Shunet El-Zebib

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South walls of Shunet El Zebib
North walls with a well-preserved niche facade
Enclosure of the Peribsen near the north wall

Shunet El-Zebib ( Arabic شونة الزبيب, DMG Šūnat az-Zabīb , literally “ raisin barn” or “raisin store”), alternatively also called Shunet or Shuneh for short , is the name of a large adobe structure near Abydos in southern Egypt . It was made during the late 2nd Dynasty around 2700 BC. And almost certainly goes back to King Chasechemui .

architecture

Shunet El-Zebib was built from unfired adobe bricks. It consists of two massive, rectangular enclosure walls that are nested inside one another. The longitudinal axis of the system is oriented from northeast to southwest. The outer wall measures 137 × 77 m, is approx. 5.5 m thick and 12 m high. The inner fence measures 123 × 56 m, is approx. 2.6 m thick and 8 m high. In between there is a distance of approx. 1.4 and 3.3 m, which is due to the fact that the inner enclosure was created at a slight angle. In total, the facility takes up an area of ​​approx. 10,500 m². The outer facade of the outer wall has niches that were originally plastered white and imitate a royal palace facade . The complex has two larger entrance portals, one near the eastern corner and the other near the northern corner. Both portals once consisted of massive door frames made of red granite . What the door leaves could have consisted of, however, is unknown. The north gate even had a kind of entrance hall that consisted of two rooms. The vestibule measures around 6.8 × 3.4 m, the main room around 7.8 × 3.4 m. The east portal is noticeably smaller and there are indications that the east gate was bricked up later and was only a so-called false door .

The interior consists of a large, spacious and now completely empty courtyard; it is unknown whether important buildings such as temples or shrines were located there. In 1988, the Australian Egyptologist David O'Connor discovered a square, flat elevation made of fine limestone that was originally crowned by four stair-like steps made of adobe bricks. The step structure is located exactly in the middle of the courtyard, its actual purpose can no longer be determined. The only cult building that has been reliably archaeologically proven is a chapel or cult shrine near the east corner of the courtyard. The ruins are also made of unfired adobe bricks.

At the inner south gate, the foundations and wall remains of a building could be identified, the architecture of which clung to the inside of the south wall. It was probably the actual Ka house , it housed at least four chambers. In the ruins, jar lids made of clay and clay were discovered, and seal inscriptions were stamped on them. The inscriptions give the real names of the kings Peribsen , Sechemib , Chasechemui and Netjerichet , as well as the names of high officials and priests from the time of King Djoser .

Near the north-west wall, 14 boat pits were discovered in the outer area, which point away from the wall, but were lined up along the course of the wall. The boat graves are each between 20 and 30 m long and made of mud bricks, their outlines imitate the shape of boats. The actual boats ritually buried in it are approx. 16 to 18 m long, approx. 3 m wide and between 60 and 90 cm deep. They are made of tamarisk wood and their planks are held together with tenon joints and fine palm fiber ropes . The spaces between the planks were sealed with tree resin and reeds , white and yellow pigment residues on the planks and dowels indicate that the boats were originally painted. They may even have been roadworthy. Semicircular hollows along the railing indicate that the boats were rowing boats , but no oars were found. It is unclear whether the boat graves really belong to the Shunet, or rather to an anonymous enclosure of the 1st Dynasty about 60 m northwest of it. Their owner has not been identified.

story

King Chasechemui (seated statue from Hierakonpolis )

Shunet El-Zebib was established during the 2nd Dynasty around 2700 BC. Founded by King ( Pharaoh ) Chasechemui , according to popular belief he was the last ruler of the 2nd dynasty. The Shunet El-Zebib was a so-called royal valley district, a cult area in the form of a model replica of the royal palace with devotional chapels , sacrificial altars and statue shrines. The deceased king was commemorated in the cult area and his name was honored. The ancient Egyptians called such cult areas Hut-Ka , in English " Ka-Haus " or "Haus des Ka" ( House of the Soul ). The Ka House represents the religious and architectural predecessor version of the later valley temple . As is customary for the early dynastic period , every early dynastic ruler owned a mastaba tomb and a nearby valley district (but both are separate from each other). Because Chasechemui and one of his predecessors, King Peribsen, each owned a mastabagrab and a valley district near Abydos, some Egyptologists believe that Chasechemui may have descended from a royal bloodline that came from Abydos and belonged to the so-called Thinis dynasty. However, it is unclear how long the cult of the dead and devotion to Chasechemui lasted and how long the facility was in operation.

During the third interim period , especially from the 22nd Dynasty and during the late period , Shunet El-Zebib was used as a ritual burial place for animal burials . Numerous clay vases with the bones of various animals are still being excavated on the southern corner. In particular, the mummies of ibises , geese and jackals have been preserved. A distinct cult of ibis flourished at Abydos during the later period.

Excavations near the east wall have uncovered the remains of an early Christian settlement. Apparently had monks of late antiquity around 400 n. Chr., A small monastic established Community Shuneh. Several rooms had been dug and plastered in the east wall, the floors were paved with limestone. The living niches had badly damaged the masonry. How long the monks lived and worked in the complex is unknown.

