This Amenemhat I carving dates back about 4,000 years and was discovered near the pyramid of Amenemhat I.
Credit: Photo courtesy Mohamed Youssef Ali

Two massive limestone blocks decorated with hieroglyphs and carved images have been discovered beside the Pyramid of Amenemhat I at Lisht in Egypt.

Archaeologists led by Mohamed Youssef Ali, of Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities, rescued the blocks from looters who were digging near the pyramid in January 2011, a discovery reported recently in the Egyptian Archaeology magazine.

The rescue effort was dangerous, as the archaeologists essentially risked their lives to carry them out of the desert, an act that required both physical grit and ingenuity. [The 25 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth]