Ancient Egypt lasted thousands of years, but across the millennia a few pharaohs stand out, and Ramesses II (c 1303-1213 BCE) was one of them. His 66-yesr reign witnessed great successes economically, he won military conflicts that made Egypt a world power, and he promoted his accomplishments in art that still today remain as some of the most important in Egypt’s long history. Ramesses II was the inspiration for Percy Shelly’s famous poem “Ozymandias,” which is the Greek version of “Ramesses”.
And just last week a new archaeological site was discovered in a temple dedicated to the pharaoh: over 2,000 mummified rams’ skulls — shown up close in the first slide, and laid out in neat rows in the second. Most of the rams’ skulls had lost their desiccated flesh and embalming wraps. This particular animal had special meaning for Ramesses.
The temple of Abydos, where the skulls (as well as other slain animal religious offerings) were located, had been dedicated to the Pharaoh Ramesses II, and the severed rams’ heads were probably an offering to the Ancient Egyptian leader. However, they weren’t put there until 1,000 years after his death during the Ptolemaic period (305-30 BCE), showing how long Ramesses’ reputation had endured (pace Shelly).
Sources: www.livescience.com, Harry Baker, March 29, 2023, “2,000 mummified rams’ heads were gifted to long-dead ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II”
