A Tale of Two Temples
The recent discovery of parts of a temple dating to the reign of pharaoh Ramses II during restoration work at the mosque inside the Temple of Luxor has created a “moral quandary” between archaeologists and local religious leaders.
The findings consist of sections of columns, capitals and elaborately inscribed reliefs built around 1250 B.C. Scenes depict Ramses II offering the sun god Amen Re the two obelisks that were installed at Luxor’s temple’s front facade, one of which stands today in its original location.
Because the inscriptions are dedicated to another god, and hieroglyphs represent humans and animals, images forbidden under Islamic law, negotiations are being conducted on how to resolve the issue of removing the objects or leaving them there but concealed. Complete removal would damage the mosque structure.
The mosque was erected as a shrine to Muslim saint Abul Haggag in the 13th century A.D. on the site of an earlier Christian church, which was itself built on top of the ancient Temple of Luxor.
Contrary to what happened at other ancient Egyptian religious sites where new occupiers would destroy or deface the ancient sacred inscriptions, this time the builders of the mosque covered the ancient walls in plaster, which has preserved them in perfect condition.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070927-egypt-temple.html
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=32621704-9b1d-43d9-a80f-395cccc74fc8)
