Ancient Egyptian Temple Found in Sandstone Quarry
Ancient Egyptian Temple Found in Sandstone Quarry
Monday, May 18, 2015
ASWAN, EGYPT—A team of archaeologists led by Maria Nilsson and John Ward of Sweden’s Lund University has unearthed rock inscriptions and cartouches for Amenhotep III and Ramses II at a 3,300-year-old temple site in the Gebel El Silsila quarry. “The significance of the find is that it changes the history of the site, and it firmly established Gebel el Silsila as not only a quarry, but also a sacred location. The archaeologists are currently studying the material, and working on producing a comprehensive plan and eventually a 3-D (digital) reconstruction,” Ward told The Cairo Post. Beads dating to the 18th Dynasty, colored plaster, faience, pottery, and a blue-colored scarab were recovered from the temple area. The temple had four visible layers, column bases, and inner and outer walls. The oldest phase of the temple had been built from limestone and “may signify the official changeover from limestone construction to sandstone,” Nilsson said. For more on Egyptian temples, see "The Cult of Amun."
http://www.archaeology.org/news/3295-150518-egypt-quarry-temple