Pharaonic carving found at Gebel el Silsila quarry

A team of Swedish archaeologists has discovered a rare 2,500-year-old relief depicting two pharaonic deities south of Cairo, Egyptian officials said on Tuesday.

Pharaonic carving found at the Gebel el Silsila quarry [Credit: The Gebel el Silsila Survey/MSA]

The discovery, one of several finds by a team from Sweden's Lund University, was made near Aswan, 850 kilometres from the Egyptian capital.

The relief is one of the "few available sculptures combining the two deities - God Amen-Re and God Thot," Ali al-Asfar, head of Upper Egypt's antiquities, told the AFP news agency.

Thot, the ancient god of wisdom, is depicted with the body of a man and face of an ibis sacred bird.

The relief was found in a quarry north of Aswan used to supply stone to build the famed Karnak and Luxor temples in the city of Luxor.

The other finds include a sphinx-shaped statue and another relief showing two obelisks being transported which experts say could date to the time of 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut.

For more information visit The Gebel el Silsila Survey website.

Source: The Local [January 07, 2015]