Korean, Egyptian archaeologists find ancient temple gate blocks during restoration work in Luxor

Korean and Egyptian archaeologists working to restore the Ramesseum, one of the most significant funerary temples of ancient Egypt, have discovered several blocks belonging to one of the temple’s gates hidden under the sands. 

The blocks and the surrounding area have been documented using 3D laster scanning.

The discovery, announced by the Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry earlier this week, comes as part of f a cooperation agreement signed in 2022 between Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage in South Korea.

Per the agreement, the restoration effort is set to be carried out in two phases over the course of a decade.

According to the ministry’s statement, the first phase of the restoration project, focused on restoring the temple’s First Pylon (gate), began in 2022 and is scheduled to conclude in 2027.

The pylon is approximately 32 meters long.

Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy applauded the mission’s work during a recent visit to Luxor, affirming that it is “among the most prominent ongoing restoration projects” and  and that it “represents a model of fruitful international cooperation in the field of heritage preservation.”

The Ramesseum, located in the in a necropolis near Luxor, serves as a religious and political record of Pharoah Ramesses II’s reign. It is the second largest temple in Egypt.

Pharaoh Ramesses II, who is also known as “Ramesses the Great”, is believed by many to have been the pharaoh in the biblical story of the Exodus.

Several of Ramesses’ victories are depicted on the temple’s walls, including the famed Battle of Kadesh that took place between the Egyptian and Hittite empires, as well as scenes of religious practices and funerary rituals.

In late April, the ministry revealed that a statue missing both its legs and base that was found at the Tel Faraon archaeological site near El Husseiniya along the Nile Delta, is believed to depict Ramesses II.

During Fathy's visit to area, he stopped at two restored ancient tombs that date back to the New Kingdom and contain scenes of daily life and funerary rituals.

The tombs that were opened are those of Rabuya and his son Samut from the 18th Dynasty, the first of the New Kingdom dynasties. Rabuya and Samut served as door keepers of the deity Amun.

"Today we are inaugurating two very important tombs that were discovered by chance in 2015," said Hisham El-Leithy, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.