You've probably heard about Saba - an ancient and powerful state located on the territory of the Arabian Peninsula. And about its legendary ruler - the Queen of Sheba.
It is very difficult to believe in the reality of the existence of the queen herself - all information about her was found only on the pages of holy scripture. In some ways, it is very similar to the famous King of Judah Solomon - the Kingdom of Judah itself really existed, and there are great doubts about the reality of Solomon's personality.
But what's even more comical is the fact that both of these characters, according to the Bible, dated each other. But, unlike the Queen of Sheba, the state of Saba really existed and proof of this is a huge number of ancient buildings, dams and irrigation systems discovered by archaeologists on the territory of the Arabian Peninsula.
We found a lot of interesting things, including the mysterious Bilkis temple. Nowadays, it is located on the territory of modern Yemen. If you translate the name of the temple into Russian, you get "the brave of the god of the moon."
According to one of the versions, services were held in it during the reign of the Queen of Sheba. This temple became known to Europeans only in the middle of the last century, when in 1951 the American explorer Wendell Phillips began to excavate here.
But he did not work here for long - about a year, after which he had to curtail the excavation due to the unstable political situation in the country. It was possible to return here only in 1998. True, Phillips himself did not live up to this moment - his brother was invited here.
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According to historians, the Bilqis temple worked for a very long time - from the 8th century BC to the middle of the 6th century AD. During the excavations, many ancient artifacts were found here, which made it possible to take a fresh look at the culture of the local ancient peoples.
According to the researchers, they did not manage to dig up everything - who knows how many more antiquities are hidden deep under the sands. It is believed that the Bilqis temple was built near the ancient city of Marib - at that time it was the capital of the state of Saba.
Moreover, unlike the Queen of Sheba, information about this ancient state is found not only in the pages of the Bible, but also in the Koran. Researchers believe that the Sabaean state was located on the routes of several ancient trade routes, which allowed it to quickly rise economically.
But the local climate in those days was just as arid, which gave this state excellent protection from external enemies - after all, enemy troops in most cases were simply not able to cross the hot sands of local deserts.
And those who did manage to reach the borders of Saba were so tired that they could not join the battle. The remains of the temple are limestone columns covered with sand, of which eight were counted.
The walls made of lime blocks have also survived. During the excavations of the temple, a large number of animal remains were discovered, which suggests that in ancient times sacrifices could take place here.
But with the reconstruction of the temple, problems arose - archaeologists were unable to determine by what methods its construction took place. In the meantime, the construction technology is unknown, it will not be possible to train modern Yemeni builders.