CAIRO, EGYPT—Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty announced that carved basalt blocks and part of a statue carved with the cartouche of King Merineptah were found by a joint Egyptian-German team of archaeologists. The chapel belonged to King Nectanebo I of the 30th Dynasty, the last royal family to rule before Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. “Historical evidence suggests the pharaoh came to power by overthrowing Nepherites II, his predecessor and the last pharaoh of the 29th Dynasty,” archaeologist Sherif el-Sabban told The Cairo Post. The statue of Merineptah depicts the 19th-Dynasty pharaoh presenting an offering to a deity. The chapel was found within Heliopolis Temple, beneath modern Cairo. Ancient Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities in Egypt; most of its buildings were dismantled to build Cairo. Ground water has to be removed from the site for the excavation to continue. To read about animal mummies, which were popular in Egypt during this period, see "Messengers to the Gods."
