dog’s red collar can clearly be seen and the artist has carefully modelled the reflection of light on the bronze jug. It likely dates to the Second Century BC.
July 10, 2009
Posted in: Egypt