3,000 Year Old Sword of a Pharoah Discovered in Egypt
An excavation team led by Dr. Ahmed Saeed El-Kharadly have uncovered an ancient sword in Egypt’s Beheira Governate in the north of the country, between Alexandria and Cairo and in the heart of ancient Egypt.
The sword was found at the Tell Al-Abqain archaeological site, in what appears to have been a military storage complex for the Egyptian army, reports Interesting Engineering. And this is not just any bronze sword: according to the hieroglyphs along the side, this is a sword of an Egyptian pharaoh.
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The hieroglyphs include the royal cartouche of Ramesses II, great pharaoh of the New Kingdom who ruled a united Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. Ramesses is also believed by most archaeologists and historians to be the pharaoh of the Biblical Exodus, and was known to the Greeks as Ozymandias.
Called Ramesses the Great, his reign was at the heart of the last great moment of ancient Egypt as an independent and powerful state. The reign of Ramesses saw the construction of many of the monumental statues and buildings which define ancient Egypt in the minds of many, including the great temples of Abu Simbel and Karnak.
His kingdom saw a flourishing of the arts, but was also beset by attacks from foreign adversaries including those who came from the desert to the East, from modern day Libya. The military complex at Tell Al-Abqain was constructed to defend against these attacks, and the sword certainly suggests that the great pharaoh liked to get up close and personal with his enemies.
Header Image: The Bronze Sword of Ramesses II (Interesting Engineering / Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
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