Ramesses III Found in Jordan

PHOTO COURTESY AHMAD LASH

According to Jordan’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, an inscription featuring the name of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses III (r. 1186–1155 BCE) was discovered carved into a desert rock face near Wadi Rum in southern Jordan. In one column, the title “Son of Ra, Lord of the Akhu (transfigured spirits)” precedes a cartouche bearing the pharaoh’s birth name; in the second, his throne name is preceded by the title “King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands.”

DRAWING COURTESY AHMAD LASH

Cartouches belonging to Ramesses III have been discovered in various places outside Egypt, along an extensive trade route that joined Egypt to the Arabian Peninsula; indeed, the carvings have helped archaeologists map the route with pinpoint accuracy. This new inscription, however, is truly special: It is the first one of its kind ever discovered in Jordan, which now links Ramesses III’s trading initiatives to other cartouches found in the Sinai, Israel, and northern Saudi Arabia.

“This is a landmark discovery that enhances our understanding of ancient connections between Egypt, Jordan, and the Arabian Peninsula,” said Lina Annab, Jordan’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.