In April 2022, archaeologists unearthed the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Zeus at Tell el-Farma – an archaeological site in the northwestern part of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.
Temple of Zeus at Tell el-Farma
Thanks to this archaeological discovery, experts discovered a powerful ancient earthquake that destroyed the temple gate.
Huge blocks of pink granite were found around the temple site, suggesting that later builders reused the temple’s stone blocks for other projects, such as nearby churches. Inscriptions found on some granite blocks suggest that the Roman Emperor Hadrian (reigned 117-138 AD) renovated the temple.
Huge underground city in Turkey
Also in April 2022, Turkish archaeologists discovered a huge underground city and believe that this may be the largest underground city in the world after full excavation. This underground city has been in continuous use for 1,900 years and has a capacity of about 60,000 – 70,000 people.
This underground city called Matiate (meaning “cave city”), is located in the town of Midyat, Mardin province. Experts estimate that only 3% of the total area of Matiate has been excavated. Every day, they discover more hidden rooms, tunnels, passages and many valuable artifacts.
Egyptian Treasures
On May 30, 2022, 250 wooden coffins containing mummies, 150 bronze statues and countless treasures such as golden masks, the “Book of the Dead” were displayed in the Djoser exhibition held in Djoser pyramid, Egypt. These mummies and artifacts were unearthed at Saqqara shortly before.
The latest archaeological discovery at Saqqara during the first months of 2022 marks the first time bronze statues from Late Late Egypt, dating from the 5th century BC, have been discovered in the cemetery the vastness of the capital Memphi.
Saqqara is home to more than 10 pyramids, animal burial grounds, and ancient Coptic Orthodox monasteries. This site was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1979.
3,400 years old city
In June 2022, experts discovered the ruins of a 3,400-year-old ancient city exposed in the middle of the Mosul reservoir in Iraq after a severe drought left the lake dry.
Experts believe that the ancient city may have been Zkhiku – a major center of the prosperous Mittani empire located on the banks of the Tigris River between 1550 BC – 1350 BC.
The city of Zkhiku was first studied in 2018 when the Mosul reservoir dried up. However, experts have only a limited amount of time to uncover the city’s secrets before the lake level rises.
In the second exposed ancient city, experts found a large fortress with walls and spires, a manufacturing complex and a multi-storey warehouse, more than 100 unburnt clay tablets.
They hope studying these clay tablets will provide some clues about the lives of the people of Mittani’s time, or what happened at the time of the city’s decline.
Complex of more than 500 standing stones
In August 2022, archaeologists announced that they had discovered a population of more than 500 standing stones at the La Torre-La Janera land of about 600 hectares in Huelva, the southernmost province on the Spanish border with Portugal. , near the Guadiana River. This is possibly one of the largest rock formations in Europe.
According to experts, it is more likely that the newly discovered standing rocks were erected in the second half of the 6th or 5th millennium BC. Because many of the rocks are buried deep in the soil and they need to be carefully excavated, the excavation may not be completed until 2026.
