The Egyptian archaeological committee from Al-Belinna inspectorate in Abydos town in Sohag governorate has stumbled upon a stone block engraved with the cartouche of the 30th Dynasty King Nectanebo II, during the inspection of an old house in Beni Mansour area, whose owner had illegally excavated.
The Tourism and Antiquities Police caught the criminals red-handed and put the house under their jurisdiction, according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Antiquities.
Hani Abul Azm, Head of the Central Administration for Antiquities of Upper Egypt announced that the discovered block may be a part of King Nectanebo II’s royal shrine or an extension of a wall of a temple that the king built there. Nectanebo II is well known for his construction activities in Abydos.
Abul Azm said that after the completion of the expropriation procedures, more excavations will take place in order to reveal more about the site.
Ashraf Okasha, Director General of Abydos Antiquities pointed out that the newly discovered block measures 1.40×40 cm, but the high level of subterranean water has prevented identification, and knowing whether it was part of a shrine or a wall of a temple.
He went on saying that the archaeological committee inspected the house where the block was found in the presence of the Tourism and Antiquities Police force. It is an old two-storey mud brick house with excavated floor. The block was found at the end of a four meters deep hole.
The house is now confiscated under the supervision of the police until the completion of the investigations.
