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An Egyptian-Chinese archaeological mission announced on Saturday that it has discovered a sacred lake within the precincts of the Montu Temple at the Karnak Temple complex in Luxor, southern Egypt.
The newly uncovered sacred lake, within the Montu Temple enclosure, lies west of the Maat Temple, dedicated to Maat, the ancient Egyptian goddess of harmony, justice, and truth.
Archaeologists said the lake covers more than 50 square meters and is a man-made water reservoir dating back to ancient times.
They described it as having a solid structure and a remarkable state of preservation. According to the joint team, the lake had not been documented in any previous archaeological records.
Jia Xiaobing, the Chinese project director, told Xinhua News Agency that the new lake, together with the previously known sacred lake at the Montu Temple, creates a unique layout: two parallel sacred lakes running north-south within the walls of the Karnak complex.
Jia said the team named the new discovery the Southern Sacred Lake, describing it as the only sacred lake in the history of Egyptian archaeology to undergo systematic and scientific excavation. He said the excavation yielded a wealth of primary material for study, particularly research related to sacred lakes.
Jia added that sacred lakes were a fundamental architectural element of ancient Egyptian temples. He said they were considered holy water sources, separate from daily use and reserved exclusively for religious rituals and ceremonial practices within temple precincts.
Hend Ali, chief inspector of the Montu Temple and a member of the Egyptian side of the mission, said the discovery is rare and marks the culmination of eight years of hard work by the joint team. She said the mission faced initial challenges because of differences in research backgrounds, but succeeded in developing an effective methodology and applying advanced techniques to work in harmony.
We started with a huge mound of sand and debris, and today you can see the fruits of our joint efforts, this beautiful and magnificent sacred lake, which will open new horizons for further research and discoveries in the near future, Ali said.
She noted, however, that constraints related to groundwater levels mean the structural foundations of the lake have not yet been fully explored. As a result, she said its original construction date still needs to be determined through further excavation and studies.
In the surrounding area, archaeologists uncovered dozens of cattle jaw remains, as well as reused stone blocks dating to kings and deities from the Late Period (747–332 BCE).
In a related development, Jia said excavations in the Osirian chapel area led to the discovery of three chapels dedicated to the god Osiris. Archaeologists also recovered dozens of small Osiris figurines of various sizes and materials, along with objects associated with worshippers of deities.
Jia said these findings provide new archaeological evidence that helps reconstruct the history of Thebes during the period of the Divine Adoratrices under the Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth dynasties.
The Montu Temple site lies in the northern part of Luxor and covers about 106,000 square meters, around 24,000 square meters of which are within the temple enclosure.
The joint mission has so far conducted excavations across roughly 2,300 square meters. Since 2018, the first official joint Egyptian-Chinese archaeological mission, bringing together the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, has carried out excavation and archaeological research at the Montu Temple, with support from partner institutes.
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