Ruins of Ramses II Temple Unearthed in Giza's Abusir

Ancient Origins

An Egyptian-Czech archaeological mission has unearthed the ruins of a King Ramses II temple during excavation works taking place in the Abusir necropolis in the governorate of Giza. Ramses II was one of the most powerful and celebrated Egyptian kings and was revered as a god in his own lifetime. The absence of evidence of his building in this important area was an anomaly which this discovery now corrects. The archaeologists also uncovered telling reliefs of solar deities.

 Temple Stretches an Impressive 1768 Square Meters
Deputy Head of the mission, Mohamed Megahed, told Ahram Online that the temple is positioned in an area that forms a natural transition between a terrace of the Nile and the floodplain in Abusir. He also added that the temple stretches over 1768 square meters (18700 sq. ft.) and consists of a mud brick foundation for one of its pylons, a large forecourt that leads to the hypostyle hall, parts of which are painted blue.

View of the entrance pylon of the temple (Image: Czech Institute of Egyptology)

At the rear end of the court, the team of archaeologists discovered a staircase or a ramp to a sanctuary, the back of which is divided into three parallel chambers. The ruins of this building were lying under sand and rubble, which also contain ancient remnants which are of archaeological interest.

 “The remains of this building, which constitutes the very core of the complex, were covered with huge deposits of sand and chips of stone of which many bore fragments of polychrome reliefs,” Dr. Mirsolave Barta, director of the Czech mission, told Ahram Online.

View of the excavated temple looking south (Image: Czech Institute of Egyptology)

Temple is the First Evidence of King Ramses II Building in Memphis Necropolis
King Ramses II, (also spelt Ramesses or Rameses and given the title Ramses the Great) had the second longest known reign in Egypt, as the third king of the 19th dynasty of Egypt, 13th century BC). He was well known for extensive building programs but until now this had not been in evidence at the Memphis necropolis where so many other temples are found. Although the presence of Ramses is known here not least from a huge statue that was recovered from the Great Temple of Ptah in 1820 but that long missing evidence of construction has now been found.

Dr. Barta went on to explain that the different titles of King Ramses II were found inscribed on a relief fragment connected to the cult of the solar deities. Furthermore, the head of the Czech mission said that relief fragments portraying scenes of the solar gods Amun, Ra and Nekhbet were also discovered. The find thus verifies the uninterrupted worship of the sun god Ra in the region of Abusir, which began in the 5th dynasty and continued until the era of the New Kingdom. However, the most important thing about this discovery likely remains that this temple is the first evidence so far of King Ramses II’s construction in the Memphis necropolis.

Cartouche of Ramses II, (Image: Czech Institute of Egyptology)

“The discovery of the Ramses II temple provides unique evidence on building and religious activities of the king in Memphis area and at the same time shows the permanent status of the cult of sun god Re who was venerated in Abusir since the 5th Dynasty and onwards to the New Kingdom,” Barta tells Ahram Online.

The Life and Death of Ramses II
As we have previously reported at Ancient Origins, Ramses II is arguably one of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Being the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, Ramses II ascended the throne of Egypt during his late teens in 1279 BC following the death of his father – Seti I. He is known to have ruled ancient Egypt for a total of 66 years, outliving many of his sons in the process – although he is believed to have fathered more than 100 children. As a result of his long and prosperous reign, Ramses II was able to undertake numerous military campaigns against neighboring regions, as well as build monuments to the gods, and of course, to himself.

Ramses II colossal statue in the Memphis open air museum in Egypt. (CC BY-SA 3.0)

 Despite being the one of the most powerful men on earth during his life, Ramses II did not have much control over his physical remains after his death. While his mummified body was originally buried in the tomb KV7 in the Valley of the Kings, looting by grave robbers prompted the Egyptian priests to move his body to a safer resting place. The actions of these priests have rescued the mummy of Ramses II from the looters, only to have it fall into the hands of archaeologists.

In 1881, the mummy of Ramses II, along with those of more than fifty other rulers and nobles were discovered in a secret royal cache at Dier el-Bahri. Ramses II’s mummy was identified based on the hieroglyphics, which detailed the relocation of his mummy by the priests, on the linen covering the body of the pharaoh. About a hundred years after his mummy was discovered, archaeologists noticed the deteriorating condition of Ramses II’s mummy and decided to fly it to Paris to be treated for a fungal infection. Interestingly, the pharaoh was issued an Egyptian passport, in which his occupation was listed as ‘King (deceased)’. Today, the mummy of this great pharaoh rests in the Cairo Museum in Egypt.

