Archeologists discover King Ramses II-era residential units northern Egypt

CAIRO, June 10 — An Egyptian archeological mission discovered a residential building from King Ramses II in the province of Beheira northern Egypt, the country’s antiquities ministry said in a statement on Monday.

“Operating in the north-west corner of the military fortress in Al-Ibqa’in area in the center of Housh Eissa, the mission found also remains of two architectural units attached to a military fortress that were used as storage sheds addition to a residential building from King Ramses II period, 1303-1213 B.C.,” according to the statement.

“The two discovered units are complete and intact,” said Ayman Ashmawy, head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Ministry of Antiquities.

He added each unit is surrounded by a square-shaped mud-brick wall separated by a rectangular courtyard and led by a control room on the silos and another room for the guards.

Ashmawi added that the units discovered are the stores and silos that were placed next to each other in the form of a hive. “During the cleaning work, animal and fish bones were found inside, indicating that these silos were also used to store foodstuffs.”

Nadia Khader, head of the Central Authority for Lower Egypt Antiquities, said that a set of pottery kilns was also found which proved that the ancient Egyptians were toasting the grains to clean them of insects and of moisture before storage.

The mission also found a set of pottery vessels.
Egypt has been working hard to preserve its archaeological heritage in a bid to revive the country’s ailing tourism sector which has been suffering an acute recession over the past few years due to political turmoil and relevant security issues. – XINHUA