Remains of the former king

An Italian archaeological mission has discovered the remains of a sun temple belonging to an ancient Egyptian king near Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said.

The temple of King Nyuserre is believed to be from the Fifth Dynasty and the remains were found in the Abusir necropolis south of the Egyptian capital.

It is part of a monumental complex dedicated to the cult of the sun god Ra and is one of the few solar temples identified to date.

The site was identified as early as 1901 by the German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt, known for his 1912 discovery of the famous bust of the ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti, but a high water table prevented any excavation at the time.

According to the ministry, the mission has for the first time discovered more than half of the temple, long buried under the sediments of the Nile River.

The ministry described a colossal structure of more than 1,000 square meters “with unique architecture that places it among the largest and most notable valley temples in the Memphis Necropolis,” a stretch of ancient funerary complexes.

Architectural elements have been identified including column bases, wall coverings and granite thresholds, as well as an inclined ramp “probably connecting the temple to the Nile or one of its branches,” the ministry said.

The team also found two wooden pieces from the ancient Egyptian game “Sunnat”, which resembles modern chess, the ministry added.

Abusir, about 20 kilometers south of Cairo, is an archaeological site containing, notably, the pyramids of several pharaohs, although they are modest in size compared to the pyramids of Giza.

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

To date, only the remains of two temples have been confirmed, including that of Nyuserre, according to the British university, famous for identifying the remains of Richard III, the English king who died more than five centuries ago.

Earlier this month, a hidden treasure of 225 funerary figurines It was discovered inside a tomb in the ancient Egyptian capital of Tanis, in the Nile Delta. The royal symbol on the figurines solved an ancient mystery by identifying who was buried in the sarcophagus: it was Pharaoh Shoshenq III, who reigned from 830 to 791 BC

Egypt reveals colossal restored statues of pharaoh in Luxor

Meanwhile, Egypt on Sunday unveiled the renovation of two colossal statues of a prominent pharaoh in the southern city of Luxor, the News reported.

The gigantic alabaster statues, known as the Colossi of Memnon, were reassembled in a renovation project that lasted approximately two decades. They represent Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt about 3,400 years ago.

“Today we are celebrating, in fact, the completion and erection of these two colossal statues,” Mohamed Ismail, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told The News before the ceremony.

Ismail said the colossi are of great importance to Luxor, a city known for its ancient temples and other antiquities. They are also an attempt to “revive what this funerary temple of King Amenhotep III looked like a long time ago,” Ismail said.

Amenhotep III, one of the most prominent pharaohs, ruled during the 500 years of the New Kingdom, which was the most prosperous era of ancient Egypt. The pharaoh, whose mummy is on display in a Cairo museum, ruled between 1390 and 1353 BC. C., a peaceful period known for its prosperity and great construction, including its mortuary temple, where the Colossi of Memnon are located, and another temple, Soleb, in Nubia.

The colossi were toppled by a strong earthquake around 1200 BC. C. that also destroyed the funerary temple of Amenhotep III, said Mohamed Ismail, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

They were fragmented and partly quarried, with their pedestals scattered. Some of its blocks were reused in the Karnak temple, but archaeologists brought them back to reconstruct the colossi, according to the Ministry of Antiquities.

In the late 1990s, an Egyptian-German mission, chaired by German Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian, began work on the temple area, including the assembly and renovation of the colossi.

“This project has in mind…saving the last remains of a once prestigious temple,” he said.

The statues show Amenhotep III seated with his hands resting on his thighs, with his faces facing east, towards the Nile and the rising sun. They wear the nemes headdress surmounted by double crowns and the pleated royal skirt, which symbolizes the divine rule of the pharaoh.

Two other small statues at the pharaoh’s feet represent his wife, Tiye.

Sunday’s inauguration in Luxor came just six weeks after the Inauguration of the long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museumthe centerpiece of the government’s attempt to boost the country’s tourism industry and pump money into the troubled economy. The megaproject is located near the famous Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.