Taharqa's Temple of Mut at Jebel Barkal

Hidden beneath the sands of Sudan, the Temple of Mut, also known as Temple B300, stands as a grand testament to the divine powers that once ruled over Egypt. Dedicated to the venerated goddess Mut, this temple was built during the reign of the mighty Pharaoh Taharqa, around 680 BCE. Nestled near the banks of the Nile River, it is situated near a large bend of the river in the region that was called Nubia in ancient times. Its grandeur, assuming the shape of an Uraeus wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt, stands on the west side base of the Jebel Barkal pinnacle.

The construction of this sacred sanctuary of stone encompassed an entrance kiosk, a pylon, Bes pillars, columns topped with sistrum-headed Hathor capitals, and five wall painted chambers carved into the rock base. From the outer structure, only two of the Hathor columns still survive, but the rock-cut chambers are in good shape and were cleaned and restored between 2013 and 2020. The figures within the chambers are painted in ochre and white kaolin on a background painted in Egyptian blue, representing Amon, Taharqa, and lion-headed or human-headed forms of the Double Crown wearing Mut.

The restoration of the paintings was directed by Laurenti Maria Concetta and Osman El-Mailk Eglal Mohamed, with the safety project carried out by the architect Claudio Prosperi Porta. Archaeological excavation was conducted by Francesca Iannarilli. These efforts by the Central Institute of Restoration (ICR) of Italy and the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan (NCAM) preserved the hieroglyphic inscriptions where Taharqa describes rebuilding the temple of his ancestors as "splendid work."

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons