Remains of ancient king's temple dedicated to sun god found in Egypt

An Italian archaeological ngo has discovered the remains of a prima temple belonging to an past Egyptian king adjacent Cairo, the Egyptian antiquities ministry said.

The temple of King Nyuserre is believed to beryllium from the Fifth Dynasty and the remains were recovered successful the Abusir necropolis southbound of the Egyptian capital.

It is portion of a monumental analyzable dedicated to the cult of the prima deity Ra and is 1 of the fewer star temples identified to date.

The tract was identified arsenic aboriginal arsenic 1901 by the German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt --known for his 1912 find of the celebrated bust of past Egyptian queen Nefertiti -- but a precocious h2o array prevented immoderate excavation astatine the time.

According to the ministry, the ngo has uncovered for the archetypal clip much than fractional of the temple, agelong buried nether River Nile sediment.

The ministry described a colossal operation of implicit 1,000 quadrate meters "with a unsocial architecture that ranks it among the largest and astir singular vale temples successful the Memphis necropolis", a agelong of past funerary complexes.

Architectural features including file bases, partition coverings, and granite thresholds person been identified, arsenic good arsenic a sloping ramp "likely connecting the temple to the Nile oregon 1 of its branches", the ministry said.

The squad besides recovered 2 woody pieces of the past Egyptian "Sunnat" game, resembling modern chess, te ministry added.

An Italian archaeological ngo has discovered the remains of a prima temple belonging to an past Egyptian king adjacent Cairo, the Egyptian antiquities ministry said. Egyptian antiquities ministry

Abusir, astir 12 miles southbound of Cairo, is an archaeological tract that notably contains the pyramids of respective pharaohs, though they are humble successful size compared to the pyramids of Giza.

Six star temples are believed to person been built during the reign of the pharaohs of the Fifth Dynasty, according to the University of Leicester.

Only the remains of 2 temples person been confirmed to date, including that of Nyuserre, according to the British university, which is celebrated for identifying the remains of Richard III, the English king who died much than 5 centuries ago.

Earlier this month, a treasure trove of 225 funerary figurines was discovered wrong a tomb successful the past Egyptian superior of Tanis successful the Nile Delta. The royal awesome connected the figurines solved a long-standing enigma by identifying who was buried successful the sarcophagus: It was pharaoh Shoshenq III, who reigned from 830 to 791 BC.

Egypt reveals restored colossal statues of pharaoh successful Luxor

Meanwhile, Egypt connected Sunday revealed the revamp of 2 colossal statues of a salient pharaoh successful the confederate metropolis of Luxor, the Associated Press reported.

The elephantine alabaster statues, known arsenic the Colossi of Memnon, were reassembled successful a renovation task that lasted astir 2 decades. They correspond Amenhotep III, who ruled past Egypt astir 3,400 years ago.

"Today we are celebrating, actually, the finishing and the erecting of these 2 colossal statues," Mohamed Ismail, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told The Associated Press up of the ceremony.

Ismail said the colossi are of large value to Luxor, a metropolis known for its past temples and different antiquities. They're besides an effort to "revive however this funerary temple of king Amenhotep III looked similar a agelong clip ago," Ismail said.

A blistery aerial ballon flys implicit the assembly of 2 elephantine alabaster statues for Pharoah Amenhotep III, earlier the authoritative opening, successful the confederate metropolis of Luxor, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. Amr Nabil / AP

Amenhotep III, 1 of the astir salient pharaohs, ruled during the 500 years of the New Kingdom, which was the astir prosperous clip for past Egypt. The pharaoh, whose mummy is showcased astatine a Cairo museum, ruled betwixt 1390–1353 BC, a peaceful play known for its prosperity and large construction, including his mortuary temple, wherever the Colossi of Memnon are located, and different temple, Soleb, successful Nubia.

The colossi were toppled by a beardown earthquake successful astir 1200 BC that besides destroyed Amenhotep III's funerary temple, said Mohamed Ismail, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

They were fragmented and partially quarried away, with their pedestals dispersed. Some of their blocks were reused successful the Karnak temple, but archaeologists brought them backmost to rebuild the colossi, according to the Antiquities Ministry.

In precocious 1990s, an Egyptian German mission, chaired by German Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian, began moving successful the temple area, including the assembly and renovation of the colossi.

"This task has successful caput … to prevention the past remains of a once-prestigious temple," she said.

The statues amusement Amenhotep III seated with hands resting connected his thighs, with their faces looking eastward toward the Nile and the rising sun. They deterioration the nemes headdress surmounted by the treble crowns and the pleated royal kilt, which symbolizes the pharaoh's divine rule.

Two different tiny statues connected the pharaoh's feet picture his wife, Tiye.

Sunday's unveiling successful Luxor came conscionable six weeks aft the inauguration of the long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum, the centerpiece of the government's bid to boost the country's tourism manufacture and bring currency into the troubled economy. The mega task is located adjacent the famed Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

• Archaeologist
• Egypt