Date:

Influences from Gandhara & Interior of Africa in Ancient Temple on the Red Sea in Egypt

Archaeologists excavating a temple in the port of Berenice Troglodytica have discovered stone heads imitating sculptures from Gandhara and the depths of Africa.

Berenice, also known as Baranis was founded in the 3rd century BC by Ptolemy II Philadelphus on the west coast of the Red Sea and was named after his mother Berenice I.

- Advertisement -

The port city served as a trading centre with the East Coast of Africa, India, and Arabia, mainly for the transportation of war Elephants.

Trade from Berenice is described in the 1st century AD travelogue Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, written by a Greek merchant based in Alexandria. The Periplus indicates that “on the right-hand coast next below Berenice is the country of the Berbers”.

Image Credit : I. Zych

A multi-national team of archaeologists from the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, and the University of Delaware has been excavating a temple dedicated to Isis (the sister and wife of Osiris who was worshiped as the goddess of the moon, motherhood, marital devotion, healing the sick, and the working of magical spells and charms) and the cult of Serapis (a Graeco-Egyptian deity).

Archaeologists found various images of Serapis, architectural fragments of stone, marble and pieces of sculptures, with the most notable find being heads imitating sculptures from Asian Gandhara – a historical region that covered parts of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan.

- Advertisement -

Inside the temple ruins, they also uncovered a locally sculptured statue of the Nubian deity Sebiumeker, referred to as Lord of Musawwarat (supreme god of procreation and fertility) in Meroe, Kush, in present-day Sudan.

His statues have often been found near doorways at the Nubian sites Tabo (Nubia) and Musawwarat es-Sufra, giving rise to the interpretation that he was a guardian god.

PAP

Header Image Credit : K. Braulinska

- Advertisement -

Stay Updated: Follow us on iOS, Android, Google News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, and our newsletter

spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 8,000 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

The mystery of a 1940’s Ford Woody discovered on USS Yorktown shipwreck

During a recent expedition aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer for the Papahānaumokuākea ROV and Mapping project, NOAA Ocean Exploration and its partners discovered a 1940s Ford Woody on the wreck of the USS Yorktown.

Roman phallus found at frontier fortress

Excavations at Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall have unearthed a miniature phallus pendant.

Ancient underground chamber discovery in Cnoc Ard

A construction project in Cnoc Ard (Knockaird) on the Isle of Lewis has revealed a stone-built underground chamber, later identified by archaeologists as a Late Iron Age souterrain.

Caral burial unearthed at Áspero: Elite woman found remarkably preserved

Archaeologists from the Caral Archaeological Zone (ZAC), led by Dr. Ruth Shady Solís from the Ministry of Culture, have discovered a well-preserved burial at the Áspero archaeological site in Barranca Province, Peru.

Mesolithic figurine found in Damjili Cave offers new clues to Neolithic transition

A stone figurine discovered in Damjili Cave, western Azerbaijan, is providing archaeologists with new insights into the cultural and symbolic transition from the Mesolithic to Neolithic in the South Caucasus.

Bite marks confirm gladiators fought lions at York

A recent study published in PLOS One has identified bite marks on human remains excavated from Driffield Terrace, a Roman cemetery on the outskirts of York, England.

Treasures of the Alanian culture found in Alkhan-Kala necropolis

Archaeologists have discovered an intact burial mound containing the tomb of an Alanian elite during excavations at Alkhan-Kala west of Grozny, Chechnya.

Significant archaeological discoveries near Inverness

Archaeologists have made several major discoveries at the site of the upcoming Old Petty Championship Golf Course at Cabot Highlands, near Inverness, Scotland.