The story
Walls of massive limestone, about 9 metres high, of a temple dedicated to Osiris.
- 1Limestone walls about 9 metres high
- 2The two gate towers
- 3The Greek baths below the temple
- 4The rock-cut tunnel (2022)
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Ptolemy II Philadelphus founded the town of Taposiris Magna in the 3rd century BC and dedicated it to Osiris. The temple walls standing today date to the 1st century BC; an older temple of the Greek period, of the 4th century BC, was pulled down between the 2nd century BC and the start of the Christian era. Youm7 gives the north and south walls a height of about 9 metres, built of massive limestone.
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The French Institute of Oriental Archaeology (IFAO) says Abu Sir was identified in the 19th century as the Taposiris Magna named by Strabo and Ptolemy, which inscriptions and potsherds bearing its ancient name have since confirmed, and that the first excavations were led by Evaristo Breccia and Achille Adriani, directors of the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria. Below the temple lie Greek baths that the institute calls the best preserved in the world, next to a small cemetery of mummified animals. The town was abandoned only some decades after the Arab conquest.
In November 2022 the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced a rock-cut tunnel about 13 metres below ground, about 1,305 metres long. In December 2024 the Egyptian-Dominican mission led by Kathleen Martinez announced foundation deposits under the south wall of the outer enclosure, with 337 coins bearing the image of Queen Cleopatra VII. The mission’s head thinks Cleopatra’s tomb may be here; that is a hypothesis no find has proved, and the State Information Service calls it controversial. In September 2025 underwater finds were announced that show an ancient harbour, now submerged, once linked to the temple.
On 19 August 2026 the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities ordered a plan to develop the site ahead of opening it to visitors, so it is not yet formally open. Check before you go.
