A LARGE gateway dating back 2,100 years has been unearthed by archaeologists in an ancient Egyptian town.
The secretive entrance, found in the historic town of Athribis, near the modern city of Sohag, originally stood up to 60ft (18m) tall.
It open up to a previously unknown chamber, which archaeologists believe could lead to a long-lost temple.
“The entrance to a temple in the rock is suspected to be under the still untouched piles of rubble behind it,” said University of Tübingen archaeologists Professor Christian Leitz and Dr. Marcus Müller.
“Unique in Egyptian temple architecture is a second door on the façade of the pylon, which leads to a previously unknown staircase that led in at least four flights to the upper floor, which has now been destroyed, and where further storage rooms can be reconstructed.”
“The more than 3m-high find and decorations typical of the upper end of a temple — such as a cobra frieze — indicate that there could be a door behind it.”
Although further excavations will be required to prove this.
The chamber, which is roughly 6m long and 3m wide, was discovered after clearing away a 20ton ceiling block that had fallen over time.
The small room which was likely used for storing utensils and amphora – oval containers that were used for wine, oil and resin.
Leitz and Müller have been working with Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on the discovery.
The pair added: “Excavations have been taking place since 2012 to uncover a temple district from antiquity that was built between 144 BCE and 138 CE.
“The complex was 51m wide in total and the towers of the monumental temple entrance were each 18m high.
“Today, only around 5m remain. The rest fell victim to quarrying.”
The entrance is decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions and intricate carvings on the outer facade and the inner walls.
The hieroglyphics suggest Ptolemy VIII from the 2nd century BCE was responsible for the construction of the pylon.
Though the inscriptions also portray Egyptian fertility god Min, his wife Repit, commonly depicted as a lioness, and their son, the child-god Kolanthes.
“Once again, the goddess Repit can be seen, while the door frame opposite shows the fertility god Min, who is accompanied by two very rarely depicted beings — decans (stars that enable time to be measured at night) with the heads of a falcon and an ibis respectively,” said Leitz and Müller.
In one inscription, this Egyptian deities are receiving sacrifices from a king, who the researchers say is Ptolemy VIII from the 2nd century BC.
Ptolemy VIII was known for the political prowess and military rivalry he had with his older siblings.
During his reign, which spanned 170 to 164 BCE, he sometimes ruled alongside solo and at other times with others.
In around 117, Ptolemy VIII sponsored a voyage to India via the Red Sea and Indian Ocean – which was the first of its kind.
It was this expedition that sparked Egypt’s interest in the spice trade.
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