Huge Building, Roman Bath Found at Egypt's Ancient Memphis Site

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September 25, 2018

Archaeologists in Egypt have found a very large building and a connected Roman-era structure in what was once the capital, Memphis.

Staircase found in Memphis

Limestone blocks and red brick molds formed the foundation of the 55-foot-by-47-foot building. Discovered so far have been walls, two entrances, an inner staircase, and a room attached to an outer wall that contained a baking oven and was probably used by servants, archaeologists said.

The ruins are near an open-air museum in the town of Mit Rahina, 12 miles south of Cairo. Connected to the building was a Roman bath and a chamber that appeared to have been used for religious rituals. Found in that chamber were a carved basin, wash basins and a limestone pot holder decorated with the head of the god Bes, a god of war who was also a patron of childbirth and the home.

In ancient times, it was Memphis, built in the 3rd Century B.C. by the famous Menes, who was also known as Narmer, the uniter of Upper and Lower Egypt. Memphis, strategically placed at the mouth of the Nile River Delta, was the Egyptian capital during the Old Kingdom and was important in the New Kingdom as a place where royal princes went to be educated. The most famous temple in Memphis was the Temple of Ptah, in which Alexander the Great was crowned pharaoh in 332 B.C. With the rise of Alexander's successors, the Ptolemies, and the rise of the city of Alexandria, Memphis began a gradual decline.

In 1979, UNESCO declared the former Memphis a World Heritage site. The site includes the necropolis and fragments of palaces, temples, pyramids, and residential neighborhoods. Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the newly discovered buildings were likely part of such a neighborhood.

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Social Studies for Kids
copyright 2002–2018
David White

Social Studies for Kids
copyright 2002–2019
David White