CAIRO, EGYPT—Ahram Online reports that a colonnaded hall has been discovered in Butu Temple at the site of Tel Al-Farayeen, which is located in the northern Nile Delta. “It shows a major part of the temple, which sheds light on the original plan of the temple and the architectural design of the surrounding area,” said Mostafa Waziri of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Artifacts such as pottery and stone engravings found in the structure have been dated to the 26th Dynasty (688–525 B.C.). One limestone relief depicts a deity with a bird head wearing a white crown surrounded by feathers that may be Nekhpet or Mut, Waziri added. The researchers also found evidence of a mudbrick wall that surrounded the area. It had been built during the New Kingdom period and enlarged during the 26th Dynasty, Waziri explained. Previous excavations at the site have uncovered a huge stone building, tools used in religious rituals, and carved ivory inlaid with gold. To read about more than 100 painted coffins dating to the 26th Dynasty that were uncovered at the Saqqara necropolis, go to "Mummy Cache," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2020.
