A
mortar pit with children's footprints still preserved was also uncovered at the
site. Written
By/ Nevine El-Aref.
At
the ancient city of Piramesse, which was Egypt's capital during the reign of
the King Ramses II, an excavation team from the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in
Hildesheim in Germany has uncovered parts of a building complex as well as a
mortar pit with children’s footprints.
The
head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at Egypt’s antiquities
ministry, Mahmoud Afifi, describes the newly discovered building complex as
"truly monumental," covering about 200 by 160 metres. The
layout suggests the complex was likely a palace or a temple, Afifi told Ahram
Online.
The
mission director, Henning Franzmeier, explained magnetic measurements were
carried out last year in order to determine the structure of the ancient city,
and through those measurements the building complex was located.
The
site of excavation had been chosen, he explained, not just because of its
archaeological potential but because of its proximity to the edges of the
modern village of Qantir, which is endangering the nearby antiquities under its
fields due to rapid expansion.
Franzmeier
told Ahram Online that the team has also uncovered an area of about 200 square
metres in its excavations.
It is the goal of this work to locate a potential entrance to the monumental building, which seems not to be located as is typical in the axis of the complex, but rather in its north-western corner. Furthermore a second small trench was laid out in an area where the excavators believe the enclosure wall can be traced.
It is the goal of this work to locate a potential entrance to the monumental building, which seems not to be located as is typical in the axis of the complex, but rather in its north-western corner. Furthermore a second small trench was laid out in an area where the excavators believe the enclosure wall can be traced.
"The
finds and archaeological features uncovered are most promising," he said,
adding that just a couple of centimetres beneath the surface a multitude of
walls was uncovered, all dating to the Pharaonic period. Due
to the limited size of the trenches no buildings can be reconstructed so far. Nonetheless it is obvious that the stratigraphy is extremely dense and several construction phases are preserved, and not all the walls are contemporaneous.
The
team has also found a mortar pit extending to at least 2.5 by 8 metres. At the
bottom, a layer of mortar was uncovered, in which children’s footprints have
been preserved. Even more extraordinary is the filling of the pit, consisting
of smashed pieces of painted wall plaster.
"No motifs are recognisable so far but we are certainly dealing with the remains of large-scale multi-coloured wall paintings," said Franzmeier.
"No motifs are recognisable so far but we are certainly dealing with the remains of large-scale multi-coloured wall paintings," said Franzmeier.
The
team fragments have been cleaned in situ and subsequently removed. A
comprehensive excavation of all fragments followed by permanent conservation
and the reconstruction of motifs will be the subject of future seasons.
Wow Nevine! The great news is shared by you. Your post is referring to the ancient city of Egypt. Qantir is an old historical place. There's a chance to see a lot of sandstone pilgrim. This Monumental' Building Complex is that time when King Ramses II was ruling. Ramses II is also known as a great builder. He builds up many of the existing temples in Egypt and built many new structures of his own. His most famous building achievements are Ramesseum, Abu Simbel and Pi-Ramesses. Ramses II died at the age of 90. He was buried in the Valley of the Kings, but his mummy was later displaced to keep it covered from thieves. Today the mummy is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Last month I visited Pyramids of Giza, The Egyptian Museum, Al-Azhar Mosque, Old Cairo (Coptic Cairo) and other famous places of Egypt with my Friends. It was the amazing trip for us through (Ask-Aladdin.com) very famous travel agency company. We enjoyed a lot.
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