Ancient temple reveals long-lost secrets

LUXOR, Egypt — — A joint archaeological team comprising Egyptian and Chinese experts has recently uncovered a series of significant findings at the Montu Temple precinct in the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, a city renowned for its historic monuments in southern Egypt.

Among these discoveries are key revelations that fill critical gaps in the study of ancient Egyptian history. The findings are the latest testament to the deepening collaboration between China and Egypt, two ancient civilizations, in the modern era.

An unseen lake

"This represents a dialogue based on mutual respect and understanding between two of the world's oldest civilizations," said Dong Xinlin, deputy director of the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, during a news conference on the discoveries held on Jan 24 near the excavation site by the Egyptian-Chinese joint archaeological team.

According to the archaeologists, the remains of dozens of cow jaws and reused stone blocks associated with kings and the divine adoratrice (a high-ranking female religious official in ancient Egypt) from the Late Period of Ancient Egypt (747-332 BC) were uncovered during the recent excavation.

Among the discoveries, the most significant is the previously unknown sacred lake within the Montu Temple enclosure, located to the west of the Maat Temple, which was dedicated to Maat, the ancient Egyptian goddess of harmony, justice and truth.

Covering more than 50 square meters, the lake is a well-preserved ancient man-made reservoir with a distinct structure. According to archaeologists from the joint mission, the lake had not been recorded in earlier archaeological archives.

"This sacred lake not only sheds light on water ritual practices at the Montu Temple but also provides important architectural evidence linking it to the Maat Temple," said Jia Xiaobing, the Chinese head of the project and a scholar from the CASS. "It opens up new avenues for further research into ancient Egyptian religious life."

Beyond the sacred lake, excavations in the Osirian chapel area uncovered three chapels dedicated to the god Osiris, Jia said, adding that archaeologists also recovered dozens of Osiris statuettes of varying sizes and materials, along with fragments linked to the divine adoratrice.

These truly rare discoveries resulted from years of hard work by the joint archaeological team, said Hend Aly, senior inspector at the Montu Temple, who joined the mission in 2019.