At least 2,000 mummified ram heads from the Ptolemaic era have been discovered, together with a grand Old Kingdom building, at the Ramses II temple in the ancient city of Abydos in southern Egypt, antiquities officials announced on Saturday.
Along with the ram heads, mummified ewes, dogs, wild goats, cows, gazelles, and mongooses were discovered in the temple. These remains are believed to be votive offerings indicating that Ramses II was still revered at the location about 1,000 years after his passing, according to a statement from the tourism and antiquities ministry.
Abydos is one of Egypt’s most significant yet underutilized archaeological sites
It also said that the new information would increase our understanding of the site’s history for more than two millennia up to the Ptolemaic era. Up until the Roman conquest in 30 BCE, the Ptolemaic era lasted around three centuries.
Abydos is one of Egypt’s most significant yet underutilized archaeological sites, which is situated in the Egyptian governorate of Sohag about 270 miles (435 kilometers) south of Cairo.
It served as both a necropolis for early ancient Egyptian aristocracy and a place of worship for the god Osiris.
The crew also discovered a vast royal building from the Old Kingdom’s sixth dynasty
Excavations were carried out by a mission from New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World.
The crew also discovered a vast royal building from the Old Kingdom’s sixth dynasty, with walls that were around five meters (16 feet) tall, along with multiple statues, papyri, the old tree remains, leather clothing, and shoes.
The structure could help “re-establish the sense of the ancient landscape of Abydos before the construction of the Ramses II temple,” the head of the mission, Sameh Iskander, was quoted as saying.