New archaeological discovery under the Nile in Egypt

The joint Egyptian-French archaeological mission between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the University of Paul Valéry Montpellier in France has uncovered a number of paintings, inscriptions and miniatures of Kings Amenhotep III, Thutmose IV, Psamtik II and Ephrem.

According to Egyptian media, the discovery was made during the implementation of the photographic archaeological survey project, for the first time, under the Nile in Aswan to study the rock inscriptions located between the Aswan Reservoir and the High Dam, which were discovered in the 1960s during the campaign to save the Nubian monuments for the construction of the High Dam and had not been studied before.

Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the mission began its first season of work in the area around the original islands of Philae and Konossos, and since these inscriptions are still in good condition, the mission was able to fully document the texts.

The head of the Egyptian Antiquities Preservation and Registration Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Hisham Al-Leithi, explained that the mission used all modern techniques related to diving, archaeological surveying, underwater photography and video, photogrammetry, and archaeological drawing during its work, with the aim of identifying and documenting the remaining rock inscriptions on the surface of the Konossos rocks, whether underwater or partially submerged in the Nile waters.

For his part, the Director General of the General Department of Underwater Antiquities at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Islam Selim, said that the mission is currently working on producing three-dimensional models of the discovered inscriptions and studying them in preparation for publishing them scientifically, which contributes to their protection and preservation.

He pointed out that the archaeological survey work indicates the possibility of discovering new inscriptions and historical information about the history of ancient Egypt, especially the period of the Eighteenth Dynasty, especially the reign of King Thutmose IV and King Amenhotep III, in addition to some kings from the late period, especially the reign of King Psamtik II and King Apries.