The ancient city of Pelusium played an important role in ancient Egypt as a trading center and fortress against attacks from the Levant. Now archaeologists have discovered an unusual temple there: a sanctuary in the form of a circular, 35 meter large water basin with a central pedestal and canal connections to a branch of the Nile. This previously unique water-filled complex probably served as a temple for the river god Pelusius, the city’s eponymous patron.
The port city of Pelusium, located on the eastern edge of the Nile Delta, was an important trading center in Pharaonic times. Due to its location on a branch of the Nile, it had a connection to the Mediterranean and was therefore a contact point for ships and their goods. Due to its strategically important location, Pelusium also functioned as a border fortification against attacks from the Levant. Enemies coming from there had to go through the north of Sinai and thus directly past Pelusium. The city even appears in the Bible as the “fortress of Egypt”. Both the Persians and the Romans besieged and captured Pelusius in military campaigns. Archaeologists have been excavating the city for more than 100 years.
Mysterious round building
In 2019, a team of archaeologists excavating near Pelusium’s main street uncovered parts of a circular building made of red brick and limestone. Due to the large size of the walls, only a quarter of which was uncovered at the time, and the remains of some interior structures interpreted as benches, archaeologists suspected that it could be a public building – possibly even the city’s Senate building. Since then, the team from the Egyptian Antiquities Authority has excavated additional parts of the rotunda and also uncovered the structures inside the circle and its surroundings.
The structures discovered during these excavations now refute previous assumptions about the building’s function, according to Mohamed Abdel-Badi from the Egyptian Antiquities Authority. Accordingly, this building is not a Pelusian senate building, but an unusual temple. “The remains of the temple consist of a massive, circular water basin with a diameter of around 35 meters,” said the archaeologist. In the center of the pool, the team discovered a large, square pedestal on which a monumental statue of a deity probably once stood.
“Important find”
According to the research team, this complex probably served religious rituals related to the river god Pelusius – the patron of the city of Pelusium. Its name is derived from the Greek word “Plus”, which means mud or silt. This fits with the branch of the Nile named after him, whose water carried a lot of sediment and ultimately led to the river silting up. The temple’s round water basin was connected to this branch of the Nile via an extensive network of canals. Mud deposits in the temple basin also bear witness to this connection.
This find is of great importance, emphasized Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. The unique temple underlines the important role of Pelusium in ancient Egypt and the influence of this city in the spread of religious and cultural ideas at that time. According to dating, the Water Temple of Pelusium was used from the second century BC to the sixth century CE. The complex’s unusual architecture combines Hellenistic and Roman styles. This makes this temple an embodiment of the close cultural ties between Egypt and the ancient world, says El-Leithy. The excavations have not yet been completed, so the team hopes to gain further insights in the near future.
Source: Egypt Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities