CAIRO – 22 September 2017: A study published on September 21 at the Journal Antiquity reveals the number of Ancient Egyptian statues of deities and animals uncovered in a pit near the Karnak Temple complex.
Archaeologists uncovered the site back in December 2014 and have been carefully excavating its contents, which were buried there well over 2000 years ago. The ritual burial site is known as a “favissa”, which refers to a gravesite specifically for statues. One of the objects uncovered was the sculpture of an Egyptian deity named Ptah, who was the god of craftsman and sculptors, that had deteriorated and was so laid to rest, as if it had died, to be replaced by a new statue.
In total, the pit contained around 38 objects, including 14 statues of the god Osiris, a limestone Sphinx and three baboon statues representing the god Thoth. These objects were made at different times, dating from various eras, such as the New Kingdom and the Ptolemaic eras.
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