Cairo –
More than 2,000 Ptolemaic ram-head mummies and palace-like Old Kingdom structures have been discovered at the temple of Ramesses II in the ancient city of Abydos in southern Egypt.
A ram with mummified sheep, dogs, wild goats, cows, gazelles and mongooses believed to be a votive offering to mark Ramesses II’s continued homage nearly 1,000 years after his death was found in the temple along with the head of According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities,
The discovery will extend knowledge of the site over a period of more than 2,000 years, up to the Ptolemaic period, he added.The Ptolemaic dynasty spanned about three centuries until the Roman conquest in 30 BC
Located in Egypt’s Sohag governorate about 270 miles (435 km) south of Cairo, Abydos is one of Egypt’s major but less-visited sites.
It was a necropolis of early ancient Egyptian royalty and a center of pilgrimage to worship the god Osiris.
The excavations were conducted by a mission from the Ancient World Institute at New York University.
Alongside the mummified animal remains, the team found several statues, papyrus, ancient wooden relics, leather clothing, and shoes, as well as an approximately five-meter-thick sarcophagus from the 6th dynasty of the Old Kingdom. I found a large palace structure with walls.
The structure could help “regain a sense of the ancient landscape of Abydos before the Temple of Ramesses II was built,” said Sameh Iskander, the mission director.
(Written by Adam Makary, edited by Aidan Lewis)
