Door to afterlife found in Egypt

A carved stone door which ancient Egyptians believed was the threshold to the afterlife has been discovered in Luxor, Egypt’s culture minister said.

The door belongs to the tomb of User, a powerful adviser to the 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut, Faruk Hosni said in a statement.

Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt between 1479 BC and 1458 BC, was the longest reigning female pharaoh.

The large red granite door is 1.75 metres high and 50 centimetres thick.

It is said to be engraved with religious texts and various titles used by User, including mayor of the city, vizier and prince.

Mansur Boraik, who headed the excavation mission, says the door “was reused during the Roman period”.

“It was removed from the tomb of User and used in the wall of a Roman structure,” he said.

-AFP

132 archaeological sites in Egypt not excavated

Washington, May 12 (ANI): Egypt’s Culture Minister Farouk Hosni has said that researches conducted via satellites have confirmed the existence of 132 archaeological sites in Egypt that witnessed no excavations until now.

Farouk Hosni said that Egypt shows full cooperation with the research teams to explore the archaeological sites, and has recently issued a number of laws seeking to stop the illegal digging in areas likely to contain the buried monuments.

He is pointing out that project of monuments photography via satellite is being implemented in collaboration with the National Authority for Remote Sensing, Space Sciences and Mubarak City for Scientific Research for the aerial photography and ground laser.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Zahi Hawas pointed out that satellites took photos for many archeological sites including Habu city. (ANI)

Archaeologists find 3,500 year old golden jewelry in Egyptian tomb

Washington, March 12 (ANI): Archaeologists in Egypt have found ancient golden jewelry in the tomb of a senior official who died about 3,500 years ago.

According to a report by the Voice of America, ancient golden jewelry found in a pharaonic era tomb thought to belong to a senior official under Egypt’s most powerful queen Hatshepsut, on the west bank of the Nile river in Luxor, Egypt.

Culture and antiquities officials said that an excavation team found five golden earrings and two rings in the tomb of the state treasurer who served during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut.
The walls of his burial chamber are decorated with texts from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Archaeologists made the discovery while digging in Luxor, along the banks of the Nile River. Luxor is one of Egypt’s most popular tourist sites.

It is famous for the Valley of the Kings, which contains several pharaohs’ tombs.

Earlier this month, Egyptian officials announced that Egyptian and European archaeologists in Luxor had discovered two statues of an ancient pharaoh.

According to Egypt’s archaeology chief Zahi Hawass, those statues were of King Amenhotep III, who also ruled about 3,500 years ago. (ANI)