Campaign documents fixed antiquities in Tanis, Egypt

CAIRO – 18 September 2017: The Central Administration of Archaeological Documentation has started documenting the monuments of Tanis in the Sharkia Governorate, in line with a campaign launched by the Ministry of Antiquities to document fixed antiquities in Egypt.

Documenting the monuments of Tanis is very important as the area was the residence for kings of the 21st and 22nd Dynasties in Ancient Egypt. It is home to many monuments, including cemeteries, with numerous religious texts and scriptures written on their walls alongside four of the tombs belonging to Psusennes I (1039-991 BC), Amenemope (993-984 BC), Osorkon II (874-850 BC), Sheshonq III (825-733 BC) and another two unknown tombs, said the center’s Director-General Hisham El-Leithy.

The hawk-headed silver coffin of Sheshonq II was also found in Psusennes' tomb, as well as the coffin and sarcophagus of Amenemope.


Remains of the huge temple - Official Facebook Page

In addition, temples are found in Tanis with some bearing remains of the huge temple of the god Amun such as decorated blocks, columns, obelisks, statues, and pieces carved with hieroglyphic texts and religious scenes.


Pieces carved with hieroglyphic texts and religious scenes – Official Facebook Page

Tanis is a city in the North-Eastern Nile Delta in Ancient Egypt, which served as a parallel religious center to Thebes in the Third Intermediate Period. The city was dubbed “Janet” during the reign of the Pharaohs. The name “Tanis” is derived from the word “Jan” in the ancient Egyptian language and the Coptic name “San;” the word that has been mentioned in the Old Testament in reference to the capital of the kings of the 21st and the 22nd dynasties in Egypt.

The heads of the Central Administration of Archaeological Documentation, Nour al-Din Abdul Samad and Nagi Naguib, came up with the idea of the project as Egypt does not have documents for the majority of fixed antiquities such as mosques, temples, churches, and houses, and many antiquities were unknown, Naguib told Egypt Today.

In cooperation with the Egyptian Antiquities Registration Center in Zamalek, Cairo, the project started nearly eight months ago in order to document the exact number of antiquities in Egypt, prevent any theft, and to recognize any environmental risks on these antiquities, Naguib elaborated.

Around 2,300 antiquities have been documented thus far.

The project has several stages. In the first stage, a comprehensive inventory is carried out for all antiquities across Egypt, then information on anything related to antiquities is collected to be put in three-dimensional documents and maps, added Naguib.