Part three ... 2018: The year of archaeological discoveries

CAIRO – 31 December 2018: Early 2018, Egyptian minister of Antiquities Khaled Anany announced 2018 as the year of archaeological discoveries. Anany added that every week and every day in some cases, an archaeological discovery is revealed; hence, Egypt should be introduced to the global stage in a positive way.

Egypt Today provides readers with a timeline of 2018's archaeological discoveries.

September

On September 2, one of the oldest villages ever located in the Nile Delta was uncovered. Discoveries from the Neolithic period are substantially anonymous in this area, so this discovery is of great importance.

The importance of this discovery is based on the fact that these buildings, which date back to the Neolithic period, are not known in this region, and were only discovered by the Egyptian Exploration Society in one location, namely Sais in Gharbia Governorate. A dozen silos containing a huge quantity of animal bones and botanical remains was also discovered.

On September 5, a rocky cemetery, located at the north east of Senusret I pyramid was uncovered.


On September 16, a sphinx statue made of sandstone was discovered in Temple of KomOmbo in Aswan.

The discovered sphinx most probably dates back to the Ptolemaic era and it was found in the south-eastern side of KomOmbo Temple in the area between the outer wall of the temple and the archaeological hill.

On September 18, a tomb dating back to the late period of ancient Egypt was uncovered. The tomb contained a sculpted sandstone sarcophagus with a well-preserved mummy wrapped in linen among other things.

On September 20, 20 tombs from the Graco-Roman period dating back to late ancient Egypt and early Christianity were uncovered.

The three other tombs were found in the area where remains of clay sarcophagi were unearthed, some of which have paintings while others are inscribed with hieroglyphic texts.

During the archaeological cleaning of the tomb the mission found a collection of mummies haphazardly buried, suggesting that the tomb was used as a communal burial.

Also the head of an unidentified sandstone statue was also uncovered along with a collection of amulets made of faience.

On September 25, The Egyptian archaeological mission in Mit Rahina discovered a huge archaeological building in Demerdash basin area located 400 km north of Mit Rahina Museum.

The discovered building was built of brick blocks supported by huge blocks of limestone, whose foundations, external walls and inner staircase were built with red brick molds.

Another building affiliated to the huge building was uncovered. The second building contains a large Romanian bathroom and a room that might have been used for performing religious rites, which refers to the possibility of the existence of domiciles.

Inside this room the mission discovered offerings pots holder made of limestone decorated on one side with the head of the God, Bes. The room also contains basins for disinfection and small columns of limestone.

To the north of the building and inside the eastern wall, a limestone entrance with a width of 112 cm, and a height of 106 cm was discovered. Another entrance, leading to a staircase built on two axes from the west to the east and from the south to the north, was uncovered to the right side of the former entrance.

Furthermore, a room attached to the outer wall of the building used for servants was discovered in the northeastern corner of the building; the room contains a baking oven tile similar to that used in modern Egyptian villages.

On September 27, two ancient tombs containing two mummified corpses were uncovered.


October

On October 1, two ancient paintings made of sandstone were uncovered, one of which belongs to the second king of the 19th dynasty King Seti I while the other belongs to King Ptolemy IV.

The first painting is 2.30 m in height and 1 m wide, with a thickness of 30 cm. It was found broken, divided into two parts but its inscriptions and writings were in good condition.

The second painting was found broken into several parts, with a height of 3.25 m, width of 1.15 m and 30 cm in thickness.

The first painting depicts King Seti I standing in front of the great god Horus and the goddess Sobek; this scene is topped with a winged sun as a symbol of protection.

Below this scene is a text that consists of 26 lines written with a hieroglyphic language, in which the name of King Horemheb is mentioned several times.

Regarding the painting of King Ptolemy IV it showed the king standing, holding a stick’s end is in the form of Horus while behind him stands his wife Arsinoe III, in front him the triad of the temple, and above them the winged sun, and below a text written with hieroglyphic that consists of 28 lines.

On October 17, The unique 3,000-year-old tattooed mummy, uncovered in Deir El-Madina in Luxor’s west bank in 2014, belongs to an elite woman who may have lived in a period between 1,300 B.C. and 1,070 B.C. and died at the age range of 25 - 34. 30 tattoos of different figures such as a wild bull, a sheep, a lotus flower, a baboon and the Eye of Horus were depicted all over the mummy’s body.

It is believed that the woman had drawn many tattoos on her body to show the significant religious role she may have played during her lifetime.



On October 25, 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.


November

On November 6, a number of inscription fragments and fragments of smaller statuary were uncovered at the Temple of the Sun in Matariya.

The discovered fragments date back to the 12th and 20th dynasties as well as the Third Intermediate Period. The discovered inscriptions refer to the creator God Atum as being responsible for the flood of the Nile.

On November 10,three tombs dating back to the Pharaonic modern-state era of Egypt and four other ancient ones containing a group of artifacts including mummified cats "Bastet", were unearthed at Giza's Saqqara necropolis. Bastet was a goddess of the ancient Egyptian religion.
On November 14, a grave of a woman and her fetus dating back 3,700 years was uncovered at Kom Ombo, Aswan.

December

On December 7 The archaeological mission working in the archaeological site of al-Khalwa area, Fayoum, has uncovered a burial well, located to the east of the Prince Waji’s.

On December 13 A new cemetery dating back to the 18th Dynasty was unearthed by the Swedish archaeological mission at Gebel el-Silsilain KomOmbo.

On December 15 An “exceptionally well-preserved” tomb belonging to a Fifth Dynasty royal priest was discovered at Saqqara by an Egyptian archaeological mission.

On December 30, The archeological mission affiliated to the Ministry of Antiquities working in Tel el-Deir in Damietta unearthed a collection of red and cylindrical clay coffins.