ARCHAEOLOGISTS found an ancient Egyptian shrine, hidden treasures and other evidence while searching for the lost. “City of the Sun”One of the oldest cities of Egypt.
The international team was able to learn more about “the rulers’ intense investment in the creation and expansion of the temple”After analysing inscriptions, we discovered that they could be more than 2,000 years old.
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Archaeologists researching the ancient temple city of Heliopolis have made remarkable discoveries documenting intense temple construction activities in Ancient Egypt.
Heliopolis, which translates to City of the Sun, was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt.
It was occupied during the Predynastic Period. This spans approximately 3,100 BC, from the first human settlement to the start of the Early Dynastic Period.
Heliopolis was greatly expanded during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, but it is now mostly destroyed because its temples were used for construction of medieval Cairo.
Some of the most spectacular remains, like obelisks, were sent overseas. Cleopatra’s Needles in London was one example. It came from Heliopolis.
The international team studying the remains at the original site consists of experts from scientific institutions in Germany, Italy, and Egypt
The experts recently discovered a limestone wall, fragments of a shrine of pharaoh Takelot I (887-874 BC), and the remains of a sandstone building at their excavation site near Cairo.
According to researchers, it is still impossible to determine the exact date when the wall was built.
Since 2010, Professor Dietrich Raue (54) has been in charge of excavations northeast of Cairo, the Egyptian capital.
The expert on Ancient Egypt said, “Our latest discoveries document the rulers’ intense investment in the creation and expansion of the temple of Heliopolis during different periods in time.”
Katarina Werneburg, a Leipzig University spokesperson, said that the temple complex could have originated from the 26th Dynasty (664-525 BC), based on one the few remaining inscriptions.
Other discoveries include pieces from architecture that were created during Cheops’ reign (2589-2566 BC), and fragments from the statues Thutmose III, Amenhotep 2 and Ramesses The Great.
Local authorities have cooperated with scientists and students from Leipzig University’s Egyptology Department and experts from Pisa University, Italy, on the project.
Leipzig University is one among the oldest universities in Germany. It was founded in 1409.
Famous alumni include Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, Richard Wagner, and Angela Merkel.