Lost Egyptian sun temple unearthed in one of the most important discoveries of the last 5 decades

Archaeologists discovered in the Egyptian desert the remains of what they believe is one of six sun temples built by the Fifth Dynasty pharaohs, reported the telegraph.

The discovery made in Abu Gorab, south of Cairo and north of the archaeology site of Abusir, is being hailed as one of the most important in five decades.

The sun temples of ancient Egypt were dedicated to” the powerful sun god Ra” who was also the creator god of the Egyptian pantheon. These temples were meant to confer god status on the pharaohs who built them.

Until the recent discovery, only the remains of two of the lost six temples, the one commissioned by the pharaoh Userkaf in Abusir and the one commissioned by pharaoh Nyuserre Ini of the same dynasty in Abu Gorab, had been found.

Archaeologists unearthed the ruins of, most likely, the 3rd sun temple from under the remains of the later Nyuserre sun temple, built by Nyuserre Ini, the sixth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period.

Dr. Massimiliano Nuzzolo, assistant professor of Egyptology at the Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, told the Telegraph, “We knew that there was something below the stone temple of Nyuserre. The fact that there is such a huge entrance would point to a new building. So, why not another sun temple, one of the missing sun temples?”

The six kings associated with having built sun temples are Userkaf, Sahure, Neferirkare, Reneferef or Neferefre, Nyuserre, and Menkauhor.

The sun temples were all built according to the same pattern, as each had a large courtyard with a pillar or obelisk which aligned with the east-west axis of the sun.

Alike the pyramids, the sun temples had a separate entrance and exit and were all built on the west bank of the Nile River. Although mostly destroyed, their ruins suggest these were open-air worship sites rather than closed.