Egypt's tourism and antiquities ministry announced on Sunday that archaeologists have found more than 2,000 ancient mummified sheep skulls that were left as sacrifices in a temple to Pharaoh Ramses II.

At Abydos, a southern Egyptian site renowned for its temples and tombs, a group of US archaeologists from New York University also exhumed the mummies of dogs, goats, cows, gazelles, and mongooses.

Sameh Iskandar, head of the American mission, said as quoted by AFP that the ram heads were "offerings" indicating "a cult to Ramses II celebrated 1,000 years after his death". 

It is worth noting that Ramses II reigned over Egypt for nearly seven decades, from 1304 to 1237 BC. 

The finds that have been uncovered at the temple of Ramses II will allow people to know more about the activities that took place there during its construction between 2374 and 2140 BC and the Ptolemaic period, from 323 to 30 BC, according to Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Archaeologists also found the bones of mummified animals and a palace with five-meter-thick (16-foot) walls that was built some 4,000 years ago.

A number of statues, papyri, the remains of old trees, leather clothing, and shoes were also discovered. Abydos, which is located on the Nile river about 435 kilometers (270 miles) south of Cairo, is renowned for its necropolises and temples, including the temple of Seti I.

Cairo is exerting efforts to revive tourism by targeting 30 million visitors a year by 2028, compared to 13 million before the coronavirus pandemic. 

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