German archaeologists found remnants of an ancient temple dedicated to King Nectanebo II, who established the fourth-century BC last Native Dynasty.
El Mataraya was discovered to contain parts of the temple’s western and northern façades. The district lies east of Cairo in the Northern Region.
Mataraya, the ancient capital of Lower Egypt and an important religious centre was part of ancient Heliopolis.
Ayman Ayman from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities claimed that the hieroglyphs inscribed on the blocks are references to Nectanebo’s 13th and fourteenth years (approximately 367-366 BC), Ahram Online reports. He also mentioned the material used and the size of the sanctuary.
According to outlet, this extension connected the sanctuary to the main axis in the Precinct Of The Sun God Amun-Ra south.
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Mataraya in Cairo was the site of fragments and blocks that were inscribed from the west and north facades of a Temple built from Fourth Century BC King Nactanebo.
Some stones are missing inscriptions which suggests that the temple was abandoned after Nectanebo II’s death 361 BC.
Nectanebo’s sarcophagus, mummy and other remains have not been discovered.
According to Dietrich Rau (lead archaeologist), other items were found at the dig that predate Nectanebo. They date back as far as the 13th Century BC reigns King Ramses II, King Merneptah.
“The Ramses-era fashion was clear on a small fragment of jasperstone, dating back the 19th Dynasty [circa 1300 BC]According to Egypt Today, Rau also mentioned a fragment from a Seti II statue that indicated the style was late 19th Dynasty in Heliopolis.
Also, the team discovered part of an obelisk made of quartzite from the reign Osorkon of Middle Kingdom (925-890 BC).
Also discovered was a shrine to Shu and Tefnut, which King Psamtik II commissioned. He ruled from 595 to 589 BC.
One of the oldest discoveries was an offering plate for Tuthmosis III, a 15th Century BC pharaoh.
Parts of the northern and western walls of King Nectanebo’s temple are made of basalt blocks
The blocks contain hieroglyphs that refer to the 13th and the 14th years of Nectanebo’s reign, approximately 367-366 BC. They also describe the materials and dimensions used in the temple.
Before the Persians took control, the Thirtieth Dynasty became the final. Alexander the Great overtook it in 332 BC.
Alexander’s general Ptolemy I Soter then established the Macedonian-Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom, which lasted three centuries until the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC, followed by Roman control.
Nectanebo served a large part of his reign against the Persian Achaemenid Imperial’s efforts to retake Egypt. It considered Egypt merely an insurgent province.
Additional items discovered in the dig predate Nectanebo. These include a bust (pictured), of Ramses II, 13th century BC, who was a pharaoh.
A pedestal also belonged to Osorkon, the Middle Kingdom pharaoh (925-890 BC). Archaeologists discovered it as well.
He orchestrated numerous projects in construction across the empire. This included a temple to Isis built on Philae, near Aswan.
Also, it is thought that he ordered the oldest known mammisi or small chapel to an even larger house of worship at Temple in Dendera. It is one the best-preserved Upper Egyptian sites.
The sculpture depicts King Nectanebo, wearing a War Crown. Before ancient Egypt fell to Alexander the Great, he founded the last Native Dynasty.
A team of archaeologists from El Mataraya discovered the discovery. This is a northern area of Greater Cairo east of the Nile. It was once part the ancient capital of Heliopolis.
Nectanebo, in 363 BC near the end his reign made Teos his co-regent with the intention that the boy would become king.
Tjahapimu Teos brother conspired with his sister to bring Nectanebo II (Nectanebo II) onto the throne just after Teos was acceded.
Nectanebo III, the grandson Nectanebo 1 was the last Native Egyptian pharaoh.
Nectanebo 2 fled Heliopolis in 343 BC after Artaxerxes invaded Egypt. It marked the end Egypt as an independent nation.