Swedes find rare wall sculptures in Egypt
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
Published: 7 Jan, 2015 CET.
Updated: Wed 7 Jan 2015 09:03 CET
A team of Swedish archaeologists has discovered a rare 2,500-year-old wall relief depicting two pharaonic deities south of Cairo, Egyptian officials said on Tuesday.
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 wall 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 wall 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.
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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 wall 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 wall 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.
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