Renowned Egyptian Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, the head of the joint archaeological mission affiliated with the Zahi Hawass Center for Archaeology and Heritage, in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has announced numerous archaeological discoveries in a press conference in Luxor.
Hawass stated that after three years of research and excavations, which began in September 2022, the mission has made several significant archaeological findings in the area at the beginning of the causeway leading to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari.
The mission uncovered part of the foundations of the Valley Temple, which was located at the entrance to the valley. This temple served as the main gateway to the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, known as “Djeser-Djeseru,” regarded as one of the most beautiful pharaonic temples ever built.
Hawass highlighted that the team discovered a large number of reliefs from the Valley Temple, considered some of the rarest and finest examples of artistic carving from the era of Queen Hatshepsut and Thutmose III. Comparable examples are scarce, with only a few found in the Luxor and Metropolitan Museums. The newly discovered royal reliefs are the most complete remnants of the Valley Temple, which was demolished during the Ramesside period and the 19th Dynasty.
Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, reported that the mission discovered more than 100 stone stelae made of limestone and sandstone. These stelae feature inscriptions of Queen Hatshepsut’s names and royal cartouches, including her birth name and throne name, and are part of the foundation deposits, confirming the temple’s ownership. Among these, a unique limestone stela was found with a raised-relief inscription of the name and title of Hatshepsut’s chief architect, Senenmut, described as “Overseer of the Palace.” The discovery of these complete foundation deposits is considered one of the mission’s most significant finds since the American archaeologist Herbert Winlock unearthed the last complete set of Hatshepsut’s foundation deposits at the funerary temple site between 1923 and 1931.
Hawass also announced the discovery of several rock-cut tombs from the Middle Kingdom (2050–1710 BCE). At the Valley Temple site, the mission revealed the historical sequence of the area, which began during the Middle Kingdom and continued until the early 18th Dynasty. During this period, royal architect Senenmut ordered the cessation of burials in the area and selected it as the location for the Valley Temple and part of the extended causeway connecting the Valley Temple to the funerary temple. Senenmut buried the cemetery beneath large amounts of sand as part of the site preparation for constructing the Valley Temple.
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