German archaeological team discovers Sabaean Kingdom temple ruins

The German Archaeological Institute in Yemen has recently announced that one of their teams has discovered a temple in Sirwah, located east of Sana’a. 

The temple dates back to the Sabaean Kingdom, which ruled Yemen during the seventh and eighth centuries B.C.E. The temple, known as al-Magah, is in good condition, with huge entrance posts and massive interior rooms.     

The German Institutes’s manager in Sana’a said that the temple’s front design and building materials are unique in Yemen. They are made of wood and stone, with tower-like protrusions weighing over six tons each. The seven temple posts were put up by using a crane-like mechanism and the temple’s front was ornamented with two huge sculptures of the Sabi’ kings, Yathar Amar Watar Ibn Yakorb Malik (517 B.C.E.) and Karb al-Watar (586 B.C.E.). 

The manager said that there are single sculptures more than seven meters high and they attest to the civil and military achievements of these kings.

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