Top image: Colossal Statue of Ramses II in Memphis. (CC BY-SA 2.0) Ramses II and his prisoners, Memphis relief (CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Theodoros Karasavvas

Metal Detectorist’s Roman Hoard Linked to a Temple that Likely Inspired The Lord of the Rings

Ancient Origins

Metal Detectorist’s Roman Hoard Linked to a Temple that Likely Inspired The Lord of the Rings

Two metal detecting enthusiasts made a “once in a lifetime” discovery when they unearthed a hoard of Roman bronze artifacts at an undisclosed location. The most exciting of the finds is an intact healing statue that has been linked to the Roman Lydney Temple. This is the same temple that inspired JRR Tolkien to add a key element to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

The Licking Dog Hoard
The Guardian reports that the 4th century bronze hoard was discovered by Pete Cresswell and Andrew Boughton in Gloucestershire. Archaeologist Kurt Adams, the Gloucestershire and Avon finds liaison officer, calls the finely detailed healing statue of a standing dog “a unique find for British archaeology.” It is the only known sculpture of a licking dog dating to Roman times to be found in Britain.

The Roman ‘licking dog’ healing statue. (Eve Andreski/Portable Antiquities Scheme/CC BY 2.0)

Speaking on the find, Mr. Cresswell said:
 “It’s not every day you come across a hoard of Roman bronze. We have been metal detecting for a combined 40 years, but this is a once in a lifetime discovery. As soon as I realized the items were of historical significance I contacted the local archaeology team, who were equally excited by the find. It’s a great privilege to be able to contribute to local and British history.”

Apart from the dog figurine with its tongue out, the other bronze pieces appear to have been deliberately broken and hidden. Archaeologists believe that the hoard was tucked away by a metal worker who probably wanted to melt and recast the bronze.

Romans in Gloucestershire
 The licking dog statue has been found in a region that was a strong and important part of Roman Britain. Gloucester (Roman Nervia Glevensium or, less formally, Glevum) was probably founded by the Romans around AD 90-98 and was of the highest order of Roman towns, denoted coloniae. These were either completely new settlements or based on a previously established fort. The latter is the case for Gloucester, which was built on the site of a fort which was used as a post for the expansion of the Empire into Wales. The area was then allotted to the veterans of Legio II Augusta, according to the Association for Roman Archaeology (ARA). The town would then have been predominantly, if not exclusively, populated by Romans. After the removal of the military in AD 407, the town began to decline and would eventually be lost to the Anglo-Saxons in the sub-Roman period around the 5th and 6th centuries AD.

Visualization of 2nd century Gloucester by Philip Moss (Gloucestershire Archaeology)

 The Romans were in this area (and Britain generally) for over half a millennium. The area surrounding Glevum became heavily Romanized, with Roman towns (eg. Glevum, Corinium), many villas (some of which have been excavated such as Chedworth and Woodchester), forts and temples. One such temple found in the area is at Lydney Park Roman Camp, 20 miles (32 km) along the River Severn estuary. It is here we reconnect with the bronze dog statue.

Lydney Camp and Lydney Temple
The site of Lydney Camp was originally an Iron Age hillfort which was for a time mined by the Romans for iron ore around the 3rd century. In the 4th century, they built a Romano-Celtic temple dedicated to the Celtic deity Nodens, which is known due to inscriptions of the name found at the site.

The Celtic god, Nodens, is associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs – mainly due to representations of all of these aspects being found at the temple complex. The temple is thought to have been primarily dedicated to healing and includes a bath house. Nine dog statues or effigies have been found there, the most famous being the “Lydney Dog” Bronze. This dog iconography is representative of healing, as dogs were once kept in order to lick wounds and aid healing.

The Lydney dog was one among many dog themed artifacts found at the Lydney Temple or Temple of Nodens (Credit: ARA)

The reason the new licking dog bronze has been tentatively linked with this temple, is that it is the only healing temple known in the area. However, the statue could be indicative that there is a hitherto unknown healing temple or shrine to be found in the vicinity.

 Tolkien at Lydney Temple
 A point of interest worth mentioning whilst on the subject of Lydney Temple is the believed influence it had on that world-renowned fantasy-fiction about a ring quest by JRR Tolkien. In 1928-9, the author was invited to Lydney Park by the eminent archaeologists Sir Mortimer Wheeler and his wife Tessa, who had been commissioned to investigate the site. At the time, Tolkien was invited in his capacity as Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford in order to explore the origins of the name ‘Nodens’, as there was little record of this god other than at the Temple complex. According to historian and author Matthew Lyons, Tolkien’s article “is an extraordinary testament to his skill and erudition.”

Ruins of the Temple of Nodens at Lydney Park (Jeff Collins CC BY-SA 2.0)

Tolkien visited this place several times, staying in the rather splendid house and one imagines enjoying the grounds of the country manor. Besides the old local name for the location of the temple at what is now Camp Hill being ‘Dwarfs Hill’, it being riddled with tunnels from the mining and whispers of small people and goblins and the like in the area, Lyons sites two specific items related to the Temple that are thought to have brought about the ring element to the story.

