21 - 27 June 2001
Issue No.539
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 21 - 27 June 2001 Issue No.539 |
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New finds come to light
Two noteworthy discoveries have been made, at Karnak and Saqqara. Nevine El-Aref looks into them
Chance often plays a role in important discoveries, as exemplified by the disclosure of Tutankhamun's tomb in Luxor, the royal treasures of Tanis and the Alexandrian catacombs, to mention just a few. These two new finds are no exception.
The area near the ninth pylon at Karnak in January 2000, below, and in April 2001, above, following restoration
photo: Commission Franco-EgyptienneThe Karnak strike was made two weeks ago when the American archaeological mission from San Antonio, Texas, unearthed several structures between the eighth and the ninth pylons. The items found span the history of the temple complex, a period of more than 2,000 years. In other words, they pre-date the earliest known structures at Karnak and continue up to the Roman period.
"The discovery was completely unexpected," mission head Charles Van Siclen said. The story of the find started a year ago, when the mission was excavating the "southern buildings" at Karnak searching for the foundation of the portico of Amenhotep II. Ruins of this portico had been found, along with the remains of walls and gates of different ages -- including a long mud- brick wall perhaps dating from the reign of Tuthmose III (1479-1425 BC) and two other perpendicular walls, abutting this east-west wall and enclosing a pit. The stratum was complex and difficult to understand, Van Siclen said, because fragmentary ruins of a limestone shrine of Sesostris I (1881-1842 BC) were also found.
"What was really surprising is that in the middle of the pit, which was empty, a furnace was built," he said. "It still contains ceramic cauldrons which bear traces of bronze, with the surfaces glazed by the intense heat.".
In the same area, an early Ptolemaic pit was found containing two fragments of a sandstone stela. These are decorated with the image of the god Amun, although the text, while naming him, does not name the person to whom it belonged. A small foundation deposit was found containing a piece of lapis, a tiny sheet of gold and a faience cartouche in the name of Ptolemy I Soter. There were also traces of a Roman building dating from 350 AD, Roman coins and a mass of early New Kingdom pottery.
What is surprising, is that all this material was discovered within a very small area. "The pottery indicates that this pylon (or gate tower) may date back to the Middle Kingdom, and it seems to have been rebuilt at the start of the New Kingdom," Siclen said. He suggested that this could be "the southern pylon" rebuilt by Amenhotep I and destroyed by Tuthmose III. "On the top of the remains of the pylon there is a baked-brick Roman grave, which will be excavated next year."
The Saqqara discovery was equally unexpected. An Egyptian team cleaning and upgrading an area east of the Valley Temple of Unas unearthed a head of a Pharaoh sculpted in fine quality white limestone. This proved to be the head of a statue of Unas himself, which fits a previously-discovered body of a sphinx found three years ago and left in situ in the Valley Temple. Other headless statues, six in number, were earlier found in the same area.
The 41-cm-high head of the Pharaoh shows unusual features: slightly quizzical eyes and a large mouth. He wears the nemes headdress with the royal uraeus at the centre. The head will be restored and affixed to the body to make a complete sphinx-effigy of Unas.
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