Egypt’s greatest pharaoh found over 3,000 years after his death: Long-lost sarcophagus is discovered under the floor of a monastery

The long-lost sarcophagus belonging to ancient Egypt’s most powerful pharaoh has been found more than 3,000 years after his death.

Archaeologists re-examined a mysterious granite burial found under the floor of a religious center in east-central Egypt, finding it belonged to Ramesses II.

Dubbed Ramses the Great, his reign from 1279 to 1213BC saw colossal statues and buildings erected in what was marked as the last peak of Egypt’s imperial power. 

The remains of a high priest were originally found in the sarcophagus, but that new discovery has suggested he removed the pharaoh’s mummy and coffin to reuse the burial.

Egyptologist Frédéric Payraudeau, a teacher and researcher at Sorbonne University in France, made the discovery this month after taking another look at a fragment of granite discovered in Abydos back in 2009.

He determined that the stone, measuring five feet long and three inches thick, featured an overlooked engraving that read ‘of Ramses II himself,’ according to a translated statement from France’s National Center for Scientific Research.

‘When I read these results, I was overcome with doubt. I asked my American colleague if I could re-study the file, which he accepted given the complexity of this case,’ said Payraudeau.

‘My colleagues believed that the cartouche preceded by the word ‘king’ designated the high priest Menkheperre who governed southern Egypt around 1000 BC.  

‘However, this cartridge actually dated from the previous engraving and therefore designated its first owner.’

He continued to explain that engravings of the Book of Doors, an initiatory story reserved for kings during the time of the Ramses, was also featured on the sarcophagus.

Ramses II’s mummy was fist uncovered in 1818 with the other royal mummies in the Deir el Bahari hiding place

The overlooked engravings revealed the coronation name of Ramses II, but was  masked by the condition of the stone. Researchers created a drawing of the original engravings 

‘The royal cartouche contains the coronation name of Ramses II, which is specific to him, but this was masked by the condition of the stone and by a second engraving, added during the reuse,’ Payraudeau said.

Archaeologists have long known that Ramses II was buried in a golden coffin, stolen in Antiquity, and moved to an alabaster sarcophagus that was later destroyed.

The thousands of pieces were placed inside the large granite sarcophagus that was stolen 200 years later by Menkheperrê for reuse.

‘This discovery is new proof that at this time, the Valley of the Kings was the subject not only of looting but also of the reuse of funerary objects by subsequent sovereigns, said Payraudeau.

Ramses II was the most powerful and celebrated ruler of ancient Egypt. 

Known by his successors as the ‘Great Ancestor,’ he led several military expeditions and expanded the Egyptian Empire to stretch from Syria in the east to Nubia in the south.

Dubbed Ramesses the Great, his reign from 1279 to 1213BC saw colossal statues and buildings erected in what is marked as the last peak of Egypt’s imperial power

Ramses II is known for constructing colossal statues of himself

He was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt.

Scientists from Egypt and England recreated Ramses II’s face in 2022 using a 3D model of his skull to rebuild his features.

They then reversed the aging process, turning back the clock almost half a century to reveal his face at the height of his powers.

The result is the first ‘scientific facial reconstruction’ of the pharaoh based on a CT scan of his skull.

Sahar Saleem of Cairo University, who created the 3D model of the skull, said the outcome had revealed a ‘very handsome’ ruler.

‘My imagination of the face of Ramesses II was influenced by his mummy’s face,’ said Saleem.

‘However, the facial reconstruction helped to put a living face on the mummy.

‘I find the reconstructed face is a very handsome Egyptian person with facial features characteristic of Ramesses II – the pronounced nose, and strong jaw.’

Scientists from Egypt and England recreated Ramses II’s face in 2022 using a 3D model of his skull to rebuild his features

Sahar Saleem of Cairo University, who created the 3D model of the skull, said the outcome had revealed a ‘very handsome’ ruler

Caroline Wilkinson, director of the Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University, which rebuilt the pharaoh’s visage, described the scientific process.

She said: ‘We take the computer tomography (CT) model of the skull, which gives us the 3D shape of the skull that we can take into our computer system.

‘Then we have a database of pre-modeled facial anatomy that we import and then alter to fit the skull.

‘So we’re basically building the face, from the surface of the skull to the surface of the face, through the muscle structure, and the fat layers, and then finally the skin layer.’

She continued: ‘We all have more or less the same muscles from the same origins with the same attachments.

‘Because each of us has slightly different proportions and shape to our skull, you’ll get slightly different shapes and proportions for muscles, and that will directly influence the shape of a face.’

The project is the second of its kind overseen by Sahar recently, after a scientific reconstruction of Tutankhamun’s face completed by royal sculptor, Christian Corbet.

For the professor, the process helps restore the humanity of the mummies.

She said: ‘Putting a face on the king’s mummy will humanize him and create a bond, as well as restore his legacy.

‘King Ramesses II was a great warrior who ruled Egypt for 66 years and initiated the world’s first treaty.