Full royal celebration hall dating back to Ramses II era uncovered

CAIRO – 26 October 2018: The archaeological mission working at an archaeological site in El-Matareya found a full ancient royal celebration hall dating back to the era of Ramses II.




The royal celebration hall was discovered during excavation work performed by the Ain Shams University archaeological mission headed by Mamdouh al-Damati.

Damati referred that the hall was used for holding royal celebrations such as the Jubilee feast, and is considered the first of its kind in the New Kingdom.





Meanwhile, an important collection of the soft-brick buildings was discovered, where they found a large storage pottery jar.

In April, a part of the ancient royal celebration hall dating back to the era of Ramses II was discovered at El-Matareya district.

“The hall was unearthed below the soft-brick buildings and commercial residential areas that date back to the third transition period, particularly the 22nd and 23rd dynasties’ eras,” Damati recounted.

The discovered hall has a rectangular floor of 2.9 m × 1.9 m, consisting of limestone tiles, and rising 80 cm above the ground.

Damati said that the mission also uncovered many other artifacts, including pottery, and some stone blocks with hieroglyphic inscriptions and the cartouche of King Ramses III engraved on one of them.

He explained that this discovery reveals that such celebrations took place in the Re Temple at this specific area. He added that the hall was discovered inside the palace that used to host royal celebrations.

Damati elaborated that the mission members also unearthed a group of brick walls of a multi-story building, pointing out that it depicts the three phases of construction dating back to the era of King Ramses II.

The archaeological mission discovered a number of valuable artifacts, such as five stone blocks carved from the reign of King Ramses II, a painting of the high priests of the Sun Prince Nept Ma Raa, in addition to some pottery figures dating back to the 27th Dynasty, one of which was a small dog-shaped statue.

Damati stated that an amulet with a human head for a person named Thi from the Roman era is considered one of the most important pieces discovered.