A stelae of 19th Dynasty King Ramses II has been discovered at San al-Hagar archaeological site in Sharqiya governorate on Saturday as renovation was being carried out to develop the site into an open-air museum, Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement.
Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, stated that the stelae is carved in red granite and depicts King Ramses II.
Although several foreign missions have worked on the site since the mid-19th century, the site has never been completely excavated and was neglected, Waziri added.
“This discovery encourages the Ministry of Antiquities to start a comprehensive development project at the site in order to rescue its monuments and transform it into an open-air museum,” Waziri said.
San al-Hagar is an archaeological site that houses a vast collection of temples, including temples dedicated to the goddess Mut, god Horus and god Amun.
Waadalla Abu El-Ela, head of the Ministry’s projects sector, explained that the project started a month ago aiming to create a collection of statues and stelae that were laying on the floor of the temple.
