Sun Temples Project 2025

Archaeological Projects

Fish eye lens view

Local team at work

Max & Emanuele with cartouche

Abui Saidi cleans lintel

Barefoot detail

Sun Temples Project 2025, Archaeological Projects

The solar temple of king Niuserra in Abu Ghurab, 20km south of modern-day Cairo, was discovered by the German architect and archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt, who did the first archaeological works in the site between 1898 and 1901. More than a hundred years later, the Italian-Polish mission lead by Dr Massimiliano Nuzzolo (Universitat deli Studi di Torino), together with a team of international specialists and 40 locals, works since 2010 in the sun temple of the sixth paraoh of the Fifth Dynasty.

Surrounded by pyramids, the team of Nuzzolo uncovers the story of one of the two solar temples unearthed out of the six that are known from historical sources. And so far is the only one whose remains give an idea of how these buildings should have looked like.

In the courtyard of the temple, an area for cleansing and purification, one can still admire not only the remains of the base were once a monumental obelisk was erected and an impressive (and unique) alabaster altar on its east side, but also 9 (out of 10) alabaster basins preserved in situ.

This season the main archaeological works were focused in the recently discovered Valley Temple, which was located a century ago by German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt but never unearthed, until now, due to the phreatic layer being too close to the surface. The restoration work focused on the alabaster basins located in the courtyard of the Upper Temple.

More info at: https://www.suntemplesproject.org/