Five-story underground temple with 15m water-filled moat. The central island structure extends five stories deep underground The moat surrounding it is 15 meters (50 feet) deep The walls descend 15 meters below current ground level
The Osireion features a central island surrounded by a permanent moat filled with mysterious water that cannot be drained. Water continuously replenishes from sources within the structure itself—an unusual phenomenon in the desert where 'there shouldn't be water coming out of the desert.' The structure maintains unusually cool temperatures in its underground chambers.
Key Facts
- The central island structure extends five stories deep underground
- The moat surrounding it is 15 meters (50 feet) deep
- The walls descend 15 meters below current ground level
- Modern pumps cannot remove the water as it replenishes from a 900m deep ancient aquifer
- The structure acts as a thermal battery maintaining a cool underground chamber
- The water is 100% not Nile water but ancient paleo water
- The water has been tested and found to be drinkable
Related site: Osireion — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: Debating the Age of Egypt's Osirion (Raiders of the Past Podcast) by Luke Caverns