Egyptian team to search Nile for sunken remains
Egypt Daily Star News
For the first time, the Nile River will be the subject of an archeological excavation. An Egyptian archeological team affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities will track down the locations of the river’s ancient sunken treasures.
Alaa Mahrous, director of the underwater antiquities department in Alexandria, told Daily News Egypt that the team of archaeologists headed by Dr Zahi Hawass, director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has selected the Nile to be the subject of their search. The river has not been excavated to date.
“The survey will cover the area between the quarries in Aswan and Abydos. Over the centuries this was a significant area — either for the ancient Egyptians or the many rulers of the country who followed,” Mahrous explained.
“The granite quarries were located in Aswan. The statues and obelisks used to be cut and shaped in the mountains before they were shipped to Luxor and Abydos.”
The team hopes to find any pieces that might have went down while being loaded on unloaded from ships. “It is also possible to discover shipwrecks as many huge boats sank along with their load which consisted of statues, pottery and merchandise. We also have information regarding two small obelisks that settled in the river bed 10 km off Luxor as they were being shipped to Cairo by Maspero.”
See the above page for more details.
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