Ruins of a 2,360 year-old temple, which most likely dates back to Egypt’s last Pharaoh, were unearthed from beneath Cairo’s modern district of Ain Shams, said Mahmoud Afifi, head of Ancient Egypt Antiquities Department at the Antiquities Ministry Thursday.
“Wall reliefs, limestone and sandstone pillars along with basalt blocks, all dedicated to ancient Egypt’s Goddess Hathor, were among the finds unveiled during the ongoing excavation work carried out by an Egyptian-German archaeology mission in Ain Shams,” said Afifi, adding that the ruins bear the royal name of the 30th Dynasty Pharaoh Nectanebo I (379 B.C.-360 B.C.)
The mission also unearthed remains of the eastern gate of the temple, decorated with well-preserved offering scenes, bronze statues of ancient Egypt’s cat goddess Bastet, in addition to colossal statues which most likely date back to the reign of the New Kingdom (1580 B.C.-1080 B.C.) Pharaoh Ramses II, said Afifi.
In Oct. 2015, the mission also uncovered a colonnade, ceiling and mud bricks strongly believed to have been used in the fence that once surrounded the site, which known in ancient times as Oun city, according to The Cairo Post.
The mission also unveiled a “workshop” that dates back to the Ptolemaic Period (332B.C.-30B.C.,) said Dietrich Raue, head of the mission.
