The age of the building is estimated at 4500 years.
Archaeologists discovered a temple dedicated to the god Ra, who is located 20 kilometers from Cairo. According to Live science, the temple was built during the fifth dynasty (2456-2323 BC).
According to the head of excavations, Massimiliano Nuzzolo, in those days “the cult of the sun god reached its peak thanks to the construction a monument dedicated to the deity widely known as the “Temple of the Sun”.
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The cult of the sun was very powerful in Egypt. In later times, he merged with Amon, the main god of Thebes (Luxor), resulting in Amon-Ra, whom some Egyptians considered the most powerful deity. He was worshiped until 1500 years ago, when Egyptian polytheism disappeared.
The recently discovered temple was built of raw bricks. Its length was 60 meters, and its width was 22 meters. The structure of the temple included an L-shaped entrance portico, a courtyard, storage rooms, which were probably used for cult purposes.
“All the walls of this building were plastered in black and white, and traces are often visible red and blue painting,” Nuzzolo said. The entrance portico was made of white brick, and it also housed two columns.
The temple was destroyed for ritual purposes, probably before its construction was completed. This was done in order to later build a new stone sun temple for Pharaoh Niuserre (reigned c. 2420 BC – 2389 BC).
The pharaoh “reused part of the structure as a platform or foundation for his new temple,” Nuzzolo said.
Archaeologists also managed to find several artefact clusters. In one of them there were dozens of whole beer jugs and several vessels decorated with red paint. In another, seal impressions were found, including those of pharaohs who ruled during the fifth and sixth dynasties.
Nuzzolo said that one of the oldest seals belongs to Shepseskar, the “mysterious” pharaoh who ruled Egypt. to Niuserre. Scientists are not sure which pharaoh started the construction of the mudbrick temple. It was probably Shepseskare, or Raneferef.
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In rituals performed in Egyptian sun temples, such as this. In addition, there is not enough data about what the life of the people who lived around these temples was like.
