Pharaonic Sun Temple Found in Egypt

The rein of Ramses II of Egypt could have significant light added to it because of the discovery of a Sun Temple underneath a marketplace in Cairo. Ramses, along with his war with the Hittites and his massive building projects is also credited as being Pharaoh during the exodus when Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt.

Statues weighing up to five tonnes and thought to be of one of ancient Egypt's greatest pharaohs, Ramses II, have been found northeast of Cairo, Egypt's Supreme Antiquities Council said in a statement on Sunday.

Ramses II ruled Egypt from 1304 to 1237 BC, and presided over an era of great military expansion, erecting statues and temples to himself all over Egypt. He is traditionally believed to be the pharaoh mentioned in the biblical story of Moses.

"Many parts of red granite statues were found, the most important of which had features close to Ramses II ... The statue needs some restoration and weighs between four and five tonnes," the statement quoted the Council's Zahi Hawass as saying.

A royal head weighing two to three tonnes and a seated 5.1 metre (16.7 foot) statue were also found, with cartouches, or royal name signs, of Ramses II on the side of the seated statue.

The discoveries were made at a sun temple northeast of Cairo in ancient Heliopolis, a region known in ancient times for sun worship and where the Council says a calendar based on the solar year was invented.