Discovery of Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ head, Osirian temple - Egypt Today

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/48467/Discovery-of-Emperor-Marcus-Aurelius'-head-Osirian-temple

Two important exceptional discoveries occurred on Sunday – the discovery of a marble head of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Aswan and an Osirian temple in Luxor – Ministry of Antiquities Official Facebook Page.

Discovery of Emperor Marcus Aurelius' head, Osirian temple

By: Angy Essam

Mon, Apr. 23, 2018

CAIRO – 23 April 2018: Two important exceptional discoveries occurred on Sunday – the discovery of a marble head of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Aswan and an Osirian temple in Luxor.


Two important exceptional discoveries occurred on Sunday – the discovery of a marble head of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Aswan and an Osirian temple in Luxor – Ministry of Antiquities Official Facebook Page

The head is of Emperor Aurelius with wavy hair and beard. The Roman emperor's head was described as rare, because in general, statues of Roman rulers are extremely scarce. The head is now located at the archeological store; it will be subjected to restoration work and maintenance in the coming period. An Egyptian mission is currently working in Aswan to reduce the subterranean water level at Kom Ombo Temple, where the Marcus Aurelius head was discovered.


Two important exceptional discoveries occurred on Sunday – the discovery of a marble head of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Aswan and an Osirian temple in Luxor – Ministry of Antiquities Official Facebook Page

The Osirian temple was discovered at the southern side of Karnak Temples' tenth pylon. The temple contains architectural elements of a late-period shrine dedicated to the god Osiris-Ptah-Neb.

The temple, which was found in a good state, consists of an entrance, foundation remains, columns, inner walls and ruins of a third hall located at the eastern side. The Osirian temple also houses paving stones from the shrine floor, along with other extension structures built during ancient times.


Two important exceptional discoveries occurred on Sunday – the discovery of a marble head of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Aswan and an Osirian temple in Luxor – Ministry of Antiquities Official Facebook Page.


The shrine is not located on the eastern or northern side of the Amun-Re temple according to ancient Egyptian belief, which makes this discovery a highly important one. The shrine was discovered on the southern side, indicating the accuracy of the Osirian belief at that time.



Two important exceptional discoveries occurred on Sunday – the discovery of a marble head of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Aswan and an Osirian temple in Luxor – Ministry of Antiquities Official Facebook Page

Also discovered were a collection of clay pots, remains of statues and a winged frame relief decorated with offering tables bearing a sheep and goose. The relief holds the name of kings Taharka and Tanut Amun.

It is worth mentioning that these two highly important discoveries were made by the Egyptian archaeological missions in Upper Egypt.

2018 the year of archaeological discoveries

The year 2018 is considered the year of archeological discoveries. The remains of a Greco-Roman temple was uncovered by an Egyptian archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities while performing excavations at the Al-Salam archaeological site on Wednesday, April 4.

Al-Salam archaeological site is about 50 kilometers east of Siwa Oasis. The archeologists uncovered the front part of the temple in addition to parts of its foundations, its main entrance and one-meter thick stones from its outer wall. The outer wall leads to a front courtyard with entrances to chambers. The rest of the temple is expected to be excavated this year.

The Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany announced on Feb. 24 the discovery of eight tombs that contain about 40 coffins of Pharaonic priests and more than 1,000 Ushabti statues in the Tuna el-Gebel area in Minya governorate.

"Today we are announcing the beginning of a new discovery; the tombs are full of jewelries, potteries and pharaonic jars," Enany recounted on Feb. 24.

This discovery is described by Enany as one of the largest and most important archaeological discoveries unearthed in recent times. The new archeological discovery is documenting some issues related to the lives of ancient Egyptians in Minya province tens of centuries ago.

The most prominent finds in these tombs were a gold mask, coffins, mummies and statues. The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities added that the area of the discovery requires years of hard work, pointing out that the main advantage of this discovery is that it was discovered by Egyptians.

It is worth mentioning that this discovery is considered the second discovery in 2018 after a new tomb of an ancient Egyptian woman named Hetpet was discovered in the Western Cemetery located in the Pyramids area in Giza, as announced on Feb. 3 by Enany.

Hetpet was a woman with a high social position in ancient times. She has a number of cognomens, including the priest of the goddess Hathour. Hathour is a pharaonic goddess who symbolizes the principles of joy, feminine love and motherhood.

Enany previously elaborated that the excavation work in this area started in October 2017 and will continue in 2018 under the supervision of Mostafa el-Waziry, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Waziry previously announced that Hetpet played important roles at that time, especially in the agricultural field.

"The tomb contains a group of dazzling inscriptions portraying rare amazing scenes, like a monkey dancing in front of a complete musical troupe, sailors fighting, hunting birds, and fishing, among others. All the inscriptions' colors are very clear and bright," Waziry announced after the discovery.

The tomb dates back to the Fifth Dynasty from about 4,400 years ago. The western cemetery area was reserved for senior officials in the pharaonic area. Famous Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass previously discovered a group of ancient Egyptian tombs in this area.

Archaeologists at Cairo University have discovered catacombs, including 18 non-royal mummies, in Tuna el-Gebel on May 13, 2017. The burial shafts found in the area led to a number of corridors inside a cachet of mummies. This discovery was the first human necropolis found in central Egypt with so many mummies.

Tuna el-Gebel in the city of Mallawi was the necropolis of Khmun. It contains monuments from the Greek and Roman eras, as well as the Late Middle Ages. The area hosts the Boundary Stelae of Akhenaton; catacombs of falcons, baboons and ibises; and the tombs of Petosiris and Isadora.

Tuna el-Gebel village is famous for having many archaeological tombs, which contributed greatly to the revival of archaeological and touristic life and helped drive Arab and foreign tourists to the region once again. It is an archaeological village located in Minya governorate. It has a population of more than 20,000 people.

Tuna el-Gebel was originally named "Towns" in the Pharaonic era and then named Tahnet in the Roman era. Both names mean the "blessing" or "flood". Tuna el-Gebel was considered a cemetery in the Pharaonic, Greek and Roman periods, and it contains many important monuments, including the tomb and the chapel of Isadora, the martyr of love, which dates back to the Greco-Roman period.

Tuna el-Gebel houses the tomb of the priest "Petosiris" dating back to the Greek era and the villa of the Dean of Arabic literature Taha Hussein, in addition to the existence of many archaeological sites that have not been discovered yet.

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