Europe 1 with AFP 7:15 p.m., March 6, 2023

This Monday, the Egyptian authorities announced the discovery of a "smiling two-dimpled" sphinx, representing a Roman emperor, near the temple of Hathor from which the famous Zodiac of Dendera comes, 500 km south of Cairo.

In recent months, Egypt has revealed several major discoveries.

A "smiling two-dimpled" sphinx representing a Roman emperor has been unearthed near the temple of Hathor from which the famous Zodiac of Dendera comes, 500 km south of Cairo, Egyptian authorities announced on Monday.

This limestone sphinx was discovered in "a Byzantine basin inside a two-level tomb" alongside a "Roman stele engraved in demotic and hieroglyphics", specifies the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in a communicated.

This stele, he adds, still needs to be deciphered to reveal the exact identity of the emperor, who according to the Egyptian team in charge of the excavations could be "the Roman emperor Claudianoius".

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Several major discoveries

The Dendera zodiac joined Paris when in 1820 the French prefect Sébastien Louis Saulnier sent a team to unseal this bas-relief with explosives.

This representation of the celestial vault of more than 2.5 meters in width and height has hung on a ceiling in the Louvre since 1922, while a plaster copy replaces it in Dendera.

Egypt has revealed several major discoveries in recent months, mainly in the Saqqara necropolis near Cairo, known for the step pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser, but also on the famous Giza plateau where the last of the seven wonders of the world stands. antique still standing.

Thursday, Cairo announced the discovery of a nine-meter hidden corridor inside the Great Pyramid of Egypt, that of Cheops, which could possibly lead to "the real burial chamber of King Cheops" supposed to contain the treasure. of the pharaoh.

Further south, in Luxor, the Thebes of the pharaohs, remains of "an entire Roman city" dating from the first centuries AD have recently been unearthed.

For some experts, these announcement effects have a political and economic significance more than a scientific one.

Because the country of nearly 105 million inhabitants in serious economic crisis relies on tourism to restore its finances.

His government is targeting 30 million tourists a year by 2028, compared to 13 million before Covid-19.