The first item is a curse tablet that is from the temple. It reads as follows:

“To the God Nodens. Silvanus has lost a ring. He has [vowed] half its value to Nodens. Amongst all who bear the name of Senicianus, refuse thou to grant health to exist, until he bring back the ring to the Temple of Nodens.”

The curse invokes the support of Nodens to help Silvanus regain a ring that has somehow been lost to Senicianus. And so the second item comes in the form of the actual ring referred to, which is believed found in a church/farmers field in Silchester half way across the country! It is denoted as most likely the ring of the curse, as Senicianus had a fresh inscription of, ‘‘Seniciane vivas in deo” (Senicianus, may you live in God).

The Roman ring with Senicianus inscription (Credit: The Vyne © National Trust / Helen Sanderson)

It is interesting that the curse demands the ring should be returned to the place from whence it came (the Temple of Nodens). Although there is a leap from a ring with a curse attached to a ring of power such as appears in Tolkien’s epic, and there are other rings found in legends, such as those found in the Arthurian legends, Lyons argues that the ring story at Lydney, “may have simply caught his imagination and been buried away somewhere in his unconscious.” If so, it wasn’t buried for long, as in 1932, just a few years after his visits to Lydney Temple, The Hobbit, with its mysterious ring theme was finished.

Some of the broken artifacts found in the Roman bronze hoard. (Eve Andreski/Portable Antiquities Scheme/CC BY 2.0)

The location of the recent Roman hoard find has not yet been publicized so the connection to Lydney Temple is currently sheer speculation. The hoard is currently being kept under controlled conditions at Bristol Museum whilst being photographed and recorded. Once analysis is completed, the findings will be presented at the British Museum. Experts expect to have a report ready by the end of this year.

Top Image: The recently unearthed ‘licking dog’ statue. (Gloucestershire County Council)

By Gary Manners

Remnants of a Revolt: What Did Israeli Archaeologists Find Hidden Under Second Temple Period Homes?

Ancient Origins

Some Israeli high school students have excavated a hiding place for Jews who rebelled against the Romans about 1,860 years ago in the town of Ramat Bet Shemesh. The complex includes cisterns, ritual baths attached to every home, and hidden rebel hideouts underneath the settlement.

 The Jewish people rose up against the occupying, overbearing Romans three times between 66 AD, two years after Rome conquered Judea, and 132 AD. The hideouts recently excavated were from the last uprising, called the Bar Kokhba Revolt. After the Romans put down this last uprising, they committed a terrible genocide against the Jews and banned their religion, Judaism.

 A press release from the Israel Antiquities Authority states that students from Boyer High School working with the Israel Antiquities Authority unearthed several archaeological features. The settlement dates to the Second Temple period. Sarah Hirshberg, Shua Kisilevitz, and Sarah Levevi-Eilat, excavation directors on behalf of the authority say in the press release:

“The settlement’s extraordinary significance lies in its imposing array of private ritual baths, which were incorporated in the residential buildings. Each household had its own ritual bath and a cistern. Some of the baths uncovered are simple and others are more complex and include an otzar, or collecting basin, into which the rainwater would drain. It is interesting to note that the local inhabitants adhered strictly to the rules regarding purity and impurity.”

Ritual baths that Jews used to cleanse themselves ritually and physically. (Assaf Peretz/Israel Antiquities Authority)

In the ground below the homes and the ritual baths, the students found a labyrinth of refuges dating to the 2nd century. They are connected to elaborate complexes. In some of the hideouts, it is believed the rebels breached cisterns to obtain water. One of the rock-hewn caves had intact ceramic jars and pots that the rebels may have used. The archaeologists believe the town was used after the razing of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

The press release also explains the importance of ritual baths, or mikvas:

“In antiquity, Judaism was already unique in its strict adherence to bodily cleanliness, as commanded in the Bible: “And bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean” (Leviticus 14:9). The act of bathing for purification purposes is also referred to in Hebrew as tvila, or ‘immersion’. The ritual bath is a water installation that is unique to the people of Israel. In order to fulfill their religious and spiritual purpose and cleanse a person of any impurities, the baths were installed according to Jewish religious rules. The bath has to be hewn in the bedrock or connected to the ground; it must be sealed so that its water will not seep out; and only rainwater or spring water must be used, as opposed to ‘drawn’ water.”

In addition to the settlement and hideouts, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced earlier it had found a roadway dating back 2,000 years in Ramat Bet Shemesh. The road was 6 meters (almost 20 feet) wide and went on for about 1.5 kilometers (4,921 feet).

