Archaeological mission studies 2 ancient pieces discovered in Kom Ombo

CAIRO – 16 August 2018: The Egyptian archaeological mission is studying the two ancient pieces discovered in the Temple of Kom Ombo, Aswan, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri said on Thursday.

Waziri remarked that the study will be finished soon to be moved to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Al Fustat.

He added that the two pieces, made of sandstone, belong to King Ptolemy XII; one of them is dome-shaped and topped with a sun disk bearing the image of Ptolemy XII and his wife the fifth Cleopatra with their daughters. The piece contains 29 lines of hieroglyphic writing.

He pointed out that the other piece has the image of Ptolemy XII holding in one hand a whip and the other a prisoner before the triad Kom Ombo. The piece also has two texts; 29 lines of hieroglyphic writing and 33 lines of Demotic.

The Egyptian Commission affiliated with the Ministry of Antiquities discovered on Wednesday the two ancient pieces that date back to the Ptolemaic era.

The discovery was made while the commission was undergoing their current works of removing groundwater from under the Temple of Kom Ombo in the city of Aswan, south of Egypt.


The Egyptian archaeological mission is studying the two ancient pieces discovered in the Temple of Kom Ombo, Aswan – Ministry of Antiquities’ official Facebook Page

The Ptolemaic Kingdom was founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter (Macedonian General), who declared himself pharaoh of Egypt and created a powerful Hellenistic dynasty that ruled an area stretching from southern Syria to Cyrene and south to Nubia.

It is worth noting that each discovered piece is two meters in height, and consists of numerous codes and carvings that the commission is working on decoding.

The national project of reducing groundwater in the Temple of Kom Ombo and Edfo in Aswan cost almost $9 million.

The governor of Aswan is co-operating with numerous local and international entities in order to convert Aswan into a modernized touristic hub. Egyptians are very eager for the completion of the conversion and to restore the city’s previous solid position among international touristic hotspots worldwide.