LUXOR, EGYPT—Ahram Online reports that an Egyptian-French archaeological mission made new discoveries at the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor. Karnak was the largest and one of the most important religious sites in ancient Egypt. It was a massive collection of temples, shrines, and other buildings that were built by various pharaohs over a period of 1,500 years. The team was investigating the northwest sector of the precinct when they uncovered a ceramic vessel that contained a collection of gold jewelry and statuettes dating to the 26th Dynasty (664–526 b.c.). Also known as the Saite Period, this was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest. One of the statuettes depicts the Theban triad of gods: Amun, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu. The Temple of Amun was the main feature of the sacred complex and is considered by some experts to be the largest religious building in the world. Archaeologists also discovered a number of mudbrick buildings dating to the same era that were likely used as workshops or storage facilities connected to the Karnak temples. “It is a very important discovery because it provides a clearer understanding of the historical development of the Karnak Temples during the first millennium b.c.,” said Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. To read more about the Persian conquest of Egypt, go to "The Man in the Middle."