The road, possibly built for Roman Emperor Hadrian, ran for about 1.5 kilometers and was about 6 meters wide. (Israel Antiquities Authority)

The road connected the town of Eleutheropolis (Bet Guvrin) and Jerusalem. Archaeologists think it was built when Roman Emperor Hadrian visited around 130 AD or right after the suppression of the Bar Kokhba uprising in the years 132 to 135. In the past, a milestone inscribed with the name Hadrian was found near the road. Archaeologists unearth huge entryway with frescoes and rebel tunnels in Herod's palace Immense 1,900-Year-Old Slab Found Underwater Names Forgotten Roman Ruler During Bloody Jewish Revolt

Several ancient coins were found between the paving rocks of the road, including a coin from the second year of the Great Revolt in 67 AD (an earlier revolt than the Bar Kokhba revolt); a coin of the Umayyad era; a coin bearing the name of Pontius Pilate from 29 AD; and a coin minted in Jerusalem in 41 AD bearing the name of Agrippa I. This is one of the first developed roads in Israel, the authority’s press release states. Earlier there were simply improvised trails there. The release says:

“However, during the Roman period, as a result of military and other campaigns, the national and international road network started to be developed in an unprecedented manner. The Roman government was well aware of the importance of the roads for the proper running of the empire.”

The Jewish people eventually recovered from the grievous losses of the final revolt, but they would face pogroms through their history and yet another terrible genocide in Europe during World War II.

Top image: An archaeologist collects material in an underground chamber that may have been a hideout for rebels during the Bar Kokhba Revolt of the 2nd century AD. Source: Assaf Peretz/Israel Antiquities Authority

 By Mark Miller

Extremely Rare Alabaster Statue of Queen Tiye Found in Egyptian Funerary Temple

Ancient Origins

A team of archaeologists has uncovered a unique carved alabaster statue of Queen Tiye in Luxor, Egypt. The exciting find was made by the European-Egyptian mission that works under the wings of the German Archaeological Institute.

 Impressive Carved Alabaster Statue of Queen Tiye Discovered
An impressive statue, most likely of Queen Tiye, the grandmother of King Tutankhamun and wife of King Amenhotep III, has been unearthed at Amenhotep III’s funerary temple in Kom El-Hittan on Luxor's west bank, as archaeologists from Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities announced on Thursday, March 23. Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany who went to the site to examine the discovery, referred to the statue as "unique and distinguished". Excited with the fascinating discovery, he told Ahram Online, “No alabaster statues of Queen Tiye have been found before now. All previous statues of her unearthed in the temple were carved of quartzite.”

Minister of Antiquities examining the discovery of the Queen Tiye statue. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

Getting to Know Queen Tiye
As Natalia Klimczak eports in a previous Ancient Origins article, Tiye was one of the most influential and powerful women in ancient Egypt despite her name been forgotten in the centuries that followed her death. She is believed to have lived from about 1398 BC – 1338 BC, but the story of her life is as mysterious as most of the people who lived in this period. The world she lived in collapsed with the capital city of her son Akhenaten – Amarna.

Tiye, the Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III and mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

According to ancient inscriptions, Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tuya and sister of the pharaoh Ay. Some Egyptologists say that there is no link between Ay and Tiye, but the position of her brother seems to be a proof. Ay was the Second Prophet of Amun and inherited most of the titles of Yuya. She would later become wife of the great Amenhotep III and grandmother of King Tutankhamun. It is also believed that Tie had great influence on her husband and was the only adviser that he blindly trusted. She was married to him during his second year of reign, when they basically were both very young and thus they spent their whole lives together. Tiye appears in history as a smart adviser and the most important woman in Amenhotep’s court, who also became an important person during the reign of her son.

Queen Tiye, whose husband, Amenhotep III, may have been depicted to her right in this broken statue (CC BY-SA 2.0 FR)

She played an active role in the politics of Egypt and foreign relations for many years and she became the first known Egyptian queen whose name appeared in official acts. When Amenhotep died after 39 years of his reign, she was the one who arranged his burial in the Valley of the Kings in a tomb known nowadays as WV22. Tiye died, perhaps during the 12th year of her son Akhenaten's reign, possibly in 1338 BC. It is speculated by Egyptologists that she probably died due to an epidemic even though nothing is historically confirmed.

The mummy of Queen Tiye, now in the Egyptian Museum. (Public Domain)

Statue is in Great Condition
Fast forward to 2017 and the discovery of Tiye’s statue, Hourig Sourouzian, leader of the mission was very happy to see that the statue is in great condition of preservation and has retained its colors. She told Ahram Online, ”The statue was founded accidentally while archaeologists were lifting up the lower part of a statue of king Amenhotep III that was buried in the sand. The Queen Tiye statue appeared beside the left leg of the King Amenhotep III statue,” and added that the statue will now be the subject of restoration work.

Top image: The newly-discovered alabaster statue of Queen Tiye. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

 By Theodoros Karasavvas

Have We Got a Temple, Theater, and Gate? Check! New Details Emerge on Roman Urban Planning in Central Italy

Ancient Origins

Archaeologists have discovered a magnificent ancient Roman temple the size of St Paul's Cathedral in central Italy. The discovery took place with the help of a radar device that was attached to the back of a quad bike in order to explore the hidden details of the excavation site.

