Discoveries at the Ramesseum

Canopic jars | Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities 

Back in the day, a great many ladies seem to have given their heart to Ramses II. The great king of the 19th dynasty reportedly had more than 200 wives during the course of his nine decades of life, and those relationships produced more than 100 children.

In tribute, on this Valentine’s Day, we’re offering a lecture about this legendary ruler’s mortuary temple, called the House of a Million Years in antiquity and known as the Ramesseum today.

Speaking to us from Egypt, Dr. Hisham El Leithy, of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, will reveal some of the results of the excavations that he has been directing there in collaboration with colleagues from the French National Center for Scientific Research, and the Sorbonne University. He will also speak about dismantling and reconstructing the pylon of the Ramesseum.

Among other things, the archaeologists have uncovered workshops for producing textiles and sculpting stone. Storage areas for honey, olive oil, fats, and wine. And an educational center preserving evidence of students’ school exercises and drawings. The excavation has also found administrative areas as well as the outline of a mud-brick palace.

Taken together, these discoveries show that this complex was not only a place of worship but an administrative hub where coveted goods were created and stored for distribution to people in local communities, including the tomb builders at Deir el-Medina.

Tombs from the Third Intermediate Period have also come to light at the site along with nested coffins, canopic jars, and shabti figurines. These suggest that more than a century after Ramses II’s death, people were still interested in spending eternity in a place where the Great One had lived and breathed and loved.

Email us at arce.dc.news at gmail dot com for a link to register for this event.

Our events typically last an hour—50 minutes for the lecture, 10 minutes for Q+A.

Alert: We do not allow recording or imaging of our presentations in any way.