Tebtunis lunar calendar

Tebtunis

Map of Egypt

The Tebtunis lunar calendar was discovered on March 10, 1931 under the direction of Carlo Anti in Tebtunis . In the place is the temple of Soknebtynis ("Sobek, Lord of Tebtynis") on the southern edge of the settlement. There is a small courtyard in front of the naos . The complex is surrounded by an enclosure wall that also encloses other buildings, including a small secondary temple and numerous priest cells.

background

The first excavations at this site were carried out in 1899/1900 by the two English papyrologists BP Grenfell and AS Hunt. They uncovered parts of the Soknebtynis temple and the surrounding settlement, where they found numerous Greek and demotic papyri - the actual goal of their excavations. When dividing the finds, most of the demotic papyri came to Cairo , while the Greek papyri and those still in the cardboard boxes were first sent to Oxford for processing and later - after the death of Grenfell and Hunt - to the Bancroft Library of the University of California ; the last previously overlooked boxes have only recently arrived there.

The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri (CTP), founded in 2000, deals with the evaluation of these Tebtunis Papyri . In contrast, it was mainly literary texts in demotic and hieratic script that reached Copenhagen. They are sure to come from the library at Soknebtynis Temple.

The Tebtunis lunar calendar

The construction of the temple complex dates back to the second century BC. Estimated. In accordance with this, the Tebtunis calendar, which contains detailed information on numerous festivals as well as information on the hours of the night and the hours of the day , dates .

The assumption expressed by Alan Gardiner and Richard Anthony Parker that the Egyptian calendar changed its year form at least since the beginning of the New Kingdom is further confirmed in the Tebtunis calendar.

The use of the old month names of the Egyptian lunar calendar is striking , while the newly introduced month names were used in the main calendar. Two lunar month names are dedicated to other deities in the Teptunis lunar calendar. Furthermore, the month of Ka-her-ka advanced to the position of Menchet .

**The Tebtunis lunar calendar compared to the Egyptian calendar around 132 BC. Chr.**
Tebtunis lunar calendar	Day length (book of hours of day)	Egyptian calendar	date
1. Techi	12 hours ( equinox )	1. Achet I	September 23rd
1. Ka-her-ka (instead of Menchet)	10 2/3 hours	1. Achet II	23rd October
1. Hat-up	9 1/3 hours	30. Achet II	21st November
1. Sachmet (instead of Ka-her-ka)	8 hours ( winter solstice )	30. Achet III	21st December
1. Schef-bedet	9 1/3 hours	29. Achet IV	January 19th
1. Rekeh-who	10 2/3 hours	29. Peret I	February 18
1. Rekeh-nedjes	12 hours (equinox)	28. Peret II	19th March
1. Courage (instead of renutet )	13 1/3 hours	28. Peret III	April 18
1. Chonsu	14 2/3 hours	27. Peret IV	17th of May
1. Chenti-chet	16 hours (summer solstice)	27. Schemu I	June 16
1. Ipet-hemet	14 2/3 hours	26. Schemu II	15th of July
1. Wepet-renpet	13 1/3 hours	26. Schemu III	August 14th

literature

Rolf Krauss : Sothis and moon data: studies on the astronomical and technical chronology of ancient Egypt , Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1985, ISBN 3-8067-8086-X
Jean Meeus : Astronomical Algorithms. Applications for Ephemeris Tool 4.5. 2nd revised edition. Barth, Leipzig et al. 2000, ISBN 3-335-00400-0 , calculation program Ephemeris Tool 4.5.
Jürgen Osing: Hieratic papyri from Tebtunis - Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies - , Museum Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen 1998, ISBN 87-7289-280-3
Richard Anthony Parker : The calendars of ancient Egypt , Chicago Press, Chicago 1950
Arthur MFW Verhoogt: “The Tebtunis Papyri at The Bancroft Library”, in: Bancroftiana 107, 1994, pp. 4-7.

Remarks

^ Dates of the Gregorian calendar . Add two days to determine the reference information in the proleptic calendar.

Individual evidence

↑ See Jean Meeus Astronomical Algorithms - Applications for Ephemeris Tool 4.5 - , Barth Leipzig 2000, ISBN 3-335-00400-0 , calculation program Ephemeris Tool 4.5 .

[2] Dates of the Gregorian calendar . Add two days to determine the reference information in the proleptic calendar.

[1] See Jean Meeus Astronomical Algorithms - Applications for Ephemeris Tool 4.5 - , Barth Leipzig 2000, ISBN 3-335-00400-0 , calculation program Ephemeris Tool 4.5 .