The rise of Aten: this is the name of the city whose remains were found in Egypt, near Luxor. This was announced by the head of the archaeological mission and former Egyptian minister of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass. Aten has nothing to do with the Greek city of Athens, but refers to a deity from the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten. The city, long sought after but never found by many scholars’ missions, dates back to the reign of Amenofi III (14th century BC). According to Betsy Brian, professor of Egyptology at the University of Baltimore, this is the most important discovery after that of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Fortuitous discovery
Aten gives us a clue to the life of the ancient Egyptians and also helps us shed light on one of the greatest mysteries of that period: why the pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti decided to move from the previous capital which was located in Amarna, he added. Brian. In reality, the discovery was fortuitous, because Hawass’s team was looking for the mortuary temple of Tutankhamun and instead they found the largest administrative and industrial settlement of that period on the west bank of the Nile near Luxor and extends to the village of workers who they built the tombs of the Valley of the Kings and Queens.
The finds and dating
The artifacts found (rings, scarabs, colored ceramic vases and mud bricks bearing the seals with the Amenhotep III cartouche) allowed the dating of the city, while the hieroglyphic inscriptions found on clay caps of the wine vessels allowed precise dating. of the settlement. Two unusual burials were also found of a cow or bull and a person with his arms stretched out at his sides and with the remains of a rope wrapped around his knees. Further investigations are underway to understand the nature and purpose of these practices.
April 9, 2021 (change April 9, 2021 | 09:26)
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