Medinet Madi

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The ruins of Medinet Madi

Medinet Madi is an Egyptian site in southwest Fayum . During the reign of Amenemhet III. and Amenemhets IV - between 1853 and 1797 BC BC - a temple of the serpentine goddess Renenutet was built there. The sanctuary was expanded and enriched in Greco-Roman times.

Temple complex

The inner part of the temple complex, made of dark sandstone, consisted of a narrow hall with papyrus columns that led to the actual sanctuary. This comprised three chapels that contained statues of different deities. In the middle chapel there was a larger than life statue of Renenutet, accompanied by statues of Amenemhet III. and his successor Amenemhet IV at their side. The renovations of the Ptolemaic period comprised a paved processional path that led through an eight-column kiosk to a portico with a portico in front.

The temple, excavated in the 1930s by archaeologists from the University of Milan , is - probably because of its very remote location - exceptionally well preserved.

Terenouthis ruins

In the ruins of Terenouthis , near Medinat Madi, seven Coptic - Manichean codices were found during an illegal excavation in the late 1920s , now known as the Manichean Library of Medinet Madi . These are fragments of a history of the Manichaean Church, letters from the founder of the religion Mani, the so-called Synaxis Codex, which contained readings for special meetings, sermons, two books with Kephalaia that contain doctrinal conversations, and a book with Manichaean psalms. Among the piles of papyrus shared by traders was the book of psalms, originally 672 pages, which is probably the most extensive codex that has survived from antiquity. The restoration turned out to be extremely difficult - if the restorer accidentally sneezed, a sheet would turn to dust, according to his report.

literature

  • Hans Bonnet : Medinet Madi , in: Lexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte , Hamburg 2000 ISBN 3-937872-08-6 p. 445.
  • Rudolf Naumann : The temple of the Middle Kingdom in Medinet Madi . In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department . Vol. 8, 1939, pp. 185-189.
  • A. Vogliano: Primo (e secondo) rapporto degli scavi condetti della R. Universita di Milano nella zona di Amdinet Maadi 1935-36 . Milan 1936–7.
  • Terry G. Wilfong: Fayum, Graeco-Roman sites. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 311-313.

Web links

Commons : Medinet Madi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Robinson: The Manichaean Codices of Medinat Madi (Terenouthis). In: XVIIIth International Congress of Byzantine Studies. Moscow 1991, p. 950 f
  2. ^ Siegfried G. Richter : The Coptic Manichaean Library from Madinet Madi in the Fayoum. In: G. Gabra (Ed.): Christianity and Monasticism in the Fayoum Oasis. Essays from the 2004 International Symposium of the Saint Mark Foundation and the Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite Coptic Society in Honor of Martin Krause. Cairo, New York 2005, ISBN 977 424 892 9 , pp. 71-78.
  3. ^ Siegfried G. Richter : The Coptic Egypt. Treasures in the shadow of the pharaohs (with photos by Jo Bischof). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2019, ISBN 978-3-8053-5211-6 , pp. 114–115.
  4. ↑ Rolf Ibscher: About the status of the re-conservation of the Manipapyri. In: Coptological Studies in the GDR. Compiled and edited by the Institute for Byzantine Studies at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg . (Scientific journal of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg) Halle-Wittenberg 1965, pp. 50–64.

Coordinates: 29 ° 11 ′ 35.2 "  N , 30 ° 38 ′ 31.7"  E