Sun sanctuary of Niuserre

Sun sanctuary of Niuserre in hieroglyphics
Schesep-ib-Re Šsp-jb-Rˁ Pleasure place of the Re
Reconstruction of the solar sanctuary of Niuserre (after Gaston Maspero, 1907)

The sun sanctuary of Niuserre is an ancient Egyptian temple structure from the time of the 5th dynasty , which was built near Abu Ghurab under the king ( pharaoh ) Niuserre , who lived around 2455 to 2420 BC. Ruled.

Research history

General plan of Abusir with the solar sanctuary of Niuserre (top left)

The solar sanctuary of Niuserre was mentioned for the first time in the Description de l'Égypte , but a pyramid was entered instead of the solar sanctuary . At first, the solar sanctuary was known as the "Pyramid of Righa".

• In 1838 Perring tried to uncover the supposed pyramid, but found only remains of the granite base , but reliefs with Sedfest representations were also found, which were the trigger for the extensive excavation of the solar sanctuary.
• In 1842 the members of the Prussian Lepsius expedition carried out an exact survey and entered it into the Lepsius pyramid list under the number XV .
• Auguste Mariette may have carried out an experimental excavation in 1882 , but nothing was ever published; this assumption is based on the testimony of an Egyptian foreman.
• In 1882/83 Henry Windsor Villiers-Stuart found ten alabaster basins and the alabaster altar.
• 1898–1901 Ludwig Borchardt and Heinrich Schäfer completely excavated the solar sanctuary on behalf of the German Orient Society . They received financial support from Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bissing .

Abu Ghurab

The sun sanctuary of Niuserre with the name Šsp-jb-Rˁ ( schesep-ib-Re - "Bliss of Re ") is located about 1200 m northeast of the pyramids of Abusir . Abusir also reflects the myth of the murder of Osiris , whose body was cut into pieces and these were buried in different places. The name comes from the Greek Busiris and that in turn from Pr Wsjr ( per-Usir - "House of Osiris"). The sun sanctuary is located on a natural hill that has been converted into a building area with the help of an artificial fill. Older brick buildings, perhaps mastabas that were there, were embedded. In some places the remains of brick walls were found under the courtyard pavement.

Sun sanctuary

The temples of the sun god are very different from those of other gods. While the other gods think of a house in which the god is present, the sun shrines have the shape of an open courtyard with an altar and a cult object in the middle. So they have the character of a place of worship. They fit into the concept of the temple, but still have their own character. The cult of the sun played a central role in the Egyptian tradition. However, the knowledge of sanctuaries of the sun is only spotty. Eight solar sanctuaries are known in writing, but only two have been excavated so far.

Besides the solar sanctuary of Niuserre, five other solar sanctuaries are known: the solar sanctuary of Userkaf , the solar sanctuary of Sahure , the solar sanctuary of Neferirkare , the solar sanctuary of Raneferef and the solar sanctuary of Menkauhor . Architecturally, the models of the sun sanctuaries of the Old Kingdom are the royal pyramid districts. The sun sanctuaries, like the pyramid districts, consist of the three-part concept : Valley temple, Aufweg and the upper sanctuary on the edge of the desert plateau. In the sanctuary, an obelisk rises like the pyramid .

Whether the temple of Heliopolis was the model of the sun sanctuaries is controversial in Egyptology. In this context, Jochem Kahl points out that the sun god Re may have been worshiped occasionally since the 2nd dynasty . A connection between the Re and Heliopolis is first documented in the pyramid texts at the end of the fifth dynasty. In addition to the architectural features, there are also cult models from the pyramid districts. These include B. the Sedfest representation , which is located in the southern half of the Niuserre solar sanctuary; they have been established in the performance program since Djoser . Since Radjedef , the ruling king has had the epithet Sa Ra in his title. This is brought into direct connection with the solar sanctuaries of the Old Kingdom. Some believe that the epithet is a special emphasis on divine origin. Others believe that it means a loss of the king's divine power, since the king was previously considered to be the incarnation of Re . The solar sanctuary can therefore also be seen as compensation for this loss of rank. With the end of the 5th dynasty after King Djedkare-Asesi , no solar sanctuary was created. Only from the early 18th dynasty do you come across sun cult sites again.

