Ancient Egyptian Sun Temple Unearthed Near Cairo After 4,500 Years

Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a 4,500-year-old temple in Abu Ghurab, a site about nine miles south of Cairo and five miles west of the Nile, built in honour of the sun god Ra during Egypt's Fifth Dynasty. The discovery, led by a team of Italian researchers, is part of excavations that began in 2024 after the site—identified as early as 1901 by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt—began to yield datable remains once groundwater levels allowed work. The temple is described as a public complex exceeding 10,000 square feet (more than 1,000 square meters) and was commissioned by Pharaoh Nyuserre Ini, who reigned roughly from 2420 BC to 2389 BC. Its architecture, a key focus of the excavation, included a public calendar carved into blocks and a roof believed to have been used for astronomical observation, according to the expedition team. In statements and early assessments, ministry representatives highlighted the site’s scale and significance, noting carved limestone fragments and a wealth of pottery recovered from the ruins.

The building’s remains were found at Abu Ghurab, about nine miles south of Cairo and five miles west of the Nile. A team of archaeologists described the temple as one of the valley’s largest and most prominent, with a roof that likely facilitated sky-watching rather than festival ceremonies. Photos released by the ministry show well-preserved wall fragments bearing hieroglyphics and shards of pottery, along with other architectural remnants. “With a unique architectural plan, it makes it one of the largest and most prominent temples of the valley,” the ministry wrote in a translated Facebook post. “Carved stone fragments of fancy white limestone are also found, alongside large quantities of pottery.”

The temple’s identification has a longer arc: Borchardt first noted the site’s potential, but groundwater prevented excavations for decades. The current Italian-led expedition, however, began in 2024 and has since revealed more than half of the temple, previously buried under Nile sediment. Among the newly exposed features are the entrance and the original entrance floor, along with the remains of a circular granite column that likely formed part of the entrance porch. Portions of the original stone cladding on corridor walls and several architectural elements—granite shingles and doors—have also been uncovered. An internal staircase that led to the roof in the northwestern part of the structure appears to be a secondary entrance, while a slope is believed to have connected the temple to the Nile or one of its branches. The roof itself is a focal point of archaeologists’ interpretation: Massimiliano Nuzzolo, co-director of the excavation, told Live Science that the roof was probably used for astronomical observations but not for festival celebrations.

In addition to architectural remains, researchers found artifacts that illuminate daily life at the site. Among them are two wooden pieces of the ancient Egyptian Senet game, a board game dating to the period and sometimes likened to an early form of chess. The finds also include a variety of wall inscriptions and other objects that help illuminate religious practice and residential use in the valley temple’s hinterland.

Nyuserre Ini, the fifth ruler of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty, is best known for his devotion to Ra and for commissioning a sun temple at Abu Gurab as well as a pyramid complex at Abusir. Contemporary descriptions suggest the Fifth Dynasty embraced Ra as a sun god closely aligned with royal power, and the era is noted for temple-building and the development of royal cults centered on the sun disk. The temple at Abu Gurab, in particular, appears to have served multiple purposes: a ceremonial site for the sun cult, a navigational hub near the Nile, and, preliminary assessments suggest, a temporary residential area after its religious function waned.

Preliminary studies indicate the valley temple’s life after its religious use included adaptation into a small local settlement. Archaeologists say the site offers a rare, multi-layered window into how ancient Egyptians linked royal worship, astronomy, riverine activity, and daily life. The mission plans to continue fieldwork in the coming seasons to uncover additional elements of the temple’s origin and evolution and to deepen understanding of Sun Temples in ancient Egypt.

The Abu Ghurab project adds to a broader narrative of Fifth Dynasty religious architecture, where kings tied political authority to solar worship and constructed large monuments to Ra. The temple’s discovery underscores the long arc of Egypt’s sun-temple program, even as scholars refine its chronology and function through ongoing excavations.