Ramses II in Jordan
Dr.Gaballah discovers Ramses II inscription over a basalt stone in a mosque in
the northwest area of Jordan
Interview conducted by Mrs. Naglaa El Zahlawi
The Secretary General to the Supreme Council of Antiquities visited Jordan recently to recuperate some of the Egyptian Monuments wrongly displayed there. The Jordanian authorities were cooperative enough to return these monuments to their original owners. During the press conference held in this respect between Dr. Gaballah and Mr. Akl El Beltagui, the Jordanian Minister for Tourism and Antiquities, a side discussion raised between Dr. Gaballah and Dr. Fawzi Khereisha recently appointed as General Manager to the Jordanian Monuments. Dr. Khereisha mentioned a stone with hieroglyph inscriptions in an old mosque in Eltora located in the furthest north side of Jordan. Back to his office in Cairo, I couldn't help myself asking Dr.Gaballah the details, which I did:
Dr. Gaballah: I couldn't resist the temptation as soon as I heard Dr. Khereisha mentioning the basalt stone bearing the hieroglyph inscriptions. I asked him to take me immediately to the location in order to verify the authenticity of the inscription. The next day we had to travel from Amman to the north side of Jordan looking for the abandoned mosque in Eltora which is a very small town. The mosque we reached after many inquiries was a small building in black stones, it looked like a square room built in black basalt and not exceeding 50m2; then started the search for the key of the locked door. Apparently no one knew were it was and the access to the place almost impossible. We began to feel bad about the situation; something had to be done.
Naglaa: What did you do then to avoid the embarrassment of the situation, you traveled from Amman to Eltora to get concrete evidence and the situation weren't solving it?
Dr. Gaballah: We started turning around the place to find an issue to the situation. I noticed a sole window 150-cm up the ground level. I couldn't resist again, I forgot my age and remembered one thing that is the archaeologist's weakness facing a critical situation like this one. I had to see the stone, check the inscriptions and verify its origins. I simply hold the lower freeze of the window and started climbing despite the objections raised around me ignoring the dust and the risk of the climbing itself. I finally reached the edge, jumped in and tried to look into the darkness. There was these two columns I could hardly see standing inside the black room, I looked up to Dr. Mohamed Abdel Maksoud and asked him to give me a torch as the archaeologist should always carry one. I started cleaning the dust and there was the famous inscription lying at the base of the column over a 40cm x 15-cm stone in black basalt. Six lines were inscribed over the stone; they represent part of Ramses II title Setep-n-Ra that had to be preceded by Ser-maat Ra, but unfortunately that part is missing. The whole sentence meant strong is Ra's justice chosen by the deity Ra. The personal name of the king is there too Sa Ra which means son of the sun. The other inscription is mery Amen or beloved by Amen.
Naglaa: According to your large experience, from where do you presume the stone reached that place?
Dr. Gaballah: I think either from Syria or Palestine as Ramses II has many remains in Yafa, Palestine and in Syria and Lebanon. He was a very active and strong king. His power extended beyond Egypt's borders.
Naglaa: How did you come out of the mosque after this spontaneous adventure?
Dr. Gaballah: It was more difficult to come out than climb inside, again I had to find a solution and an exit as well. I looked around and found few loose stones lying on the floor, I set them up to be able to lift my weight up to the window where I sat to rest. I couldn't jump outside on the floor. I had to use a wooden ladder somebody from outside the mosque provided and I had to crawl sometimes on my knees to reach the ground but when I did I was very happy because this was the first stone discovered in Jordan that belonged to Ramses II.
Naglaa: What was the original purpose of your visit to Jordan?
Dr. Gaballah: The Egyptian Embassy was officially informed the 21st of October 1998 that the Jordanian customs officers discovered 28 objects inside two cars that arrived from, Neweibae port in Egypt to El Akaba. These objects identified as monuments were delivered to the monument authorities in Amman. When informed a group from the SCA responsible together with representatives from Tourism and Monuments Police flew to Jordan in order to verify their authenticity. The case had to be thoroughly traced and the monuments recuperated.
Naglaa: What was the degree of importance of these pieces and could you describe them to our readers?
Dr. Gaballah: Any small object related to Egypt's history has its importance, all these remains are of a great value and our duty is to preserve them and protect these valuable witnesses of a great civilization. The fraud pieces are a 30kg statue representing Serapis head. The statue, dating back to the first century, is the famous deity of the Polemic era. The statue of the famous god Ptah in faience is 4cm long and is without feet. The 21 faience Ushabtis bear hieroglyph inscriptions and range from 10cm to 10,8cm long; as we all know Ushabtis were meant to bethe king's servants for the afterlife. The two amulets 2cm to 3cm in faience represent either a bird or a winged animal. The famous deity responsible for delivery and birth giving is part of the group and is restored in many places.
Naglaa: As I realized myself the Jordanian authorities were very cooperative in this respect, what are your personal reactions to this attitude?
Dr. Gaballah: Mr. Akl El Beltagui, the Jordanian Tourism and Antiquities Minister interfered personally to release the monuments and send them back to their homeland. A full report was sent to the Egyptian authorities with the consent of the Jordanian Prime Minister. The UNESCO conventions and recommendations were totally respected by the Jordanian side. I owe this attitude the pleasure of the discovery of Ramses II stone, the king who ruled Egypt for nearly 67 years. This is not the end of all the possible adventures that could lead to a new discovery.
Best regards,
Naglaa