Valley temple

The valley temple was little more than a monumental gateway to the road. The valley temple lay within a thick wall. Borchardt thought it was the wall of a city that might have surrounded the temple. The “city” was not examined in detail, so it remains only speculation. Due to the shortage and destroyed remains, the floor plan of the valley temple could only be partially reconstructed. The valley temple is a limestone building 4 m high. It is accessible from three sides. The entrance is a portico made of four granite palm columns with a pylon-like facade. The facade consisted of white limestone cladding . The two side entrances are also porticos, but only with two palm pillars each. The lateral paths run in the articulated axis scheme and they are axially aligned. All three entrances lead into a narrow corridor that leads directly to the access road. The valley temple was built on a small base, of which remains have been preserved. Two inscriptions were found in the valley temple. Both consisted of a festival calendar and associated lists of victims. The valley temple is not northward, but adapted to the city.

Way and entrance hall

The way up could still be traced in its entire length based on visible remains. It consisted of a sloping ramp and was paved with thick, white slabs. The path is approx. 100 m long and bridges a height difference of approx. 16 m between the valley temple in the fruit land and the sanctuary on the plateau. Decorations are not preserved.

The incline of the driveway led to the entrance hall. The entrance hall, like the valley temple, was nothing more than a monumental gateway. This L-shaped entrance hall had a vestibule and a main room behind it. The main room ran across the axis. This longitudinal hall is reminiscent of a longitudinal hall in the form of the pr-wr.w as can be found in the pyramid temples. From this transverse main room there were three passages to all areas of the sanctuary. The inside walls of the entrance hall were clad with granite. Blocks with representations of kings were found in the rooms of the entrance hall.

Northern and eastern corridors and magazines

The eastern corridor led to the southern and northern halves of the sanctuary. The corridor was probably covered and decorated. Nothing is known about the decoration.

The northern corridor was also probably covered and so poorly preserved when it was found that the course of the walls could only be traced using traces of sand and red marking lines. At the western end of the corridor was a 0.75 m wide side entrance with a small vestibule. It was either used for the storage / delivery of offerings, or it was a porter's room that led outside. Near the east end of the corridor, a small staircase led to the roof of the surrounding rooms. The corridor was decorated but not finished yet. The representations show temple objects and offerings. You can z. B. See tables with gold and silver jewelry on them. A corner of the window was found indicating that the corridor was illuminated by daylight.

There were probably ten magazines. Apparently they were not completed. Only remains of them were found. The floor panels of the magazines were not yet completely smoothed. The magazines were probably used to store offerings. No decoration is known.

Southern corridor (large festival display)

The southern corridor ran directly on the outer perimeter wall from the south-east corner to the west. It led into the anteroom of the obelisk; to the "World Chamber". It was a high corridor, four feet high. The corridor was probably covered, as fragments of yellow stars on a blue background were found in it. This indicates the classic temple ceiling ornament. The corridor was probably lit by torches carried along and not by daylight. This is a cultic location, unlike in the northern corridor, where it was simply more practical to be illuminated by daylight. The southern corridor has tapered towards the obelisk. It was decorated with reliefs of the "Great Festival Representation". The pictures and inscriptions deal with the festivities at the government anniversary, the Sedfest, and the founding of the temple.

Southern chapel (small festival display)

Shortly before the antechamber of the obelisk there was a small southern chapel. It was the best preserved room in the solar sanctuary. A second entrance on the courtyard side led to this chapel. This entrance was flanked by two undecorated steles. Two round limestone basins stood in front of the stelae. These limestone basins were probably used by the priests for ritual washing when they went inside from the altar courtyard due to ritual acts. The door from the courtyard to the chapel was covered with granite and had two leaves. There were still walls with original reliefs and depictions during the excavation. As in the southern corridor, these depictions were scenes of the royal Sedfest and the founding of the temple. These scenes are referred to as "small fixed representation". The function of this room has not yet been clearly clarified. It could have been a king's dressing room during the Sedfest. On the other hand, it is assumed that a real Sedfest never took place in the solar sanctuary of Niuserre. The chapel can also be seen as a “shortcut” to the Holy of Holies ( obelisk ). The obelisk was otherwise only accessible through the southern corridor. So this room is a vestibule between the altar courtyard and the obelisk.

