Egypt discovers blocks from Queen Hatshepsut’s 18th Dynasty temple

Archaeologists have uncovered well-preserved sections of the foundation wall of Queen Hatshepsut’s valley temple in Luxor, along with the nearby tomb of Queen Teti Sheri, the grandmother of Ahmose I, Egypt’s first pharaoh of the New Kingdom era.

Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist and former minister of antiquities, announced on Wednesday the discovery of over 1,000 decorated stone blocks on the outskirts of Hatshepsut’s funerary temple, where excavations have been ongoing since 2022.

Queen Hatshepsut, who reigned during the 18th dynasty and died around 1458 B.C., was one of the few women to rule Egypt. Her valley temple was deliberately destroyed centuries later.

“This is the first time that we discovered 1,500 decorated blocks, the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen in my life with the colour,” Hawass said.

A limestone tablet discovered at the site bore the name of Senmut, Hatshepsut’s architect, who supervised the temple’s construction.

Queen Teti Sheri, whose tomb was located nearby, was the grandmother of Ahmose I, who expelled the Hyksos invaders from Egypt. She passed away in the ninth year of Ahmose’s reign, a century before Hatshepsut.

The modest tomb was carved into rock and located at the end of a mudbrick vaulted chapel, with red wall paintings on a layer of white mortar.

Source

• Egypt uncovers blocks from 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut temple – Reuters