Getting to Know Falerii Novi
An archaeological team of Cambridge University discovered the remains of the immense Roman temple in central Italy. The ancient temple had lines of columns on three sides covering an area of about 400 ft. (120 meters) long and 200 ft. (60 meters) wide and was unearthed many feet below Falerii Novi, an abandoned walled town in the Tiber River valley, about 50 km (31 miles) north of Rome. The small town was created by the Romans, who resettled the inhabitants of Falerii Veteres in this much less defensible position after a revolt in 241 BC. It is placed on a modest volcanic plateau and housed around 2,500 people during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The town also gives insight into the Roman Empire’s expanding interchange from other cultures, as Greek-style buildings were also discovered there.

Archaeological area of Falerii Novi, Italy. ( Camminare nella storia blog )

 Radar Device Helped to Explore the Excavation Site
Archaeologists used a radar device attached to the back of a quad bike to explore the excavation site. Martin Millett, professor of classical archaeology at Cambridge University said as International Business Times reports , that the radar helped the team to discover in depth the layout of the town as well as its development and growth. The fascinating antiquities excavated so far are the remains of a theater, a basilica that was probably used for meetings and legal proceedings, as well as a large defensive gate. Experts suggest that some of these finds (such as the gate) will provide historians with valuable information in order to understand a little more about the urban planning in the early days of the Roman period.

Remnants of the theater. Falerii Novi, Italy. ( CC BY SA 3.0 )

 The Role of the British School at Rome’s Tiber Valley Project The Roman colony of Falerii Novi was excavated during the 1990s but it was just recently that it was thoroughly examined as part of the Tiber Valley Project , which shows the urbanization of this area by the Romans. The plan produced by the British School at Rome using magnetometry reveals in great detail the subsurface archaeological features of the Republican city, as this technique can detect metals at a much greater depth than basic metal detectors, which have a standard range of about two meters (6.56 ft.).

Photo of the necropolis of "Tre ponti": the "Cavo degli Zucchi" with the Roman Amerina via (road) near Falerii, Italy. ( CC BY SA 3.0 )

 According to its official website , the British School at Rome’s Tiber Valley project, studied the changing landscapes of the middle Tiber valley as the hinterland of Rome through two millennia. It drew on the vast amount of archaeological work carried out in this area to examine the impact of the growth, success and transformation of the Imperial city on the history of settlement, economy, and society in the river valley from 1000 BC to AD 1000. The project involved twelve British universities and institutions as well as many Italian scholars.

A plan of of Falerii Novi - taken from ‘Falerii: A New Survey of the Walled Area, 2002.’
Investigations conducted by the Department of Archaeology of the 'University of Southampton. (Comune di Fabrica di Roma/ CC BY SA 3.0 )

Top Image: Entrance gate to Falerii Novi. Source: Comune di Fabrica di Roma/ CC BY SA 3.0

By Theodoros Karasavvas

5,000-Year-Old Mystery Structure Discovered Near Stone Age Temple in Scotland

Ancient Origins

A mysterious Stone Age building has been unearthed at the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney, Scotland. Researchers discovered it while excavating a Neolithic midden (rubbish dump.) It is located near one of Scotland's most famous rings of standing stones – the Ring of Brodgar.

According to The Herald Scotland, the site contains a Stone Age temple, and the discovery of the structure helped to re-date the location.
While digging at the Ring of Brodgar on Orkney, the researchers found the layout of a series of slabs which are unlike anything previously found on the island. The structure is 4 meters (13 ft.) long and it was unearthed amongst the remains of Neolithic rubbish.

Aerial view of the structure. (James Robertson/Orkneyskycam.co.uk)

The walls of the construction are 10 meters (33 ft.) wide and the researchers say that the structure is about 5,000 years old. They speculate that the building was covered over by the huge midden, but it could possibly be a chambered tomb. The researchers also found human remains – a human arm bone.
DiscoverStone AgeScotlandNeolithicExcavation (archaeology)
The team of researchers is led by Nick Card, an archaeologist at the University of the Highlands and Islands, who believes that the bone was deliberately placed and could possibly be the remains of a respected original founder of the large complex.

• The Ring of Brodgar, the Neolithic Henge of Orkney Island
• Stone Age Orkney Islanders Dismembered Deceased Relatives and Defleshed their Bones

The slabs, also called orthostats, have rounded edges and appear to have been weathered or worked in the same way as standing stones found at Stenness just 0.3 miles (0.48 km) away.

Sunset at the Standing Stones of Stenness, Orkney. (Fantoman400/CC BY SA 3.0)

As the site director, Nick Card, said:

"The sheer size and scale of the stones unearthed are unprecedented on this site. The way the stones are built into the construction is also unique to the Ness. This all suggests that they may have been re-used and taken from elsewhere. Perhaps they may be part of a stone circle that pre-dates the main Ness site. It is all a bit of mystery and we won't know more until we do more work."

