CAIRO: French archaeologists have unearthed hundreds of 3,000-year-old colored limestone blocks believed to have been used to build the sacred lake walls of a temple dedicated to the goddess Mut.
Egypt’s minister of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, says the blocks were unearthed in San El-Hagar in northern Egypt. Hawass said in a statement Monday the blocks may have belonged to King Osorkon II of the 22nd Dynasty (945-718 B.C.) and been used for either a temple or a chapel.
The French mission has so far cleaned 120 blocks, 78 of which have inscriptions.
San El-Hagar was known as Tanis during the pharaonic era. It is one of the oldest Egyptian cities and contains many temples belonging to the god Amun.
