On the eastern bank of Aswan, an American-Egyptian archaeological mission at the Middle Kingdom settlement of Al-Hoody has found three engraved limestone reliefs which could be of great historical significance.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty said the reliefs are in very poor condition but the texts are readable. He asserted that comprehensive conservation work is to take place in order to reveal all the engravings, as well as using a reflectance transformation imaging system to uncover its faded parts.
hoodythe area of Al-Hoody valley
Mahmoud Afifi explains that early studies show that the eighth year of the twelve dynasty King Senusert I's reign was mentioned on one of the discovered reliefs. There was also information on the ancient Egyptian missions sent to and from Al-Hoody.
Al-Hoody was a settlement for quarrying amethyst which they used in the fabrication of jewellery. The area was also a meeting point from which the ancient Egyptians sent missions abroad to collect precious and semi-precious stones.
Restoration and studies are now going on in order to reveal more of the history of the site.
