Lost carvings of Tutankhamun's grandfather found buried at bottom of Egypt's Nile River

Archaeologists were left stunned when they discovered an ancient carving, which featured Tutankhamun's grandfather and other ancient Egyptian pharaohs, buried at the bottom of the Nile River.

The giant stone slabs were found while looking for the artefacts which were washed away in the floods in the 1970s from the city of Aswan.

The slabs discovered had hieroglyphic inscriptions which stated the achievements of kings like King Amenhotep III, who is also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent and King Tut's ancestor.

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The carvings on the stone also mention King Thutmose IV who ruled in the early 14th Century BC and is remembered for restoring the Great Sphinx of Giza.

The team members, who discovered the stone, expressed their surprise over the good condition of the carvings and hoped to find more artefacts in future.

In 1960, ancient artefacts were found in the area but were later lost because of the construction of the Aswan High Dam in Aswan. The archaeologists had hurriedly tried to remove them before they were lost underwater, however, they failed to relocate many of them.

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"For the first time, we [have] gone underwater to study the rock formations between the Aswan reservoir and the Aswan High Dam," said the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, while speaking to the Smithsonian Magazine.

"Since the site remains in good condition, the mission was able to fully document it," it added.

How the artefacts were documented by researchers?

The researchers used underwater photography and filming techniques to document the stones.

The 3D models of the images were also created using photogrammetry, which is the process in which surface measurements from pictures are used to create an accurate three-dimensional version.

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The General Administration for Sunken Archaeological Archaeology Director General Dr Islam Saleem said in a Facebook post that the initial findings of the team suggested there are additional carvings which have to be discovered.

The researchers think that the findings can help get a good understanding of the reign of the 18th dynasty, which is already famous for its architectural and artistic accomplishments.

(With inputs from agencies)