TORONTO A Canadian archaeologist said on Tuesday that his team was slowly unravelling the secrets of a 3,000-year-old temple that may have belonged to the Queen of Sheba.
Half-buried under the sands of the Southern Arabian Desert in northern Yemen, the Mahram Bilqis or Temple of the Moon God contains priceless documents and artifacts from the time of the Biblical Queen.
The temple was a sacred site for pilgrims in Arabia from around 1200 B.C. to 550 A.D., the time that fits with history's record of the Queen of Sheba and her visit to King Solomon.
"To have such historical, religious and cultural connection to one site is tremendous.
Not often in archaeology do we have that." Professor Bill Glanzman told Reuters.
Glanzman, who teaches archaeology at the University of Calgary and is the project's director, said: "We've probably excavated less than one percent of the site, with many of its treasures still buried far beneath the sands." The discovery and excavation of the temple began in 1951 by the late American archaeologist Wendell Phillips. But it was halted abruptly a year later because of political unrest.
Work was restarted in 1998 by the American Foundation for the Study of Man, a nonprofit organization that spearheads such projects.
Glanzman said the temple could become an "eighth wonder of the world," attracting people from around the world.
"We think it has the potential to become a world-class tourist site, where tourists can walk around and really feel what happened thousands of years ago." But another expert disagrees.
"This is the most optimistic of statements at the moment, given the economic and political situation and the problem of raising money for such things," said Edward Keall, senior curator of Middle Eastern archaeology at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
"I do not expect to see it in my lifetime," he said.
"As of the moment, the Yemeni government does not have control over the various tribal groups that live in the country and who believe that they own the land," Keall said.
But Glanzman tries to sell the importance of the excavation, saying it is as important a discovery as the ruins of Pompeii, the Pyramids of Giza or the Acropolis.
"The sanctuary is packed with artifacts, pottery, artwork and inscriptions, opening a new door to the ancient civilizations of southern Arabia," he said.
Glanzman said his team could be finished with the excavation within 15 years.
(Reuter)