CAIRO: Three ancient Egyptian stelai (upright stone slab bearing a commemorative inscription) were unearthed in Wadi-al-Hudi, 35km southeast of Aswan, Antiquities Ministry said in a statement Monday.
The new finds were discovered during excavation work carried out by a team of Egyptian and American archaeologists led by Dr. Kate Liszka and Bryan Kraemer, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty said, adding that the stelai date back to ancient Egypt’s Middle Kingdom Period (2040B.C-1750B.C.)
“The hieroglyphic inscriptions on the stelai, many of which faded with the time, suggest it might have been linked to a fortified settlement that existed in the area,” said Damaty.
He added that the archaeology team embarked on using Reflectance Transformation Imagine technology to help identifying the faded inscriptions.
“Two of the discovered stelai mentioned the 28th year of the reign of the 12th Dynasty Pharaoh Senusret I (1971B.C-1926B.C.) as well as information on the trade expeditions sent to Wadi-al-Hudi,” head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department Mahmoud Afifi said in a statement Monday.
Several ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, Roman emperors and Greek kings have sent military and trade expeditions to Wadi-al-Hudi, known to have had several settlements, fortified cities and precious stone mines, Afifi added.