Kom el-Sultan

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Kom el-Sultan is the name of a hill of ruins on the edge of the fruiting land, near Abydos , about one kilometer north of Umm el-Qaab . At this archaeological excavation and discovery site there are various tombs, a craftsmen's settlement and the temple of Osiris - Chontamenti. The origin of the complex goes back to the predynastic period.

Buildings

Statuette of Cheops from the temple in Abydos

The center of the necropolis was the temple of Osiris-Chontamenti. It was built in the predynastic and early dynastic times. Until the 6th Dynasty , the temple was made of Nile mud bricks. The temple is surrounded by a double wall, around the actual temple are a multitude of storage rooms and other utility rooms. The portal at the entrance was made of stone and, due to the inscription, was probably built on the initiative of one of the three kings named Pepi . The finds of steles , statues , extensions, etc. show that the temple was an important place of worship until the Roman-Greek period .

During the first interim period, the temple was destroyed during a civil war, but was later rebuilt in the 11th and 12th Dynasties. Especially Sesostris I seems to have completely redesigned the building. From the stela of Ameni-seneb we know that the temple was built by King Chendjer in the 13th dynasty . In the following periods, many kings had the temple built and expanded, including statues or sacrificial altars . So Thutmose built a brick pylon and Ramses III. have a new surrounding wall built.

Among other things, a vessel of King Aha (1st King 1st Dynasty ) and several royal sculptures were found in the temple , including the only statuette of King Cheops from the 4th Dynasty that has been found so far . Many stelae showing votive offerings , including copper vessels , ivory figures , fragments of wooden statuettes and clay vessels , date from the 3rd to 6th dynasties . A new building was built by Nectanebo II ( 30th Dynasty ).

The settlement surrounding the temple has so far only been partially excavated, based on the findings it is known that it is a craftsmen's and workers' settlement. Whether it is the buildings of the craftsmen working on the temple or parts of the ancient Abydos is not certain. Both can be found in published scientific reports.

literature

  • Dieter Arnold : The temples of Egypt. Artemis-Verlag, Zurich 1992, ISBN 3-86047-215-1 .
  • Dieter Arnold, Nigel Strudwick, Sabine H. Gardiner: The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture. Tauris, London 2002, ISBN 978-1-86064-465-8 .
  • AJ Arkell: The Prehistory for the Nile Valley (= Handbook of Oriental Studies. Seventh Division, Art and Archeology;, 1st Vol., 2nd Section, A, Lfg. 1). Brill, Leiden 1975, ISBN 978-90-04-04397-8 .
  • Wolfgang Helck : Small Lexicon of Egyptology. 4th, revised edition, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1999, ISBN 3-447-04027-0 .
  • Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto : Lexicon of Egyptology. Vol. 7: Supplements, corrections and indices. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1992, ISBN 3-447-03332-0 .
  • Gabriele Höber-Kamel: Abydos - Religious Center of Resurrection In: Kemet, Heft 2, Berlin 2000, ISSN  0943-5972 pp. 4–9.
  • Barry J. Kemp: The Osiris Temple at Abydos. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. (MDAIK) No. 23, 1968 ISSN  0342-1279 , pp. 138-155.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gabriele Höber-Kamel: Abydos - Religious Center of Resurrection Berlin 2000, pp. 4–9.
  2. ^ Dieter Arnold, Nigel Strudwick, Sabine H. Gardiner: The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture. London 2002, p. 95 ff.
  3. ↑ Delia Pemberton: Ancient Egypt (= Architectural Guides for Travelers. ). Chronicle Books, San Francisco 1992, ISBN 978-0-87701-847-6 , pp. 64 ff.
  4. ^ W. Helck, E. Otto: Small Lexicon of Egyptology. Wiesbaden 1999, p. 62.

Coordinates: 26 ° 11 ′ 32.8 "  N , 31 ° 54 ′ 41.1"  E