CAIRO, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Egypt announced on Friday a major archaeological discovery at the Al-Qasr Al-Qadim (Old Palace) Temple in Bahariya Oasis in the country's Western Desert, which uncovers significant architectural elements dating back around 2,500 years to the 26th Dynasty (664-525 B.C.).
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement that the Egyptian archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) uncovered the remains of a sandstone room, inscribed stone blocks bearing the names and titles of King Psamtik I, and various artifacts.
The findings provide new evidence of the site's historical and religious significance, confirming its role as a key administrative center across successive eras, SCA Secretary-General Hisham Elleithy noted.
Mohamed Abdel-Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the SCA, said that the mission also revealed the temple's main hypostyle hall with 16 sandstone columns, adjacent rooms and shrines, and hieroglyphic texts bearing the names of deities such as Amun-Ra, Amunet, and Khonsu.
Construction of the hall began under King Psamtik I and was completed under Kings Wahibre (Apries) and Ahmose II (Amasis), Abdel-Badie said.
He added that the mission also found a stone stela dating back to the reign of King Amenhotep II of the 18th Dynasty, which confirms the Oasis's ties to the Egyptian state since the New Kingdom era, alongside artifacts from King Ramesses II's era, which suggest religious and urban activity predating the 26th Dynasty. ■