Several engravings of pharaohs have been discovered underwater near Aswan
During a recent underwater exploration in the southern portion of the Nile River in Egypt, researchers discovered valuable rock carvings dating back to the era of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom and the Late Period.
The discovery was made near Aswan, one of the most well-known locations in Upper Egypt. The expedition was carried out by a team of Franco-Egyptian archaeologists engaged in exploring the area that was flooded between 1960 and 1970 due to the construction of the famous Aswan Dam, which provides Egypt with a certain degree of energy independence not reliant on oil consumption.
Before the flooding, UNESCO had attempted to document and relocate the main archaeological artifacts in the area, including the famous Abu Simbel temple built by Ramses II. However, the experts at the time were not able to save all the artifacts, a failure that led to several archaeological sites being submerged under water.
Today, underwater archaeologists are attempting to partially remedy this damage by searching for lost artifacts and sites that were unknown at the end of the 1960s. The team is currently working to identify and record the surviving inscriptions and carvings, utilizing hieroglyphs that sometimes appear near the carvings, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
To achieve this goal, the archaeologists are examining the site surface using photogrammetry, a technique used by some video game developers to accurately represent the surfaces of buildings and historical artifacts by capturing dozens of photographs to create digital models.
The inscriptions discovered so far belong to Amenhotep III (who reigned approximately from 1390 to 1352 BC), Thutmose IV (who reigned approximately from 1400 to 1390 BC), Psammetichus II (who reigned approximately from 595 to 589 BC), and Apries (who reigned approximately from 589 to 570 BC).
Currently, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture has not disclosed what information the inscriptions contain. They have only stated that the inscriptions are in good condition and are located in an area that might conceal other valuable discoveries.