Since 2002, the researchers have discovered many impressive artifacts, including artwork, pottery, animal bones, stone tools and parts of buildings at the site. These findings make this location one of the most interesting Neolithic sites in Scotland. It was inhabited between 3,200 and 2,200 BC - the same period as another famous site located just a few miles away on Orkney – Skara Brae.

Old settlement Skara Brae in 2012, Orkney Island, Scotland. (Chmee2/CC BY SA 3.0)

The site in the Ness of Brodgar is located on a peninsula of land just a few hundred meters wide that divides two saltwater lochs.
It seems that the two or three constructions (i.e. the Ring of Brodgar, Standing Stones of Stenness, and the recently uncovered structure) were a ceremonial corridor. However, the exact purpose of the Stone Age temple, nicknamed ''The Neolithic Cathedral'', is unknown. The director of excavations suggests that it could have been a whole complex that created a ceremonial center.

• Incredible sophistication of 5,000-year-old temple complex on Orkney Island
• Storms wash away sand revealing 4,000-year-old child skeleton in Orkney

2014 image of work at the Neolithic settlement at Brodgar, Scotland. (AlastairG/CC BY SA 2.0)

On August 19, 2016, Natalia Klimczak reported on another discovery related to Orkney on Ancient Origins. She wrote that a team of researchers from the University of Adelaide revealed an explanation to one of the greatest mysteries of the British standing stone monuments. They say that the great stone circles were constructed specifically in line with the movements of the Sun and Moon 5,000 years ago.
An article in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports says the researchers used innovative 2D and 3D technology to construct quantitative tests of the alignment patterns of the standing stones. The researchers explained in their article that nobody had ever statistically determined that a single stone circle was constructed with astronomical phenomena in mind.
Earlier, researchers supposed that it may be so, but there was no concrete evidence which could confirm this belief before the present study. The researchers examined some of the oldest great stone circles built in Scotland, for example Callanish, on the Isle of Lewis, and Stenness, Isle of Orkney ─ both predating Stonehenge's standing stones by about 500 years.

The Neolithic stones of Callanish. (Chris Combe/CC BY 2.0)

Thus, Orkney Island continues to be a hotspot for archaeologists – what will be unearthed there next?
Top image: Ring of Brodgar, a Neolithic stone circle and henge monument, with the Loch of Harray in the background. (Stevekeiretsu/CC BY SA 3.0) Detail: Aerial view of the newly-uncovered structure. (James Robertson)
By Natalia Klimzcak

The Parthenon of Athens: An Epic Monument, Or a Mystery in Measurements?

Ancient Origins

The Parthenon, proudly standing on the Athenian Acropolis, is considered by many historians and archaeologists alike as the undisputed symbol of Athenian democracy and the cradle of Western civilization.

The monument is also considered one of the finest buildings of all time by a large number of architects worldwide, attracts millions of tourists each year, and was designed by the most famous sculptor of antiquity, Phidias, while two of the most influential architects ever, Ictinus and Callicrates, supervised the practical construction work of the temple.

The Mysteries of the Ancient Temple

Contemporary scientists have admitted—despite the Parthenon being the most imitated building in history—that even with modern technology and contemporary architectural techniques, it’s virtually impossible to rebuild the exact same building in all its detail.

The Acropolis in Athens, Greece, featuring the Parthenon. (BigStock image)

But why is the Parthenon so special? What makes it so different from all the others? What kind of details and secrets did the peoples of antiquity know that have been lost to time? Why can’t we construct an identical building to the original Parthenon even though technology, machinery, and architecture have progressed so much since then? There are too many riddles to the construction of the Parthenon, only a few of which can even remotely begin to be unraveled.
To begin with, the Parthenon might have needed decades to be restored in modern times, but the Athenian citizens mysteriously built it inside of a decade, between 447 and 438 BCE.

The temple was built under Pericles’s rule. Marble bust of Pericles, Roman copy after a Greek original from ca. 430 BC. (Public Domain)

The iconic monument is a peripteral octastyle Doric temple with Ionic architectural features, surrounded by a colonnade of eight columns across and seventeen along the length, counting the corner columns twice.

• Millions of silver coins may have been stored in Parthenon attic
• Incredible Construction: Greek Acropolis Built by Ancient Engineers to Resist Earthquakes
• The Mentor Shipwreck and the Disastrous Journey of the Parthenon Marbles to Britain

The main entrance of the temple faces east while the interior length is 100 Attic feet, thus 30.80 meters (101 feet). And though these numbers might seem random to most, the fact is many historians believe great proportions are expressed in these numbers.

