Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities revealed in August that the first and largest astronomical observatory in the ancient Egyptian Empire had been discovered.

Built around 2,600 years ago, the structure was made of mud bricks and was used to observe and record the movements of the sun and stars in the ancient city of But, known today as Tell al-Falayn. According to According to an official statement from the ministry, the building was discovered three years ago but was only unveiled in August. The building is a 9,150-square-foot, L-shaped structure with an east-facing entrance.

The entrance, called the pyramid, leads to a spot where sunlight would have tracked early astronomers (usually priests, called “smn pe”) who observed the sun and stars, said Hossam Ghonim, leader of the Egyptian archaeological expedition. said Live Science.

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“Everything we found defied our expectations,” Ghonim said. The team initially thought they'd found a temple, but artifacts and other symbolism within the site quickly made it clear just how groundbreaking their discovery was.

One of the biggest discoveries was a giant sundial, which, along with other discoveries, led researchers to identify the site as an important scientific centre. (Related article: Discovery of contamination of 5,000-year-old Great Pyramid overturns everything we knew about ancient Egypt)

“On the north side of the hall, we discovered an angled stone sundial, a sun-shadow clock that uses the changing angle of the sun's shadow to determine sunrise, noon and sunset, a simple yet profound method,” Ghonim added.What's fascinating about this find, at least to me, is that it once again shows how technology and knowledge continue to become outdated.