THE RUINS OF WHAT COULD BE ONE OF THE FOUR LOST ANCIENT EGYPTIAN “SUN TEMPLES” WERE FOUND BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXCAVATING IN ABUSIR, SOUTH OF CAIRO NEAR SAQQARA, EGYPT.
One of the primary cemeteries for Memphis, the ancient Egyptian nation’s capital, was located at Abusir, an Old Kingdom necropolis. At least 14 royal pyramids, mastaba, and tombs can be found at the site, which was inhabited from the middle of the 24th century BC until the early 25th century BC during the 5th Dynasty.
A Polish and Italian archaeological team excavated the temple of Pharaoh Nyuserre Ini, the sixth pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty.
According to representatives from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the team discovered quartz blocks and mud-brick construction remnants in a context layer that predates the temple. These artifacts may represent one of the four ancient sun temples.
There may have been six sun temples constructed, but only two have been found thus far.
Sun temples were constructed in honor of Ra, a god of the sun, order, monarchs, and the sky who is sometimes shown as a falcon with a sun-disk inside of a cobra.
Archaeologists speculate as to the function of sun temples because of their design, which appears to have more than only royal funeral reasons and is probably a component of the cultic worship of monarchy.
According to a news statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on the discovery, the building is accessible through an entrance cut out of limestone rock, which leads to an area with a paved floor and includes sizable shards of quartz.
Additionally, pottery jars, beer pots, and containers with crimson rims that were probably utilized in temple rites and ceremonies were discovered during excavations.
