(ORDO NEWS) — Archaeologists working in Egypt claim to have found one of the four lost sun temples that were known from historical texts but never found.
Egyptian sun temples were built by the pharaohs of the Fifth Dynasty (about 4,500 years ago) and dedicated to the sun god Ra, often with impressive remains – although only two of the six or seven temples have been discovered.
The announcement was made by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism on Saturday, along with stunning images of the partially excavated site.
This is not currently confirmed to be an Egyptian sun temple, but excavations and the specific location of the site strongly indicate that this is the case.
“The discovery indicates that the remains may belong to one of the four lost Fifth Dynasty solar temples known only in historical sources but still not found,” the translated statement said.
Found at Abu Gorab, north of Abu Sir, the building was excavated when Italian and Polish archaeologists were working on the temple of King Ni and Sarah and stumbled upon a mudbrick building underneath the temple.
The temple of the sun is entered through a limestone entrance, the floors are lined with mud bricks and huge blocks of quartz.
Part of the “Temple of the Sun” was probably removed by the king when building his own temple, due to clay vessels found nearby, which were probably used for founding rituals, during which the dignitary initiated the construction of a new building.
Temples like this one provide an invaluable insight into Fifth Dynasty Egyptian culture, much of which is still unknown to historians.
Archaeologists continue to work on the incredible site in the hope that they can confirm it is indeed the Temple of the Sun and unearth more artifacts from an incredible period of ancient history.
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