Archaeologists have discovered treasure inside a submerged temple and sanctuary in Egypt.
While exploring a canal off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, archaeologists discovered a sunken temple and a sanctuary filled with ancient treasures related to the god. Amun and the goddess Aphrodite.
Underwater archaeologists found many artifacts inside the temple, including gold objects, jewelry and a djed pillar, a symbol of stability made of lapis lazuli. (Photo: European Institute of Underwater Archeology (IEASM)
The temple, which partially collapsed during a cataclysm in the mid-second century BC, was originally built to worship the god Amun. According to a statement from the European Institute of Underwater Archeology (IEASM), this temple is so important that the pharaohs came to the temple to receive their powerful title, universal king from the temple’s supreme deity. ancient Egyptian worship.
This now abandoned building was once part of the ancient port city of Thonis-Heracleion in Aboukir Bay (also known as Abū Qīr Bay). The city is currently underwater and about 7km from the present-day coast of Egypt, having been destroyed in a massive earthquake and tidal wave that caused the soil to liquefy and sink into the Nile Delta.
Many ceremonial tools are made of gold and silver
While exploring the temple, archaeologists unearthed a number of treasures and secrets, including ceremonial tools made of silver, gold jewelry, and plaster containers once used to hold perfume. or greasy ointment for application.
Also at this site, divers found underground structures supported by well-preserved wooden columns and beams dating from the fifth century BC.
Franck Goddio, president of IEASM and the French underwater archaeologist who led the excavation, said: “It is extremely moving to discover such fragile objects, still intact despite accept the cataclysm”.
East of the temple, archaeologists found a Greek sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite. Archaeologists say that this shows that the Greeks were allowed to trade and settle in the city during the time of the Pharaohs of the Saïte dynasty [between 688 BC and 525 BC] with sanctuaries. to their own gods.
The sanctuary also kept a cache of Greek weapons, suggesting that Greek mercenaries were once present in the area to protect access to the Kingdom of the Nile River, or its tributary, researchers said. Canopic.
