A joint team of Egyptian and French archaeologists has made a truly fascinating discovery at the Ramesseum—the grand mortuary temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II—on Luxor’s West Bank in the heart of the Theban Necropolis. This collaborative effort between Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and Sorbonne University has brought new insight into ancient Egyptian life.

Objects found at the Ramesseum — *Photo Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities*

While the Ramesseum has long been admired for its colossal statues and inscriptions, this latest excavation has revealed that the temple was far more than a memorial to Ramesses the Great. It was, in fact, a bustling centre of education, administration, and commerce. According to Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the discovery is reshaping how historians understand the everyday workings of ancient Egyptian society.

One of the most remarkable findings was the long-theorised but never-before-confirmed House of Life—known in ancient Egyptian as the Per Ankh. These temple schools were centres of knowledge and learning, and this is the first time such a structure has been physically identified at the Ramesseum. Among the items unearthed were students’ drawings, fragments of educational toys, and ancient learning tools—all offering a tangible glimpse into how education functioned in this ancient civilisation. The layout of the House of Life was also revealed, providing the first material evidence of a formal educational institution linked directly to a temple, sometimes referred to as a “Temple of Millions of Years.”

Objects found at the Ramesseum in Luxor — *Photo Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities*

But education was only one facet of temple life. The team also uncovered extensive economic infrastructure within the site. Beneath the northern section, archaeologists revealed underground storerooms and cellars once used to store olive oil, honey, animal fat, and wine. Numerous wine jar labels found here confirm the area’s use as a wine cellar. Elsewhere, signs of textile and stone workshops, kitchens, and bakeries paint a vivid picture of a self-sustaining complex serving not only the temple personnel but likely the surrounding community as well.

Jars found at the Ramesseum — *Photo Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities*

Meanwhile, the eastern part of the site offered up remains of administrative buildings. These structures hint at a well-organised bureaucratic system, possibly managed by a hierarchy of civil servants overseeing the production and distribution of temple goods.

The discoveries didn’t stop there. In the northeast sector, a series of tombs dating back to the Third Intermediate Period (roughly 1069–525 BCE) were revealed. These burial sites included shafts, nested sarcophagi, canopic jars, funerary tools, and over 400 ceramic ushabti figurines. Human remains scattered across the area confirmed that the Ramesseum also functioned as a necropolis in later periods.

In another significant development, archaeologist Hisham El-Leithy announced the re-excavation of a burial from the Middle Kingdom belonging to Sehetep-ib-Re. Originally unearthed by British archaeologist James Quibell in 1896, this tomb contains beautifully preserved funerary art and provides further evidence of the site’s long and layered history.

Temples infrastructure at the Ramesseum in Luxor — *Photo Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities*

Restoration efforts were also a key part of the mission. In the southern part of the temple, the team managed to reconstruct and re-erect the statues of Ramesses II and his mother, Queen Tuya, placing them back in their original spots. Nearby, the royal palace adjacent to the temple’s first courtyard was carefully restored, revealing its throne room and reception hall—spaces thought to have hosted royal audiences during state visits by the pharaoh.

Altogether, the discoveries reveal that the Ramesseum was far more than just a monument to a great king. It was a vibrant hub of learning, administration, worship, and commerce—occupied even before Ramesses II’s time and reused well into the Ptolemaic and Roman periods by later craftsmen and builders.

These findings breathe new life into an ancient place, offering us a richer, more nuanced picture of how the Egyptians lived, learned, and governed their world more than 3,000 years ago.

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