A team of Egyptian and German archaeologists have discovered a set of broken sphinxes bearing the faces of ancient pharaohs from different eras.
The discovery took place in a Temple of the Sun at Heliopolisan archaeological site that was once a major city, near present-day Cairo.
Sun temples are found at various sites in Egypt and are dedicated to the god Ra. This place was of great importance to the ancient Egyptians, as they believed that the world was created there with the first dawn. A place where the connection of royalty with the creator was celebrated and Ra, the sun god.
Probably the most important temple of the Sun of the Pharaonic era was erected here. Later he received the Greek name of Heliopolishowever, in Egyptian sources the city was known as Iunu.
“Ideally, no Egyptian leader should take office without the blessing of the sun god,” the experts said. THE the pharaohs built statues, obelisks and other structures in Heliopolis to legitimize their government and honor the god of the Sun.
Faces of ancient pharaohs
As Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stated in a releaseinstead the base of a statue of Pharaoh Ramses II and a quartz sphinx representing him were found.
Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Similarly, discovered fragments carved in stone have been found which include representations Ramesses IX (reigned about 1126 BC to 1108 BC) and a piece of pink granite stone with a large inscription which is probably the top of an obelisk, of Ramses II (reigned about 1279 BC to 1213 BC), from Horemheb (reigned about 1279 BC to 1213 BC) about 1323 BC AD to 1295 BC. AD) and Psametic II (reigned from 595 BC to 589 BC).
Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Experts reported that the heads of the pharaohs were part of sphinxes. In the place, fragments of the lower part were found, which, when united, formed a sphinx.
The heads of the pharaohs were part of the sphinxes. This shows a fragment of the lower part of a sphinx. Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Dietrich Rauedirector of the Cairo department of the German Archaeological Institute and leader of the expedition, suggested that the statues were placed in front of the doors or next to the obelisks of the temple, but that they were then destroyed and reused as building materials. construction.
Thanks to this discovery, the researchers hope that this archaeological site will in the future provide new relevant discoveries about Heliopolis, whose history dates back to at least 3,000 BC. C., but it has been very little studied.
Reference: Live Science.
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