Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Dream discovery: Egyptian professor discovers new ancient sarcophagus

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 2 Oct 2022 15:39
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

Professor Ola Al Aguizy uncovers an ancient sarcophagus whose owner was close to King Rasmus II.

  • x
  • ffr
    Ola El Aguizy, the Egyptian professor who led the team on the discovery of Ptah-em-wia's tomb. (Windfall Films)

An Egyptian sarcophagus that has laid peacefully for thousands of years has been discovered, emerging from beneath the sands in Cairo. Archaeologists are describing the event as a "dream discovery."

Read next: Egypt unearths 5 ancient tombs south of Cairo

Discovered by Ola El Aguizy, an emeritus professor of the faculty of archaeology at Cairo University, there is now more information to look into regarding those who ruled Egypt after Tutankhamun. 

The granite sarcophagus is covered in inscriptions dedicated to Ptah-em-wia, King Ramses II's head of treasury. Ramses II was Egypt's mightiest pharaoh.

Last year, Al Aguizy uncovered Ptah-em-wia's tomb, surface-level, now discovering his underground burial chamber with the sarcophagus. 

In the tomb's courtyard at the center, the professor's team detected the top of an eight-meter-deep vertical shaft which suggested that there would be a passage to a burial chamber. 

Related News

US returns stolen ancient artifacts to Egypt

Researchers recreate balms used on ancient Egyptian mummy

It took a week to remove the sand to get to the bottom of the shaft, using a bucket attached to a rope winch. After that, El Aguizy squeezed herself into the bucket and slowly descended down to the bottom. 

Ola El Aguizy squeezed herself into a hand-cranked bucket and made the descent of an 8-metre shaft.

Archaeologists’ ‘dream discovery’ of a sarcophagus near Cairo. pic.twitter.com/MVi3v5DGZ5

— Foolproof (Sylvia Suddes) (@bossproofreader) October 2, 2022

The scene was captured by National Geographic, as they finalized the latest excavation season for a documentary series of eight parts: the Lost Treasures of Egypt, which will begin airing on October 2.

“The discovery of this sarcophagus in its original place in the burial shaft was very exciting because it is the sarcophagus of the owner of the tomb, which is not always the case. Sometimes the sarcophagus is for a different person of a later period, when the tomb was used in later periods. But this time it is not the case," Al Aguizy told The Observer. 

Ptah-em-wia, according to the professor, has hieroglyphs that indicate that he was very close to the king, and that he had “a very important role in the administration of that time”.

“Saqqara is one of the most important cemeteries, for both royals and non-royals, throughout the millennia of Egyptian history. This Egyptian team has added yet another important chapter to the history of the site," said Peter De Manuelian, a professor of Egyptology at Harvard University. “I’m always pleased to see Egyptian archaeologists making these discoveries.

“There’s a long history of western archaeologists doing this work. So it’s great to see their own discoveries – and the fact that she’s a woman archaeologist, an Egyptian woman archaeologist, is even more welcome."

Read next: 4,300-year-old tomb of an ancient Egyptian dignitary unearthed

  • Ancient Egypt
  • Ola Al Aguizy
  • Egypt

Most Read

Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025
The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A scene showing an al-Qassam Brigades fighter during an ambush on July 7, 2025, in a video released by the al-Qassam Brigades on August 26, 2025 (al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam reveals Beit Hanoun ambush targeting Israeli forces

A Palestinian youth stands on a hill overlooking IsraelI Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP)
Politics

77 Palestinian prisoners killed in Israeli prisons since October 7

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a joint press conference with US deputy special envoy for Middle East peace Morgan Ortagus at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Tuesday, August 26, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy Barrack calls Lebanese journalists 'animalistic"'

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks (Photo by Mahdi Rtail)
Politics

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS