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Although it is off the beaten tourist track, the ancient stone quarries at Gebel El-Silsila are a fantastic site, they were the source of a lot of the building stone for major projects down the Nile, for example in Luxor. There are a number of shrines and tombs in the vicinity, particularly on the west bank, some badly damagesd by earth movements. Between two chapels of kings Meneptah and his father, Ramses II here there is a stela carved in the rock with a scene depicting King Meneptah offering god Amun Re the sign of justice, Maat and with a hieroglyphic text. On Wednesday night it was discovered that thieves were attempting to remove this stela, four people were actually seen trying to hack it off the wall with an axe and digging tools.
Although it is off the beaten tourist track, the ancient stone quarries at Gebel El-Silsila are a fantastic site, they were the source of a lot of the building stone for major projects down the Nile, for example in Luxor. There are a number of shrines and tombs in the vicinity, particularly on the west bank, some badly damagesd by earth movements. Between two chapels of kings Meneptah and his father, Ramses II here there is a stela carved in the rock with a scene depicting King Meneptah offering god Amun Re the sign of justice, Maat and with a hieroglyphic text. On Wednesday night it was discovered that thieves were attempting to remove this stela, four people were actually seen trying to hack it off the wall with an axe and digging tools.
With the help of guards, archaeologists surrounded the criminals and caught them red handed. The Tourism and Antiquities Police came and took the criminals into custody. Abdel Moneim Saeed, director of Kom Ombo site, said an early inspection of the stelae revealed that it had been partly damaged by the hard tools used in the theft attempt, especially its lower part which is now dotted with holes. But he assures the damage can be restored and the stelae returned to its original condition.Nevine El-Aref, King Meneptahs stelae in Silsila is safe after theft attempt ', Al Ahram, June 9, 2012
There is a rather raw video of the site here: www.rentabikeluxor.com | Gebel el Silsila
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