The valley district of the Chasechemui is known today under the Arabic name Shunet El-Zebib , in English "Raisin Barn". How exactly this name came about is unclear. As early as 1806 under Napoleon Bonaparte , the facility was called this by the locals. However, the contemporary records do not reveal why the locals spoke of a “raisin barn” or that they ever used the facility as such. It is possible that "Shunet El-Zebib" is a modern corruption of the older name Shunet pa-Hib , which means "camp of the ibis". This older name is certainly due to the numerous ibis mummies found near the south entrance. There was also speculation under Napoleon that the Shunet El-Zebib, like the enclosure of the Peribsen, could have been used as a military fort in later times because of the massive walls , which later earned the facility the nickname "Middle Fort". Today only the enclosure of the Peribsen is called that, the latter has been almost completely destroyed. The previous archaeological find and the local proximity to the Abydos cemetery speak against a military use of the Shunet. In addition, a fort with multiple entrances would not have been particularly secure against attack.

archeology

Historical map of Abydos from 1914, the Shuneh is drawn in the upper right corner.

The Shunet El-Zebib is of great interest to archaeologists, Egyptologists and historians , but also to art dealers and museums . The first excavations were carried out in 1834 by the Greek art collector Giovanni d'Athanasi , although his interest was not in preserving the Shunet, but only in finding and selling art objects. Various steles from different epochs, mainly from the First Intermediate Period and later, were offered for sale in art-oriented auction houses in London and Paris between 1837 and 1857 . The first archaeologically oriented excavations began around 1880 by the French Egyptologist François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette , which he initially finished around 1899 and left to his colleague and successor Émile Amélineau . Both researchers' works were only superficial, especially since they were not trained and professional archaeologists, but their finds of clay seals and statue fragments could identify King Chasechemui as the original builder.

More modern excavations in 1991 and 2002 by David O'Connor focused on the cult shrine and step mound in the center of the complex. Surprisingly, traces of incense residues were discovered in the sanctuary of the cult chapel, which proves that it had been actively used after its completion. Other organic materials were also secured, so there were also sacrifices. Also surprising was the discovery of intentionally abandoned tools near the stepped hill, even though it was apparently completed. The ritual burial of tools near places of worship has been documented since pre-dynastic times.

The Institute of Fine Arts in New York City directed and sponsored several excavation, restoration , and conservation campaigns between 2002 and 2007, with an emphasis on the enclosure walls. They are badly damaged and in acute danger of collapsing in some places . Besides weather conditions and neglect after abandonment, most of the damage comes from the native oriental hornet ( Vespa orientalis ). Their workers dig deep corridors into the walls to build nests, thereby hollowing them out, causing the bricks to break apart. Further damage is caused by stray African gold wolves ( Canis anthus ). They study the excavators carefully, wait for the workers to leave, and then dig for the startled mice and lizards . The foundation is particularly damaged by the digging. Under the direction of Matthew Douglas Adams and David O'Connor, the restoration work will focus on removing the hornets' nests and plugging the gaps and holes in the walls. An estimated 250,000 new adobe bricks have already been manufactured and installed, and the southern entrance portal has been rebuilt in the meantime.

Due to the striking architectural and design similarity between Shunet El-Zebib and the pyramid complex of King Djoser (presumed founder of the 3rd dynasty ), archaeologists and Egyptologists consider the Shuneh with the stepped hill in the middle of the courtyard to be the direct forerunner of the stepped pyramid complex .

literature

  • Toby AH Wilkinson : Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London 2002, ISBN 1-134-66420-6 .
  • Matthew Douglas Adams, David O'Connor: The Shunet El Zebib at Abydos: Architectural conservation at one of Egypt's oldest preserved royal monuments. In: Sue D'Auria: Offerings to the Discerning Eye: An Egyptological Medley in Honor of Jack A. Josephson (= Culture and History of the Ancient Near East. Volume 38). Brill, Leiden 2010, ISBN 978-90-04-17874-8 .
  • Ian Shaw: The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Open University Press, Oxford (UK) 2000, ISBN 0-19-815034-2 .
  • Laurel D. Bestock: The Development of Royal Funerary Cult at Abydos: Two Funerary Enclosures from the Reign of Aha. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-447-05838-4 .

Web links

Commons : Shunet el-Zebib  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Laurel D. Bestock: The Development of Royal Funerary Cult at Abydos ... Wiesbaden 2009, pp. 45 ff.
  2. ^ Sue D'Auria: Offerings to the Discerning Eye: An Egyptological Medley in Honor of Jack A. Josephson . BRILL, Leiden 2010, ISBN 978-90-04-17874-8 , p. 3.
  3. ↑ a b c d e M. D. Adams, D. O'Connor: The Shunet El Zebib at Abydos ... Leiden 2010, pp. 1 - 7.
  4. ^ A b c d Ian Shaw: The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford (UK) 2000, pp. 69-71.
  5. ↑ a b c d Matthew Adams: Conservation of King Khasekhemwy's Funerary Cult Enclosure at Abydos . In: Bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt. (JARCE) No. 200, Spring 2012, Getty Research Institute, Cairo 2012, ISSN  0065-9991 , pp. 23-25 ​​and 29 ( full text online ).
  6. ^ Jochem Kahl: "Ra is my Lord": Searching for the Rise of the Sun God at the Dawn of Egyptian History . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-447-05540-6 , p. 33.
  7. ^ Abydos royal boats. Retrieved December 15, 2021 .
  8. ^ Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt . London 2002, pp. 21 & 212.
  9. ^ A b c d Toby AH Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. London 2002, pp. 229 & 323.
  10. ↑ Laurel D. be stock: The Development of Royal Funerary Cult at Abydos ... . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 46.
  11. ↑ Laurel D. Bestock: The Development of Royal Funerary Cult at Abydos ... Wiesbaden 2009, pp. 46 & 52.
  12. ↑ Laurel D. Bestock: The Development of Royal Funerary Cult at Abydos ... Wiesbaden 2009, pp. 53 & 54.

Coordinates: 26 ° 11 ′ 21.8 ″  N , 31 ° 54 ′ 28.1 ″  E