Egypt discovers the sarcophagus of one of the "senior statesmen" during the reign of Ramses II

Cairo - (AFP) - Egypt has unveiled a pink granite sarcophagus belonging to one of the "senior statesmen" during the reign of Pharaonic King Ramses II, during excavations of an Egyptian archaeological mission in the Saqqara region, west of Cairo, according to a statement by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Monday.

The statement stated that the Egyptian archaeological mission affiliated with the Faculty of Archeology at Cairo University "succeeded in uncovering a pink granite sarcophagus of the so-called Ptah-em-Wya, one of the senior statesmen during the reign of King Ramses II."

Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt, confirmed, according to the statement, that the importance of this discovery is due to "the important positions held by the owner of the sarcophagus, including the royal clerk, chief supervisor of livestock and head of the treasury in the temple of King Ramses."

Ramses II is the most famous king of the modern Pharaonic state and ruled Egypt in the twelfth century BC for about sixty-seven years.

The ministry's statement indicated that "there is a break in the coffin lid, which indicates that the cemetery had previously been opened in later eras for burial, and that it was subjected to theft."

Over the past few years, Egypt has uncovered several archaeological "treasures" in various parts of the country, especially the Saqqara region, where more than 150 ancient sarcophagi dating back more than 2,500 years have been discovered.

The Egyptian authorities hope to open the "Grand Egyptian Museum" near the Giza pyramids in the coming months in order to give impetus to the tourism sector, which employs about two million Egyptians and generates 10% of the gross national product.

Egyptian tourism has been subjected to successive blows since the start of the so-called "Arab Spring" in early 2011, leading to the Russian-Ukrainian war that broke out in February, which affected the arrival of foreign visitors to Egypt.