Catalan archeologists work on ‘accidental’ discovery of Ptolemy temple in Egypt

The team from Barcelona’s Egyptian Museum have helped with the discovery of temple ruins in Sharuna in the center of Egypt. The temple dates back to around 300BC, during the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy, his name also being written in hieroglyphics on the ruins found.

The remains were found as part of the Sharuna project, started in 2006 and named after the place it was developed, and aided by the work of Barcelona’s Egyptian Museum, the Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiques and Tübignem University.

However, Catalan egyptionist Mariàngela Taulé, who participated in the mission, stated in comments made to the Catalan News Agency that the find was “accidental” and stumbled upon by the Egyptian Minister of Culture whilst trying to arrange the construction of an irrigation canal in 2018. 

Seven blocks have been found at the el-Akhmar Sharuna archaeological site with pictures of a pharaoh and hieroglyphics. 

The Egyptian museum in Barcelona has on show a replica of one of the ruins depicting the goddess of love Hathor with hieroglyphic texts where you can see the name of Ptolemy - meaning that the temple it was probably dedicated to goddess Hathor, says Luis Manuel González, curator of the museum. 

The exhibition is due to be extended to include more replicas as well as more context about their discovery.