Egyptian-German team uncovers complete Ptolemaic temple pylon in Sohag

An Egyptian-German archaeological mission uncovered a complete pylon of a Ptolemaic temple in the western area of the Great Atripe Temple in Sohag, Egypt. The finding was repoted in Egyptian news media. revealed that the fully revealed façade of the pylon spans 51 meters in width, consisting of two towers, each measuring 24 meters wide, separated by a central entrance gate.

The excavation team is a joint mission by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and the University of Tübingen.

Al-Ahram, Asharq Al-Awsat, Alwasat News, Al-Arab, Akhbarak, Daily News Egypt, and Al-Rai, Al-Masry Al-Youm were among the news sites that reported on the discovery.

Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, hailed the discovery as a breakthrough, describing it as "the first nucleus for unveiling the rest of the elements of the new temple at the site," according to Asharq Al-Awsat. He said the team will continue its work to uncover the entire temple during the upcoming excavation seasons, as reported by Al-Masry Al-Youm. He pointed out that the angle of inclination of the towers indicates that their height may rival the dimensions of the Luxor Temple's edifice, with the original height of the pylon estimated at about 18 meters.

During the cleaning of the main gate at the center of the structure, hieroglyphic texts were uncovered adorning the outer facade and inner walls, according to Mohamed Abdel-Badi, the Head of the Central Administration of Upper Egypt Antiquities and Head of the Egyptian mission, as reported by Al-Rai. These inscriptions depict a Ptolemaic king receiving offerings from the lion-headed goddess Rabit, who is represented with a female lioness's head, and her child, the deity Koulentis.

According to Asharq Al-Awsat, alongside the goddess Rabit the fertility god Min is represented, and they are surrounded by forms of secondary celestial deities symbolizing stars used to measure nighttime hours.

The gate dates back to the reign of King Ptolemy VIII. The dating was determined by studying the discovered cartouches in the entrance and on one of the inner sides. It is likely that there is a cartouche with the name of King Ptolemy VIII's wife, Queen Cleopatra III, among the texts, according to Al-Arab.

Dr. Christian Leitz, the head of the mission from the German side, stated that the mission was able to complete the uncovering of the southern chamber, parts of which were previously excavated during the work of British archaeologist Flinders Petrie in 1907-1908.

Dr. Markus Müller, the director of the excavation site from the German side, stated that the mission uncovered a previously unknown room with a staircase, accessible through a small entrance located in the outer facade of the pylon. "The mission uncovered a room equipped with a staircase that may lead to an upper floor that was destroyed long ago in 752 AD," Dr. Müller stated, as reported by Al-Masry Al-Youm.

The mission has uncovered more than 30,000 pottery shards with Demotic, Coptic, and Hieratic texts. The Egyptian-German joint mission has been working in the Atripeus area for more than ten years, resulting in the complete uncovering of all parts of the Great Atripeus Temple, according to Daily News Egypt.

Egyptian archaeologist Dr. Hussein Abdel Bassir stated that the discovery "illuminates the depth of Egyptian history during the Ptolemaic period, during which they left a distinctive mark on Egyptian civilization."

"Through excavation, it is possible to learn about the nature of the use of the temple, the rituals practiced in it, and the cultural connections that linked it to the surrounding community," Bassir is cited by Asharq Al-Awsat. He described the discovery as "a qualitative addition to the archaeological efforts being made in Upper Egypt," calling for enhanced interest in the archaeological sites in Sohag.

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq