Lost Temples Discovered
One of the things which really amazes is all the ancient structures we are still finding. We have found several temples, one of which was searched for over 100 years. The reason people kept looking for it was the fact it was mentioned in ancient documents. That structure was the lost temple of Artemis in Evia, Greece. It seemed the original digging was being conducted in the wrong place. That dig was based on calculations from a Roman. The temple was dedicated to Artemis the goddess of hunting and of the moon. While the temple is in ruins, there is still enough of it to amaze. The temple was finally found in a fishing village named Amarynthos on the Greek island of Euboea. The original dig had taken place all around Eretria.
Another temple which was found was declared spectacular. It was an Egyptian temple. It is the temple of Khnum at Esna, in Upper Egypt. It is practically complete and is in the process of being cleaned. Vibrant colors are everywhere and the ceiling is painted with incredible pictures of the vulture goddess Nekhbet along with the serpent goddess Wadjet. The temple has been dated from about 2,000 years ago. Khnum was the god of the Nile. He created children.
When such a huge temple which is in pretty good shape is dug up, it makes one wonder how it could have stayed in such good shape with even the painting visible. To me, it proves there could be many giant structures under the Egyptian sands we are yet to discover.
Not ever large structure which has recently been discovered has been in Egypt or Europe. Six giant pyramids have been discovered in Caral, in an ancient area in Peru. It has been suggested there must have been a civilization there about 5,000 years ago. This is very significant. The reason is this would be the oldest known civilization in the Americas. To build these pyramids that far back, meant the civilization that built them was far more advanced than could have ever been suspected. The site was discovered in the early 20th century, but it was thought the hills around the site were just hills, until in the 1970s it was realized they were pyramids. There are not just pyramids but also many ancient structures which include an amphitheater which could hold hundreds of people. Before the pyramids were discovered, it was thought the structures were much newer because they were in such good shape, but now it is realized they are far more ancient.
A temple has been discovered in the Ukraine. It has been dated over 6,000 years old and there is a massive prehistoric settlement also there. There are humanlike figurines and animal remains from sacrifices in the temple. The temple is 197 feet by 66 feet and was built before the invention of writing. The temple was originally two stories high. It contained five rooms. There were eight alter platforms inside. The rooms on the upper floor were all painted red, including the floors. On the ground floor was a couple of rooms and a courtyard.
Just when you thought nothing could ever be found in Italy anymore, a discovery was made of a brick wall which is thought to be the forerunner of a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Along with the wall ancient helmets were found. The structure was dug up at Velia. These ruins were located on what was formerly an acropolis of one of Magna Graecia’s most important cities. The area has recently been completely excavated and buildings have been found, metal fragments, and vases with Greek inscriptions.
The next temple which was found was Egyptian and was recently found in the Sinai desert. This time the temple was in ruins with long columns laying in the sand. While the temple is in Egypt it is a temple to Zeus-Kasios the ancient Greek god. A powerful earthquake was said to have hit the temple. The name is a combination of Zeus the Greek god and Mount Kasios in Syria where it is said Zeus once worshipped.
A Canaanite city was discovered in Israel and in it was a temple. It was built when the ancient Canaanites invaded. It was found in southern Israel and has been dated at 3,000 years old. The temple was found in the ancient city of Lachish, it is now part of the Tel Lachish National Park. Also found were two silver-plated bronze figurines of the Canaanite gods Baal and Resheph. The statues were in the most inner of the temple rooms and there were tributes to them also there. One of the objects found as an offering was a pair of gold earrings which were said to have been made before 1150 B.C.
A very rare temple was found in Iran. It is an ancient fire temple, and is said to be over 2,000 years old. This is rare because even though there are at least 200 fire temples around the globe, this one is different from the others. It is said to have been built using a format the others do not have which is known as the divine architectural format. It has been dated between 224 to 651 A.D. That is said to be from the Sassanian Empire. It is claimed that human settlements in this area go back 75,000 years. The temple is a ruin, but has interesting attributes.
Sometimes structures are found in busy places. Such is the find of an Aztec temple and ball court. It was found in busy Mexico City. The ruins show a huge circular shaped temple which was dedicated to the Aztec wind god Ehecatl and a ritual ball court. When these people played ball, it ended many times in death.
Two teenagers in India were poking around, looking for something to do when they came upon a lost temple. The temple is in the middle of the Mahanadi River in East Central India. The temple was said to have been built in either the 15 or 16 century and was dedicated to Gopinath Dev, which is the Hindu god Krishna. There is a history of flooding in the area and in 1850 the entire village was submerged. When the dam was built more than 50 other temples were lost.
It will be interesting to see how many more temples will be found in the future. As technology advances, it becomes easier to find structures which are in jungles, under the water, or even buried. There is no way to know what exciting structures we might find.