Egypt announces new pharaonic discoveries in Luxor

The Star

4 hours ago

CAIRO, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday a number of pharaonic discoveries in Upper Egypt's Luxor Governorate, some of which date back to the 21st Dynasty of Egypt.
In a statement, the ministry said an Egyptian archaeological mission working in the Naga Abu Asba area of Karnak uncovered a massive mud-brick wall that dates back to the reign of King Menkheperre, one of the kings of the 21st Dynasty of Egypt, which spanned from 1076 BC to 944 BC.
Abdel-Ghaffar Wagdy, director general of Luxor Antiquities, said the wall is made up of mud-brick blocks, each stamped with the names of both the king and his wife. A sandstone gate was also found within the wall, he added.
Wagdy said that at the Naga Abu Asba site, various workshops and kilns for making bronze statues were discovered alongside a number of bronze Osirian statues of different sizes, coins, and amulets.
He said these discoveries help illustrate the area's function across various periods, suggesting it likely served as an industrial zone.
Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the mission uncovered a collection of small wooden coffins, believed to be used for children in an archeological site in the al-Asasif area of Qurna.
To better understand these finds, he said, an expert in human bones and wooden coffins will soon examine them to determine when the coffins were made and study the bones inside to learn the age, gender, and cause of death, ultimately providing a clearer picture of the entire excavation site.