Original title: China-Egypt Joint Archaeological Team Releases Important Archaeological Results

China-Egypt Joint Archaeological Team of Luxor Mentu Temple announced on the 24th that it successfully cleared out the remains of a previously unknown holy lake building in the Mentu Temple ruins area of ​​Karnak, Luxor Province, Egypt.

According to the archaeological team, the newly discovered holy lake covers an area of ​​more than 50 square meters and is an ancient artificial reservoir facility with a clear structure and well-preserved structure. Together with the previously known holy lake of Mentu Temple, it forms a unique layout with the north and south holy lakes standing side by side within the wall, so it is also called the south holy lake. The Sacred Lake was an essential component of ancient Egyptian temple architecture and was considered a sacred source of water, used exclusively for rituals performed within the temple.

"This is the first time in the history of Egyptian archeology that two holy lakes have been discovered in the same temple area, filling the gap in Egyptology and Egyptian history. The South Holy Lake is also the only holy lake that has been systematically scientifically excavated in the history of Egyptian archaeology, providing us with precious first-hand information and samples for our study of ancient Egyptian holy lakes." said researcher Jia Xiaobing, the Chinese general manager of the China-Egypt Luxor Mentu Temple Joint Archaeological Project.

“This discovery is truly rare and is the culmination of years of hard work by the joint archaeological team.” Hande Ali, an Egyptian member of the joint archaeological team and chief inspector of the Mentu Temple, told reporters that the four walls of Nansheng Lake are made of larger sandstone blocks, and the foundation is well preserved. There are stone steps built on the east wall that lead to the bottom of the lake for ancient priests to draw water.

In the Temple of Osiris area, after eight years of field excavation work, the joint archaeological team successfully unearthed the complete architectural structures of the second to fifth Temples of Osiris. Dozens of Osiris statues of different sizes and materials were unearthed, as well as many stone carving fragments related to saints in the late ancient Egypt. This provides new archaeological evidence for further reconstruction of the history of Thebes (now known as Luxor), the ancient Egyptian capital under the rule of the Virgin of the 25th to 26th dynasties.

The Mentu Temple was built from about 1391 BC to 1355 BC. The total area of ​​the Mentu Temple ruins area is about 106,000 square meters, of which the temple area within the wall is about 24,000 square meters. So far, the joint archaeological team has excavated a total area of ​​about 2,300 square meters.

Since 2018, the first China-Egypt joint archaeological team jointly established by the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Relics has officially carried out archaeological excavation and research work at the Mentu Temple. The project has received strong support from the Zhengzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology in Henan Province and the Institute of World History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.