Posted on 01/06/2015 2:34:42 PM PST by SunkenCiv
A rock inscription portraying the rare transfer of two obelisks from a quarry has been unearthed at Gebel el Silsila, Egypt's largest sandstone quarries located to the north of Aswan, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty announced Monday.
The discovery is the result of the Gebel el Silsila Survey Project, an epigraphic survey mission of Lund University, Sweden that has been active in the site since early 2014, according to the statement.
Scenes depicting the phases and the technique of detaching blocks, loading them in sailing boats before sending them to their destinations through the River Nile, have been also discovered in the site...
Stables, several rock-cut shelters along with a sphinx, similar to those aligned at the Sphinx avenue connecting between Luxor and Karnak temples, have been discovered in the site, according to Dr. Maria Nilsson, director of the Gebel el Silsila Survey Project.
"The project basically aims to document Gebel el Silsila's epigraphic material in order to develop a database, catalogue and a topographic map for the site to have a better understanding of the area, its ancient visitors and what function and meaning the quarry marks had. The project also focuses on quarry marks and textual inscriptions carved upon the sandstone quarry faces," said Nilsson.
Gebel Silsila is a rocky gorge between Kom Ombo and Edfu villages where the Nile narrows and high sandstone cliffs come down to the edge of the river. Several shrines were cut in the area by the New Kingdom Pharaohs Tuthmose I, Hatshepsut, Thutmosis III and Horemheb, archaeologist Sherif el-Sabban told The Cairo Post Tuesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at thecairopost.com ...
Whoops, forgot to add “Cairo Post”. We really need an edit function around here.
If ISIS gets there they’ll obliterate it ....
That wall was probably completely flat when they carved that relief.
I was thinking the same thing. A little bit of time has passed.
Soon to be blown to bits by ISIS
Speaking of passing time, why in an area where most of your time is just spent surviving do people spend the time to carve the artworks into solid rock ?
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