Egypt archaeologists discover Ramses II inscriptions in Temple of Ra

Cairo regularly announces new discoveries to kickstart interest in ancient Egypt and revive the country's struggling tourism sector.

Society

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

22 November, 2018

Archaeologist working on a block of limestone at Temple of Ra [AP]

Egyptian archaeologists digging in Cairo have found two blocks of limestone with inscriptions belonging to an engineer who worked for Ramses II, one of the most celebrated and longest ruling pharoahs in ancient Egypt.

The Antiquities Ministry said on Wednesday that the artefacts were found in the Temple of Ra, the ancient Egyptian god of the sun, in Cairo's Matariya neighbourhood.

Egyptologist Mamdouh el-Damaty says the inscriptions show that the engineer had supervised the building of a booth with a seat used by Ramses II during celebrations and public gatherings. Ramses II ruled for more than 60 years, from roughly 1279-1213 BC.

Egypt frequently announces archaeological discoveries, hoping to spur interest in its ancient treasures and revive tourism, which was hit hard by political turmoil following the 2011 uprising.

Archaeologists have so far this year excavated a number of relics across Egypt that include a 4,400-year-old tomb at the Giza plateau and an ancient necropolis in Minya, south of Cairo.

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Earlier this month, archaeologists discovered seven sarcophagi near Cairo at the edge of the step pyramid complex in Saqqara, with some dating back more than 6,000 years.

Among the discoveries were dozens of cat mummies along with 100 wooden, gilded statues of cats and one in bronze dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet.

Authorities in Egypt hope new archaeological finds will help revive the country's struggling tourism industry, which has suffered in the wake of the 2011 Arab uprisings and post July 2013 coup that toppled the country's first democratically elected government led by Islamist Mohammed Morsi.

According to official data, Egypt received 8.3 million visitors in 2017, a figure dwarfed by the 2010 pre-revolution figure of 14.7 million.

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