Egypt-Germany Joint Archaeological Mission Begins Esna Temple Renovation

The joint Egyptian-German mission between the Antiquities Registration Center of the Tourism and Antiquities Ministry and the Egyptology Department at the Tübingen University began the renovation and the documentation project of the Esna Temple in Luxor.

Hisham Al-Laithi, the Antiquities Registration Center head, explained that the mission's work this season included restoration and cleaning the layers, removing salts from the walls and temple ceiling and showing the original colors of the inscriptions.

Noteworthy, Esna Temple is located 100 meters from the Nile west bank in the Esna city and dates back to the Roman era where its construction began in the Roman Emperor Claudius era in the first century AD.

Also, the hypostyle hall roof is still intact, supported by 24 columns, each with varied floral capitals. They are decorated with texts describing the religious festivals of the town and several Roman emperors. One column shows Emperor Trajan dancing before the goddess Menheyet.

Contributed by Rana Atef