French archaeologists have unearthed hundreds of coloured limestone blocks dating back 3,000 years and thought to have been used to build a sacred lake for the goddess Mut, according to the antiquities ministry.

Most of the blocks, which were unearthed in the Nile Delta town of San al-Hagar, could have belonged to King Osorkon II of the 22nd dynasty, while some bear inscriptions from his successors King Osorkon III and IV, the ministry said.

The mission has so far cleaned 120 blocks, including 78 with inscriptions.

The goddess Mut was considered a mother goddess, often depicted with a vulture headdress.

Mut (Maut) was the mother goddess, the queen of the gods at Waset (Thebes), arising in power with the god Amen. She came to represent the Eye of Ra, the ferocious goddess of retribution and daughter of the sun god Ra. Originally a local goddess, probably from the delta area, she became a national goddess during the New Kingdom and was adored at one of the most popular festivals at the time – the Festival of Mut.

She was either depicted as a woman, sometimes with wings, or a vulture, usually wearing the crowns of royalty – she was often shown wearing the double crown of Egypt or the vulture headdress of the New Kingdom queens.

Later she was shown as woman with the head of a lioness, as a cow or as a cobra as she took on the attributes of the other Egyptian goddesses.

The ancient Egyptian link between vultures and motherhood lead to her name being the ancient Egyptian word for mother.

Mut took over the position of the original wife of Amen – Amaunet, the invisible goddess – during the Middle Kingdom and rose to power when the New Kingdom rulers took up the worship of Amen.