The beautiful ancient Acropolis and Parthenon of Greece. (BigStock image)

Messages in Measurements

An Attic foot is equivalent to 0.30803 meters, or 1/2F (φ), where F (φ) = 1.61803, also known as the Golden Ratio. The Golden Number F, the number 1.618, is often found in nature, in (human) facial features, in the measurements of the human body, in flowers and other plants, in art, in most living organisms on earth, in shells, in beehives, among many other things, but most important, it’s often associated with the structure of the universe and planetary orbit in our solar system.
Furthermore, in aesthetic science the Golden Ratio is considered the most accurate standard for the expression of perfection. So, could all this just be a mere coincidence? Not likely, since inside the Parthenon we find something more impressive—the Fibonacci Sequence, which in mathematics describes the phenomenon of a number being equal to the sum of the previous two: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc. Even more strange, the ratio of the successive pairs tends to the so-called Golden Ratio, or Number F (φ).

The Golden Ratio (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Additionally, inside the temple can also be found the number for Pi (π), 3.1416, which appears in the mathematical relation 2F2/10, but more impressively, we meet the number e = 2.72, which is the most important mathematical constant and is the base of the natural logarithm.
What makes things more complicated is that the three numbers included in the Parthenon are also included in all of nature and are present in all creation, and nothing can function without them.

Mathematical Mysteries

As one would expect, the questions deriving from the aforementioned facts are many. Did the creators of the Parthenon know these numbers and their importance? And if so, how did they manage to include them in such detail and accuracy in a building which we can’t replicate today even with all our technology and know-how?
How could the ancient Greeks, or more precisely, Ictinus, Callicrates, and Phidias be aware of the Golden Ratio when Midhat J. Gazalé and so many other scholars assure us that it was not until Euclid came along that the Golden Ratio's mathematical properties were studied?

Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends. (Public Domain)

How did they know of the Fibonacci Sequence when it was first officially recorded in 1202, almost 1,700 years after the Parthenon was constructed? And most importantly, how could the Parthenon's façade, as well as many of its particular elements, be circumscribed by golden rectangles when the computer technology we take for granted today didn’t exist back then to create such forms?

• Pythagoras and His Life Beyond the Pythagorean Theorem
• The Golden Ratio – a sacred number that links the past to the present
• Pankration: A Deadly Martial Art Form from Ancient Greece

To all these questions many more can be added as one searches to discover the specific details of the functions and mysteries of the sacred temple; such as, how was the building lighted when there were no windows and, even more oddly, no traces of soot have been found, which excludes the use of torches?

Signals in the Sunlight

Another mystery that many experts in various fields have unsuccessfully tried to answer is why, during the day when there is sunlight, do the drop shadows created around the temple always appear to point to other specific destination points in Greece? Which exact points they show and why this happens, or if there’s any special meaning behind this occurrence, has been investigated by scientists for ages, but opinions vary greatly and do not converge with one another, thus preventing us from reaching a solution.
Despite all the scientific, paranormal and mythical mysteries surrounding its legend, the Parthenon remains the cradle of Western civilization—and undoubtedly one of the most significant monuments of humankind as a whole—that continues to attract millions of curious visitors every year. The only sure thing is that we can only learn and benefit from the iconic monument, its unlocked codes and artistic features, which hopefully will be answered in the near future.
Bonus Facts:

• The Parthenon is often called sacred because it was dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron and guardian of the city.
• The temple was built under Pericles’s rule, who is considered to be the greatest Athenian statesman ever and the one who gets credited with the birth of democracy as well.
• The most impressive and glorious part of the Parthenon unfortunately doesn’t exist anymore. It was a gigantic statue of Athena designed and sculpted by Phidias. It was created with elephant ivory and gold and, of course, was dedicated to her.
• Phidias was also the craftsman who sculpted the statue of Zeus at Olympia, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
• The Parthenon is considered to be the most copied building in history. Some of the most famous buildings that have been based on it include The New York Stock Exchange, the Reichstag building in Berlin, and the main entrance of the White House.

Reconstruction of the Acropolis and Areus Pagus in Athens, Leo von Klenze, 1846. (Public Domain)

Featured image: The majestic and mysterious Parthenon in Athens, Greece. (BigStock image)
By Theodoros I

Stunning 16th Century Church Emerges from Mexican Reservoir after Drought

Ancient Origins

The remnants of a 400-year-old Spanish colonial church have emerged from the depths of the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir in Chiapas, Mexico, after a drought caused the water level to drop by 82 feet (25 meters).  The church, known as the Temple of Santiago or Temple of Quechula was originally lost to the waters of the reservoir in 1966 when the dam was finished on the Grijalva River. Tourists are now flocking to the site to catch a glimpse of the Temple before it disappears beneath the water once again.

