Egyptian colossal of Ramesses II and the goddess Sekhmet, dating

to 1279-1213 BCE.

"BCE" = Before Common Era.
This writing years used to cater to religious diversity.
Before it was BC which is "Before Christ".
Another abbreviations of writing years are AD and CE.
AD is Anno Domini means "In the year of the lord" and CE for "Christ Era".

For example:
2020 CE or AD 2020
487 BCE or 487 BC
Caesar Augustus ruled from 27 BCE to 14 CE

Here are some other calendars:
The Chinese calendar dates back to 2700 BC.
The Hindu calendar dates back to 3100 BC.
The Muslim calendar starts from the Hijra
(Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina) in AD 622.