Cairo, April 15 (IANS/AKI): Egyptian and German archaeologists have discovered a 2,400-year-old basalt shrine and bust beneath Cairo's modern Ain Shams and Mataria districts, the antiquities minstry announced. 
 
 "The shrine belonged to the 30th Dynasty Pharoah Nectanebo I," said Antiquities Minister Mamdouh El Damaty. 
 
 He was referring to Egypt's pharoah from 379 BC to 360 BC, a member of the last native Egyptian royal family to rule before Alexander the Great conquered the country. 
 
 The excavated part of the shrine consists of carved basalt blocks and the dig also unearthed a royal bust belonging to the pharaoh Merenptah from the New Kingdom (1,580 BC to 1,080 BC), Damaty said. 
 
 The statue represents Merenptah standing and making offerings to ancient Egyptian deities, Damaty said. 
 
 The finds were unearthed at the site of a sprawling and extremely important temple from Heliopolis, Egypt's most ancient capital city, known in ancient Egyptian as Lunu. 
 
 Ground water was being reduced in order to complete excavation works at the temple, said Damaty. 
 
 Digs carried out in the area have uncovered pottery and other artefacts from prehistoric human settlements, according to Aiman Ashmawy, head of the ministry's Egyptian department. 
 
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 (available on Android and IOS) ||||| CAIRO: A 2,400 year-old basalt shrine was unearthed from beneath Cairo’s modern districts of Ain Shams and Mataria, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty announced Tuesday. 
 
 “The finds were discovered during the ongoing excavation work carried out by an Egyptian-German archaeology mission. The shrine belonged to the 30th Dynasty Pharaoh Nectanebo I (379 B.C.-360 B.C.,)” said Damaty. 
 
 Nectanebo I was the founder of the 30th Dynasty: the last native Egyptian royal family to rule ancient Egypt before Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 B.C., Archaeologist Sherif el-Sabban told The Cairo Post Tuesday. 
 
 “Historical evidence suggests the Pharaoh came to power by overthrowing Nepherites II, his predecessor and the last pharaoh of the 29th Dynasty,” Sabban added. 
 
 The mission also unearthed a royal bust belonged to the New Kingdom (1580 B.C.-1080 B.C. ) Pharaoh Merenptah, Damaty said, adding that the statue represents the Pharaoh standing and making offerings to ancient Egyptian deities. 
 
 Archeology surveys carried out in Heliopolis have revealed prehistoric human settlements under this part of the modern city of Cairo, said Damaty. 
 
 Little remains of what was once one of the ancient Egyptians’ most sacred cities, since much of the stones used in the construction of the temples were later plundered and reused in building modern buildings, according to Sabban. 
 
 Heliopolis, known in ancient Egypt as Iunu, was Egypt’s most ancient capital city. 
 
 “The area was first excavated in the early 20th Century and most of the finds ended up in private collections. The obelisk of the Middle Kingdom Pharaoh Senusert I, probably the oldest standing obelisk in Egypt, is among the most significant excavations at the area,” according to Sabban. ||||| A chapel belonging to King Nectanebo I has been discovered in the Heliopolis Temple for the first time by German archaeologists. 
 
 Researchers discovered the bottom part of a chapel complete with carved Basalt blocks and a royal statue carrying a cartouche of King Merineptah. 
 
 The find – the first time a chapel has been found in the boarders of the temple - was announced by Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities. 
 
 King Nectanebo I was of the 30th Dynasty (380 – 362 BC) and was the last royal family to rule before Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BC. 
 
 "Historical evidence suggests the pharaoh came to power by overthrowing Nepherites II, his predecessor and the last pharaoh of the 29th Dynasty," archaeologist Sherif el-Sabban told The Cairo Post. 
 
 Aiman Ashmawy, from the Ministry, said part of the statue discovered depicts King Merineptah of the 19th Dynasty presenting an offering to a deity. He said they have found layers of human settlements, including pottery and other artefacts dating to the pre and early Dynastic Periods. 
 
 Ground water is currently being reduced so excavation works inside the Heliopolis Temple can be completed. 
 
 Detrich Rau, head of the German team of archaeologists, said the rest of the chapel will likely be uncovered in the next season, adding that he hopes even more objects are found there in the near future. 
 
 Ancient Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities in Egypt but most of its buildings were taken apart in order to build Cairo. ||||| A picture released by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities on April 14, 2015 shows a carved basalt block, a piece that belongs to the bottom part of a chapel belonging to King Nectanebo I Archaeologists excavating an ancient temple site in Cairo have discovered part of a chapel used by a pharaoh about 2,300 years ago, Egypt's antiquities ministry said on Tuesday. 
 
 The discovery was made at a site in the ancient Pharaonic capital of Heliopolis, today a sprawl of working and middle class districts in Cairo. 
 
 The chapel was built by King Nectanebo I, a king in the 30th dynasty that ruled from 380 to 340 BC between two Persian invasions of ancient Egypt. 
 
 The prayer space inside the larger temple "consists of carved basalt blocks in addition to a part of a royal statue carrying a cartouche of King Merineptah," the ministry statement said. 
 
 The statue depicts Merineptah, the son of 19th dynasty King Ramses II, presenting an offering to a god. 
 
 The joint Egyptian-German team excavating the site hopes to uncover the rest of the mud brick temple during the excavation season, the statement said. 
 
 Such finds are rare in the area, after many of the stones from ancient sites were used in the construction of Islamic Cairo in the 12th century. 
 
 Explore further: Archaeologists find 5,600-year-old tomb in Egypt (Update)
– Researchers have made an impressive find in Cairo: part of a chapel built by a pharaoh some 2,300 years ago, Phys.org reports. That pharaoh was King Nectanebo I, whose reign lasted from 379 to 360 BC, daijiworld.com reports. The chapel, part of a temple site in the historic area of Heliopolis, includes "carved basalt blocks" and a statue, Egypt's antiquities ministry says. The sculpture portrays King Merineptah, who was the son of King Ramses II of the 19th dynasty. Nectanebo, of the 30th, was part of the final native family in charge before Alexander the Great took control of Egypt, the Cairo Post notes. "Historical evidence suggests the pharaoh came to power by overthrowing Nepherites II, his predecessor and the last pharaoh of the 29th dynasty," an archaeologist tells the Post. Stones from such ancient sites make for unusual discoveries, especially since many were used in work on Cairo during the 1300s. But archaeologists expect the rest of this particular chapel in Heliopolis Temple to emerge during the next season, the International Business Times reports. (A study recently revealed the horrible death of another pharaoh.)