The building was demolished last August, after 125 years of its construction, and it is one of the palaces of Tawfik Andraos, a member of the Egyptian Parliament during the 1919 revolution. The house witnessed many important events, such as receiving Saad Zagloul during his crisis with the British and a number of European kings. My daughter, “Tawfik”, was killed in a mysterious accident.
Ahmed Arabi, director of Luxor Temple, spoke to Sky News Arabia about the new archaeological discovery, saying: “Excavations began in September, shortly after the palace was demolished. We had many indications of the presence of many artifacts in the area where the house is located. On an area of 37 meters inside Luxor Temple.
Arabi added to “Sky News Arabia”: “The men of the Egyptian mission were engaged in their work with utmost precision. The first step needs to deal patiently with the layers of the earth. We removed the floor of the palace and excavated for a short distance at the bottom, to find before us Roman tombstones, pottery pieces and sandstones dating back to the era of the king. Amenhotep III and King Ramses II, we felt that these discoveries were the first rain.”
The supervisor of the excavations continues to “Sky News Arabia”: “With further excavations, we were surprised to find 132 bronze coins and an offering table dating back to Roman times, then a black granite funerary plaque 46 cm wide and 90 cm long bearing beautiful inscriptions depicting a meeting between King Thutmose IV Amenhotep II, while offering sacrifices to the god Amun.
And Araby continues to “Sky News Arabia”: “We also picked up a small ram’s head, a sacrificial table equipped to carry pottery, and a painting with drawings of King Ptolemy, as well as ovens for cooking and others for making pots used in daily life. We expect to discover more artifacts as excavations continue under the palace (Andraus)”.
care and restoration
An Arab told Sky News Arabia the steps that the archaeological discoveries go through after finding them: “A team of specialists is working on cleaning them well and taking many pictures of them to record their condition immediately after the discovery, and some pieces need restoration before they are transferred to the specially made terraces inside the temple. to preserve it before being placed in a museum at a later time.
And the director of Luxor Temple added to “Sky News Arabia”: “Excavations are now going on in the second layer of the soil. There is a mudbrick crypt that may lead to a new archaeological discovery that will be opened during the coming period. It contains a lot about the ancient Egyptian civilization.
Araby praises the Egyptian mission that is free of foreign elements, which is making amazing discoveries in the Luxor Temple, which includes about 60 archaeologists, restorers and experienced workers, stressing to “Sky News Arabia” that the Egyptian state’s direction in recent years towards training its men in antiquities and polishing their expertise and granting them Many opportunities pay off day by day.
Regarding the objection of a number of Egyptian antiquities enthusiasts and experts about the demolition of the Andraos Palace, an Arab told Sky News Arabia: “I participated in the committee that monitored the condition of the palace before its removal. It threatens passersby and poses an imminent danger to visitors to Luxor Temple.”
The supervisor of the excavations under the Andraos Palace confirms that the committee wrote a detailed report on the condition of the old building before an official decision was issued by the Luxor Governorate with the approval of the Egyptian government on the need to demolish it to save lives, explaining to the “Sky News Arabia” website that all rare holdings inside the house were monitored and transferred. To the county store for delivery to the heirs after that.
Arabi concludes his speech to “Sky News Arabia”, saying: “What is going on in Luxor Temple will not happen without the availability of capabilities and overcoming all obstacles from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in addition to their continuous tours in the province to instill a spirit of enthusiasm and confidence within the mission men. Egyptian in the region.
