An excavation team from New York University in Egypt proves the influence of the most powerful pharaoh as if he had been created 1,000 years after his death
He revealed over 2,000 sheep-headed mummies in the temple of Ramses II in the ancient city of Abydos, Egypt. Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Facebook Snapshot
Around 2,000 sheep-headed mummies, believed to be from the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305 BC-30 BC), have been excavated at the ancient city of Abydos along the Nile in central Egypt.
Egypt’s Department of Tourism and Antiquities announced on the 25th (local time) that an archaeological excavation team from New York University in the United States has excavated approximately 2,000 sheep-headed mummies from the storehouse of Ramses II’s temple in Abydos. In addition to sheep, dogs, wild goats, cattle, gazelles, and mummies with mongoose heads were also found.
These animal head mummies are believed to have been used as a sacrifice to Ramses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC). The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the excavation suggests that the cult of Ramses II continued until about 1,000 years after his death. Ramses II, the 3rd pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, is considered the most powerful pharaoh in the history of the Egyptian dynasty.
The excavation team also discovered artefacts such as a large palace structure with walls about 5 meters thick, statues, papyrus, and leather clothing, which are estimated to have been built during the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt’s Old Kingdom (2345-2181 BC). Dr Samey Iskander, an archaeologist who led the excavation team, explained that the wall structures could help to reconstruct what ancient Abydos looked like before the construction of Ramses II’s temple.
Reporter Kim Soo-hyun newsoo@donga.com
