Excavations revealed doorways, a ramp that likely led to the Nile River, and a public calendar carved into a stone block outside the entrance.
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities/FacebookExcavations of the valley temple began in 2024.
Archaeologists have uncovered part of a 4,500-year-old Egyptian temple that was part of a complex built to honor the Sun god Ra. Located at the Abu Ghurab archaeological site near Cairo, the temple is providing valuable insight into life in ancient Egypt.
The site was first identified over a century ago, when archaeologists were able to unearth part of the complex dubbed the “upper temple.” However, due to the high water table at the time, excavations of the lower structures weren’t possible. Then, in 2024, workers began digging through layers of Nile River sediment to reveal the ruins of this connected “valley temple.”
Uncovering The Ancient Valley Temple
According to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, an Italian archaeological team has uncovered about half of the valley temple since excavations began in 2024. So far, they’ve found column bases, granite shingles, doorways, stone cladding from the original walls, and a ramp that likely connected the temple “to the Nile or one of its branches.”
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities/FacebookA stone doorway in the newly excavated temple.
The team also found a staircase that led to the roof of the temple. Massimiliano Nuzzolo, one of the excavation directors, told Live Science, “The roof of the valley temple was probably used for astronomical observations.”
These ruins date back around 4,500 years to the reign of Pharaoh Nyuserre, a Fifth Dynasty king who ruled from 2420 B.C.E. to 2380 B.C.E.
The newly discovered valley temple was connected to the upper temple via a causeway. While the upper temple was the main part of the complex that was used for religious worship, the valley temple likely served as “a landing stage for the boats approaching it from the Nile or, more likely, from one of its side channels,” according to Nuzzolo.
The ruins have much more to reveal than the architecture of the period, however.
Archaeologists Found More Than Just The Remains Of A Temple
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities/FacebookA block from the temple was inscribed with a “public calendar.”
Perhaps the most fascinating part of this discovery is the calendar found carved into a block outside the valley temple’s entrance. Part of the calendar was unearthed during the original excavations in the early 20th century, but the current archaeological team was able to uncover the entire block it was inscribed on.
The calendar lists various religious events, from the feast of the falcon-headed deity Sokar and the festival of the fertility god Min to the procession of Ra.
“What is really important here is… the location of these blocks,” Nuzzolo said. “They were all found in the area of the entrance portico and this seems to indicate that the façade of the temple, on the outside, was inscribed with this long calendar of feasts, possibly one of the first [examples] of ‘public calendars’ known so far to us.”
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities/FacebookGame pieces uncovered from the excavation site.
Archaeologists also found dozens of blocks with inscriptions mentioning Pharaoh Nyuserre.
What’s more, the team was able to determine that the valley temple was ultimately transformed into a residential space. From this period, they found pieces from a board game called senet, which was similar to modern chess.
From religious festivals to quiet afternoons at home, these ancient ruins are still providing information about life in Egypt more than 4,000 years after they were a bustling social center.
After reading about the temple dedicated to the Sun god Ra that was uncovered in Egypt, discover the story of Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of death. Then, look through these 44 interesting ancient Egypt facts that separate truth from myth.
