More than 2,000 mummified rams’ heads dating back to the Ptolemaic era have been discovered in the Temple of Ramses II in the ancient city of Abydos in southern Egypt, authorities said on Sunday. Mummies of sheep, dogs, goats, cows, gazelles and mongooses were also exhumed by a team of American archaeologists from New York University on this site famous for its temples and necropolises, announced the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism in a press release.
According to the director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, these discoveries will make it possible to know more about the temple of Ramses II and the activities that took place there between its construction under the sixth dynasty of the Old Kingdom (between 2 374 and 2140 BC) and the Ptolemaic period (323 to 30 BC). For Professor Sameh Iskandar, head of the American mission and quoted in the same press release, these rams’ heads are “offerings”, indicating “a cult to Ramses II celebrated 1,000 years after his death”.
Besides the remains of mummified animals, the team discovered the remains of a palace with walls about five meters thick dating from the Sixth Dynasty, as well as several statues, papyri, remains of ancient trees, leather clothes and shoes. 550 km south of Cairo and famous in antiquity for having housed the tomb of Osiris, the god of the dead, the predynastic site of Abydos is known for its temples, notably that of Seti I and its necropolises.
The Egyptian authorities have been regularly announcing archaeological discoveries in recent times, described by some experts as announcement effects with a political and economic impact more than a scientific one. Because the country of nearly 105 million inhabitants in serious economic crisis relies on tourism, which employs two million people and generates more than 10% of GDP, to restore its finances: its government is targeting 30 million tourists per year. by 2028, compared to 13 million before Covid-19. However, many critics point to the dilapidated state of certain archaeological sites and museums.
