Sun Temple at Abu Ghurab

Sun Temple at Abu Ghurab:

At the western end stood a benben (stone monument) as tall as a pyramid. Just the base remains.

Fixated on an alabaster alterwhere steers were sacrificd

Block model of a sunlight based watercraft toward the south

indistinguishable to the Sun Temple of Userkaaf

Search for channels cut into the clearing which course the blood of penances to the ten alabaster bowls. Nine survive.

Userkaf's successor Sahure was the principal ruler to site his pyramid at Abusir, yet there has so far been no sun-sanctuary found at Abu Ghurob in his name. The main different stays of a sun-sanctuary has a place with Niuserre, the 6th ruler of Dynasty V, which is situated around 500m north-west of Userkaf's sanctuary. This landmark was referred to early voyagers as the pyramid of 'Righa', however was first uncovered by Borchardt and Schaeffer's German archeological undertaking in the vicinity of 1898 and 1902. Niuserre's sun-sanctuary, which was named 'Enjoyment of Re', is vastly improved safeguarded than that of Userkaf and many pieces of alleviation enrichment were recuperated, some delineating the heb-sed celebration (now in Berlin Museum).

Sun-temple of Niuserre   Remains of chapel on the south side of the temple
Niuserre used similar elements in the construction of his sun-temple as those reconstructed from Userkaf's monument and which had become common in pyramid complexes. The upper temple was on a levelled terrace, its rectangular walls first constructed in mudbrick and later encased in yellow limestone. A vestibule led into a courtyard which was dominated on its western side by a large obelisk constructed from limestone blocks and which stood on a flat-topped pyramid-shaped pedestal, around 15m high. The obelisk probably symbolised the 'ben-ben' stone on which the sun's rays first shone in the Heliopolitan creation myth.

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