2024-07-24 09:03:39
A joint French-Egyptian team found the carvings underwater south of Aswan, an area that was flooded in the 1960s and 1970s. during the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Before the flooding, UNESCO led a major effort to capture and remove as many archaeological remains as possible from the area. However, many artifacts could not be moved in time and were soon flooded.
Aswan was important to the ancient Egyptians because at certain times it was near the southern border of the country, and there were a number of important temples nearby. Among them is Abu Simbel: the site of four colossal statues of Ramses II (lived 1303-1213 BC), each about 21 m tall. Aswan also has the Philae temple complex, where in 394 the last hieroglyphic writing of the Egyptians was created.
The aim of the team’s work is to identify and capture the surviving inscriptions and carvings, which are now underwater, Egypt Tourism and Antiquities said. in the ministry’s announcement. To do this, team members dive to the remains and record them using photography, video and photogrammetry, a method that takes dozens of photos of the object, which can then be used to create a digital 3D model.
Recently discovered images of pharaohs include Amenhotep III (reigned c. 1390-1352 BC), Thutmose IV (reigned c. 1400-1390 BC), Psamtik II (reigned c. 595-589 BC) and Apries (ruled c. 589-570 BC) – images of rulers of the 18th and 26th dynasties. However, little is known about what the inscriptions say or what the carvings look like – but they are noted to be well preserved. More remains are likely to be found as the team’s work continues.
Jitse Dijkstra, a professor of classical and religious studies at the University of Ottawa (Canada), who was not involved in the research, says the findings are interesting, but more information is needed to know their significance. William Carruthers, a lecturer in the School of Philosophy, History and Interdisciplinary Studies at Britain’s University of Essex, who is also not involved in the research, says the findings show that more remains survived the flood than UNESCO thought possible.
Archaeologist Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano, who led the excavations at the necropolis near Aswan and is a professor of Egyptology and Near Eastern archeology at the University of Jaén in Spain, says that Aswan was an important site for granite extraction, so it is possible that the new finds were intended to be transported to another part of Egypt. Alternatively, they may have been part of temples near Aswan.
Parengta pagal „Live Science“.
2024-07-24 09:03:39