A joint Egyptian-German archaeological mission, involving the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the University of Tübingen, has uncovered a complete Ptolemaic temple during excavations on the western side of the Great Temple of Athribis in Sohag.
Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, emphasized the significance of this discovery as a major step toward revealing the remaining elements of the newly uncovered temple. He noted 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.
Khaled further explained that the incline of the towers suggests the pylon originally stood approximately 18 meters high, comparable in dimensions to the pylon of Luxor Temple in Luxor Governorate. He confirmed that excavation efforts would continue in future seasons to fully uncover the temple, with full support from the Supreme Council of Antiquities. This initiative aligns with directives from Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy to facilitate and address any challenges faced by archaeological missions.
Mohamed Abdel-Badie, Head of the Central Administration of Upper Egyptian Antiquities and leader of the Egyptian side of the mission, revealed that cleaning work on the main gate at the center of the pylon uncovered hieroglyphic texts adorning the exterior façade and inner walls. These carvings depict the king receiving the goddess Rebit, the lion-headed goddess of Athribis, and her son, the child deity Kulentis.
Through analysis of the discovered cartouches at the entrance and on one of the inner walls, researchers determined that the gate dates back to the reign of King Ptolemy VIII, who is believed to have founded the temple. It is also likely that one of the cartouches contains the name of his wife, Queen Cleopatra III.
Christian Leitz, Head of the German side of the mission, highlighted the completion of excavations on the southern chamber, parts of which were previously uncovered during the work of British archaeologist Flinders Petrie in 1907-1908. The entrance to this chamber is adorned with hieroglyphic texts and scenes portraying the goddess Rebit and the fertility god Min, surrounded by representations of secondary celestial deities symbolizing stars used to measure nighttime hours.
Markus Müller, Director of the excavation site on the German side, added that the team discovered a previously unknown room with a staircase. Accessed through a small entrance on the external façade of the pylon, the staircase consists of four steps, indicating that it once led to an upper floor destroyed in 752 AD.
The joint Egyptian-German mission has been conducting research in the Athribis area for over a decade, resulting in the full discovery of all parts of the Great Temple of Athribis. Their work has also uncovered over 30,000 ostraca inscribed with demotic, Coptic, and hieratic texts, along with numerous other archaeological artifacts.
