The discovery of the sarcophagus of Ramses II

It is a fragment of a sarcophagus discovered under the floor of a religious center. It belongs to one of the best-known pharaohs of ancient Egypt. The discovery of the sarcophagus of Ramses II occurred in Abydos, an ancient city in east-central Egypt.

The granite artifact was unearthed in 2009 inside a Coptic building. The team is led by archaeologists Ayman Damrani and Kevin Cahail. He determined that the sarcophagus had belonged to two individuals at different times. They identified only one: Menkheperre, a “high priest of the 21st dynasty.” He lived in 1000 BC, according to a CNRS statement.

The discovery of the sarcophagus of Ramses II occurred recently.
The discovery of the sarcophagus of Ramses II occurred recently.

Connection

The initial owner of the sarcophagus remained a mystery. He was known to belong to a “very high-ranking figure in the Egyptian New Kingdom.” Egyptologist Frédéric Payraudeau, a professor at Sorbonne University in France, connected Ramses II to the sarcophagus. To do this, they deciphered a forgotten cartouche, an oval-shaped engraving that represents the name of a pharaoh. It would be Ramses II himself.

Ramses II was the third ruler of the 19th dynasty of ancient Egypt. He ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC. He expanded the empire of Egypt and enlarged the Temple of Karnak. In 1881, the mummy and coffin of Ramses II were found in a “secret” hiding place in Deir el-Bahari. It is a temple complex on the outskirts of Luxor. It contained the remains of 50 other members of the nobility, including his father, according to the Egyptian Museum. His highly ornate coffin is considered “one of the most striking coffins in ancient Egypt.”

A fragment of granite was the clue.
A fragment of granite was the clue.

Reusing objects

The discovery of the sarcophagus of Ramses II confirms that these objects were reused. Before being placed in the sarcophagus they found, Ramses II was buried in a gold coffin. Now it is lost. He was then transferred to an alabaster sarcophagus, which the looters destroyed. He is later transferred to the granite sarcophagus, which Menkheperre moved to Abydos to use himself, The Green Compass reported.

«This discovery is new proof that at that time the Valley of the Kings was not only the object of looting. Funerary objects were also reused by later sovereigns,” according to the statement. The study was published in the journal Revue D’Égyptologie.

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