osireion oxyrhynchus

osireion oxyrhynchus

The archaeological site of Oxyrinchus 190 kilometers south of Cairo reveals the mysteries of the Osireion Oxyrhynchus The inner cemetery and network of underground tunnels and tombs carved into the rock The Osireion Temple of Oxyrinchus restored during the early Ptolemaic period is a unique and remarkably well-preserved underground temple complex dedicated to the god Osiris located outside the city walls a rare sight. Numerous individual Byzantine tombs and the temple's superstructure have been dismantled the mud brick walls have collapsed on the north and south sides of the city differing from typical above-ground temples and making it an interesting site for indigenous temples and related to the Roman occupation of Egypt ancient Egyptian Oxyrinchus is characterized by its rock-carved passageways comprising a network of underground tunnels.

Further confirmation comes from emergency excavations by the Egyptian State Ministry of Antiquities south of Oxyrinchus which uncovered the remains of another temple This site is a rare underground cult structure featuring a first-level passageway with a reclining statue of Osiris and hieroglyphic inscriptions as well as a terracotta statue of the goddess Isis Numerous catacombs have been discovered containing sarcophagi without inscriptions inside hieratic inscriptions provide valuable textual evidence of beliefs and rituals while cursive hieroglyphs and a statue of Osiris are valuable in relation to beliefs about the gods of the afterlife floral and plant motifs and other precious artifacts including elaborately decorated stones and inscriptions written in Coptic script the later Egyptian language of the Ptolemaic period are also found.

Tomb inscriptions include hieroglyphic inscriptions mummies wrapped in painted cardboard three halls and burial chambers terracotta statues of the goddesses Isis and Aphrodite amulets scarab beetles and fragments of cardboard depicting the sun and scorpions on the sarcophagus as protection for the deceased in the afterlife as well as paintings of various gods Osiris Anubis Isis Nephthys Bes and Sobek the faces of the gods are covered with gold leaf Athribis an ancient cemetery in Upper Egypt is also known as "The Tombs of the Two Sisters" Archaeologists have discovered a secret entrance to a 2,100-year-old temple built into a cliff in Egypt located in the ancient city of Athribis about 125 miles north of Luxor this rock structure reveals a hidden passage to a mysterious ancient temple nestled in a cliff face Currently 67 rock tombs and numerous individual burial sites from the Christian-Byzantine period built during the Site and Roman dynasties have been discovered.