Archaeological committee inspects king Ramses' temple in Akhmim, Sohag

Chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Gaballah Ali Gaballah, led an archaeological team to inspect the site where the temple of King Ramses II was recently excavated in Akhmim, Sohag in Upper Egypt.

A committee formed by the Prime Minister, will follow up the unearthing of the ancient monument and relocate the graveyard built over the find.

"President Hosni Mubarak gave his directives to immediately start the excavation works and finish the new graveyard for Muslims to replace the old one," Gaballah said.

"The President agreed to allocate LE. 5 million to resume and finish works in the new graveyard due to his interest in continuing excavations to unearth Akhmim's monuments.The project will cost LE 35 million to restore the temple of King Ramses and other excavation works in the area," he added.

Gaballah highlighted the importance of the new archaeological find as it is expected that the temple would be the biggest temple built by King Ramses II, and it would unveil drawings and inscriptions 'that would beef up our knowledge about the 19th dynasty era."

Complete statues have been unearthed in the area, he added.

The other hand, Gaballah said that the council's mission in Sohag unearthed five tombs that date back to the old kingdom, 3200 BC- 2726 B.C. A number of sarcophagi and plaques were unearthed inside the tombs.