The church measures 183 feet long (61 meters) and 42 feet (14 meters) wide, while the bell tower reaches 48 feet (16 meters) above the ground.
The Temple of Quechula was first built in the mid-1600s by a group of monks headed by Friar Bartolome de la Casas. The Dominican friars also constructed a town around the church, which they called Quechala and Friar Bartolome made himself Bishop.
Mexico News Daily reports that the region was inhabited by the Zoque people, predecessors of the Olmec.  In 1494, they were invaded and defeated by the Aztecs before the Spanish moved into Zoque lands in 1523. Under Spanish rule, their population was decimated by disease and the toils of hard labor, and their land was parcelled out among the settlers.
Friar Bartolome initially supported the colonization and subjugation of the Zoque, but later took an opposing view and went on to write about the horrors of colonization.
Bartolome had high hopes for the town of Quechala, expecting it to one day become a great city. However, a plague hit the town in 1773, forcing the inhabitants to flee. The town and the church were left abandoned.
When the dam on the Grijalva River was completed, not just the colonial church, but the whole town and surrounding villages and archaeological sites were submerged.
The Associated Press (AP) reports that tourists are now flocking to the site to catch a glimpse of the temple before it disappears once again. Local fisherman Leonel Mendoza has been taking people to the site by boat in droves.
According to AP, it is only the second time that a drop in water level has revealed the church. The first time was in 2002 when the water decreased so much that people were able to walk inside the church.
People are taking the opportunity while they can to explore the church as it is not known when it may emerge from the water once again.

Featured image: A photograph of the colonial church that has emerged out of the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir in Chiapas, Mexico. Credit: Associated Press.
By April Holloway

Shrine dedicated to King Nectanebo I unearthed in Egypt

Ancient Origins

An Egyptian and German archaeological team sifting through the ruins of a temple dedicated to
the ancient King Nectanebo I has found building blocks and parts of the ceiling, which was decorated with stars. Authorities hope to rebuild and restore the shrine.
The 30^th Dynasty king, whose name is also spelled Nakhtanebu, lived in the fourth century BC. His house was the last native Egyptian royal line before Persians reconquered Egypt in 343 BC and overthrew Nectanebo’s grandson.
The team unearthed blocks of the king’s shrine while working in the Ain Shams area of Cairo, which was known as Oun city in ancient times, reports Ahram Online. The team also found mud bricks that were part of a fence surrounding Oun.
The shrine blocks measure between 75 cm (30 inches) and 1.25 meters (50 inches). They are carved of basalt and have engraved on them the names of Egyptian regions of the time. Two of the blocks also show the god Hapi holding offerings.
Oun is one Egypt’s oldest cities, but it was largely destroyed when stones from its temples and buildings were used to construct medieval Cairo, Ahram Online says.
In April, the team excavating Heliopolis Temple found part of a royal statue of King Merineptah, who was of a much earlier time than Nectanebo—the 19^th Dynasty (1291 to 1187 BC). Merineptah was depicted making offerings to deities. The archaeologists found pottery and other evidence of human habitation from the pre-dynastic and early dynastic periods.
A carved basalt block, part of the shrine to Nectanebo found last spring, depicts a falcon. The bird may be the god Horus.

This carved basalt block showing a falcon was found earlier this year at Nectanebo’s shrine. (Egyptian Ministry of Antquities photo)

The Late Dynastic period was one of upheaval in ancient Egypt. The nation had been controlled by Persia for a time, then won independence, and was controlled by Persia again just prior to Alexander’s conquest.
King Nectanebo I ruled from 379 to 360 BC after he overthrew the 29^th Dynasty ruler Nepherites. Nectanebo’s grandson, Nectanebo II, was king when Persians retook the country around 343 BC.
Persian rule may have seemed like a yoke to Egypt’s rulers, but it very well may have been beneficial to the common people because Persian rulers abolished slavery and instituted other human rights reforms when they came to power. Persian kings extended their reforms to lands they conquered while allowing religious freedom.
In a clay cylinder that has been called the first Charter of Human Rights, King Cyrus of Persia talks about lifting “unbecoming yokes” of Babylonians and abolishing forced labor. The Persians apparently also gave grain and meat to poor people, though from the website The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies it is unclear if such rations were given in Egypt.
Alexander wanted to conquer Egypt and its ports because he needed a coastal base for commercial and military reasons.

Remnant of the bust of Pharaoh Merineptah (Egypt Ministry of Antiquities photo)

The end of the 30^th Dynasty came about a decade before Alexander arrived. Nectanebo II, the grandson of the man depicted in the shrine unearthed this year, had fled to the Sudan in 343 BC in the face of Persian incursions. The Persians left when Alexander and his forces arrived.
Egypt’s Persian governor Mazaces met Alexander without any armed forces and turned over the treasury’s 800 talents. Mazaces remained as part of the new administration of governor Cleomenes and established Egypt’s royal mint around 331 BC.
After Alexander died, the Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt until around 30 BC, when Rome conquered Egypt. The Byzantine Empire ruled Egypt later, until eventually Arabs conquered Egypt in the seventh century AD.
Featured image: Part of the shrine showing Pharaoh Nectanebo I, who was the last native king to rule Egypt before the Greeks conquered. (Ahram Online photo)
By Mark Miller