22 April 2009 - Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni announced today that an archaeological mission sponsored by Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has discovered the remains of a large New Kingdom temple in the area of Tell Hebua in the Sinai. Excavators have found inscriptions in the temple dating to the reign of Thutmose II (ca. 1516-1504 BC) through that of Ramesses II (1304-1237 BC).

Dr. Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, described the discovery as one of the most important ever made in the Sinai. It is the largest temple known in the region, which was heavily fortified in ancient times because of its strategic location on Egypt’s eastern border. The temple covers an area of some 80 by 70 meters. It is built of mud brick, and surrounded by a 4 meter-thick wall. It consists of four rectangular halls containing a total of 34 columns decorated with images of ancient Egyptian deities, including Horus, Hathor, Tefnut, Montu, and Renenutet. The temple also contains images of Thutmose II and Ramesses II.

Zahi Hawass said that early studies of the temple indicate that it was an important religious center for Egypt’s eastern border region. Its walls were brightly painted, and it housed three limestone purification basins along with a number of chapels. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, the SCA director in charge of the region, said that to the east and west of the temple, the team found two groups of storehouses consisting of 13 rooms each. These storehouses probably date to the reigns of kings Seti I (ca. 1314-1304 BC), Ramsess II and Seti II (ca. 1315-1215 BC). Inside, the team found thousands of inscriptions and seal impressions of Seti I, Ramesses II, and Seti II. One particularly important example depicts Ramesses I (ca. 1315-1314 BC) before the god Set, the patron deity of the Hyksos capital of Avaris, now known as Tell El-Dab’a, in the eastern Nile Delta some 50 kilometers from Tell Hebua.

Please note: reports in the press that four temples were discovered are incorrect. Four temples are known in the immediate region, but only one is newly discovered.