Inscriptions of ancient Egyptian kings found in Nile: photos | Miami Herald

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Divers find 2,300-year-old carvings linked to Egyptian pharaohs in the Nile. See them

By Aspen Pflughoeft

July 17, 2024 3:50 PM

Scuba divers found several 2,300-year-old rock carvings linked to Egyptian pharaohs under the Nile River, archaeologists said and photos show. Photo from Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Plunging into the Nile River in Egypt, scuba-diving archaeologists swam through the murky water to look at algae-covered rock formations. Seen from afar, the rocks don't look like much.

But when archaeologists looked closer, they found several inscriptions linked to ancient pharaohs.

A joint team of Egyptian and French archaeologists decided to survey some ruins in a reservoir in Aswan. Records from the 1960s mentioned a series of inscriptions in an area later submerged with the construction of a massive dam, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a July 17 Facebook post.

The carvings had not been studied again. The team wanted to change that.

While scuba diving in the reservoir, archaeologists were drawn to a set of rock formations. A video shared on Facebook shows the divers cleaning off the surface.

Underneath, they found several carvings dating back at least 2,300 years. The markings ranged from drawings of ancient Egyptian pharaohs to inscriptions.

Photos show a few of these well-preserved carvings. The shapes are obscured by the water and relatively hard to see. One set of markings looks like a row of mannequin heads above two tombstone-like objects.

One of the 2,300-year-old carvings found in the Nile River. Photo from Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Archaeologists linked the carvings to four ancient Egyptian pharaohs in two eras:

• Thutmose IV and his son Amenhotep III, who ruled back-to-back from about 1400 to 1350 B.C.

• Psamtik II and Ebrius, or Ibris, who ruled in the period between 500 and 300 B.C.

The ancient carvings are still being analyzed. Archaeologists believe the findings will shed more light on the rule of these ancient kings.

A scuba diving archaeologist uncovers an ancient carving. Photo from Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

The reservoir in Aswan is around Philae Island and part of the Nile River, a roughly 600-mile drive south of Cairo.

Facebook and Google Translate were used to translate the Facebook posts from Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

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