2000 Years Ago Lions Were King
Two lion statues dating back more than 2,000 years were found on the outskirts of a temple in the oasis of Fayoum, located 150 kilometers (93 miles) southwest of Cairo, the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry said Monday.
The statues, which show lions sitting, were discovered west of the Temple of Soknupayus, the god of the Dima al Seba area in Fayoum.
The limestone figures, which date back to the Ptolemaic period (332 B.C. to A.D. 30), are 1.6 meters (five feet) tall and nearly one meter (three feet) wide, but they have different physical appearances and details on their bodies.
The statues were used to decorate the temple, which was built in the Greco-Roman and Ptolemaic period, the Antiquities Ministry said.
