A
British-Egyptian archaeological mission from Cambridge University has
discovered a gypsum head from a statue of King Akhenaton (around 1300 BC)
during excavation work in Tel El-Amarna in Egypt’s Minya governorate. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.
The
head – which is 9cm tall, 13.5 cm long and 8 cm wide – was unearthed during
excavation work in the first hall of the Great Atun Temple in Tel El-Amarna,
secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri told
Ahram Online.
Waziri
says the discovery is important because it sheds more light on the city that
was Egypt's capital during the reign of King Akhenaten, the 10th pharaoh of the
18th dynasty whose reign was among the most controversial
in ancient Egyptian history.
The
Cambridge University mission is led by archaeologist Barry Kemp, who started
excavations in Tel El-Amarna in 1977 at several sites including the grand Aten
Temple, the Al-Ahgar village, the northern palace, and the Re and Banehsi
houses, according to director-general of Antiquities in Middle Egypt Gamal
El-Semestawi.
The
mission has also carried out restoration works at the Small Atun Temple and the
northern palace.
Tel
El-Amarna, which lies around 12 kilometers to the southwest of Minya city,
holds the ruins of the city constructed by King Akhenaten and his
wife Queen Nefertiti to be the home of the cult of the sun god Aten.
The ruins of this great city include magnificent
temples, palaces and tombs.
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