New discoveries at Luxor temple

Egyptian restorers have accidentally discovered a collection of New Kingdom pillars, lintels and reliefs in the country’s southern tourist city of Luxor, Culture Minister Farouq Hosni announced on Thursday.

The collection was discovered within the internal walls of the Abul Hagag El-Luxory mosque, built on top of the open court of Luxor temple by restorers from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) while restoring the mosque and its mausoleum, a SCA statement quoted Hosni as saying.

Meanwhile, SCA secretary general Zahi Hawas confirmed that the newly discovered collection, which revealed an important part of the history of Luxor Temple, dates back to the reign of King Ramses II in the nineteenth Dynasty from 1,304 B.C. to 1,237 B.C.

According to the SCA statement, among the most important reliefs were those featuring Ramses II while offering god Amun Re’ two obelisks to be installed at the temples front facade, one of which is now at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

Another relief shows three statues of Ramses II wearing his formal suit and white crown, while the other one shows a type of ancient Egyptian writing known as iconography.

Located some 700 km south to the Egyptian capital Cairo and built by kings from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties, Luxor Temple has been a center of worship for religions from the time of Pharaohs through the Christian and Islamic eras.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 22nd, 2007 at 8:41 am