The southern corridor and also the southern chapel form an upstream space in front of the world chamber and the obelisk, and both have the same decoration.

World chamber

The south corridor led through a narrow door into a small north-south oriented room; the world chamber. From this room one got through another door into the obelisk substructure. The world chamber was richly decorated and all colors were preserved even when it was found. The decoration is the "seasonal reliefs".

They were found by Borchardt and Schäfer in 1891–1901 and brought to Berlin, where they are in the Egyptian Museum. But only in part, because the pieces that were unpublished until the Second World War were victims of the war and have been destroyed. Based on the excavation documents and the blueprints of these pieces, a reconstruction of these reliefs was carried out in the 1970s. All four walls were decorated, with the long walls taking the main part. The reliefs show the processes in nature during the Achet and the Schemu seasons. The effect of the sun on nature is shown.

It is shown among other things:

• Mating and littering of animals
• North and south migration of fish in the Nile
• The arrival of migratory birds in the delta
• The harvest of flax , honey and figs

Plants, animals and people are shown in all possible situations. The reliefs are entirely dedicated to earthly life. The representations are one of the oldest illustrations of the idea of ​​the creative power of the sun god. The reliefs are reproduced very precisely and are offset in relation to the actual season , since the 1st Achet I fell at the beginning of April at the time of Niuserre . The ancient Egyptian years on the seasonal relief therefore overlap with the actual months. By analyzing the agricultural records and the behavior of the migratory birds and the fish migrations, Elmar Edel was able to assign the respective months:

Season relief of the Niuserre with assignment of the actual months
Achet I.	Achet II	Achet III	Achet IV	Peret I	Peret II	Peret III	Peret IV	Schemu I	Schemu II	Schemu III	Schemu IV
Schemu III	Schemu IV	Achet I.	Achet II	Achet III	Achet IV	Peret I	Peret II	Peret III	Peret IV	Schemu I	Schemu II

Birth animals in the world chamber.

Like the ever returning sun, creation should repeat itself continuously. The representations cannot be understood as a reproduction of a one-off act of creation, but rather represent, illustrated by the seasons, the cyclical repetition of divine action. In Egyptology , the question was discussed why apparently only two seasons are shown. There were several different theses on this. Some researchers assumed that the Peret season was lost or not found. Others believed that only two seasons were originally planned, as there was no space for the third to represent it symmetrically in the chamber. The seasons were closely related to the work of the sun god. Humans, animals and plants owe their life and their properties to the sun god.

After further investigations of the Sedfest decoration in the southern and obelisk ambulance, the supposedly missing season in combination with the decoration of the “world chamber” is completely present. The creation now appears in an overall picture of people, animals, plants and the king, who are represented as creatures of the sun god on earth. This finding was confirmed by the entry of Sedfestes that under Niuserre on the day of Nehebkau festival with sunrise of the first Peret I began.

Finally, the position of the antechamber to the obelisk proves the function of creation, since the world chamber was the only room that offered direct access to the Holy of Holies, the actual place of rebirth. The world chamber should make direct reference to the obelisk. It served to praise and pay homage to the sun god as well as to reproduce the creative power of the sun god.

obelisk

Today's remains of the obelisk base of the Sun Sanctuary

The substructure of the obelisk was built from large limestone blocks and clad with dark sloping granite slabs at the base level. The base was 20 m high. In the middle of the substructure stood a granite obelisk, nothing of which has survived. The obelisk is said to have been 37 m high. It was known that it must be an obelisk after the determinative for obelisk was found on a few blocks behind the name of the solar sanctuary šspw-jb-Rˁ . The inner corridor in the obelisk substructure was narrower than the southern corridor.

After every turn the corridor narrowed, as was the case in the southern corridor. Reducing the height and width of the room created a drama that develops as you walk through the dark, increasingly narrow rooms. You have to imagine the moment when a person steps out of the dark, narrowing corridors onto the light-flooded obelisk platform. Mainly because the sanctuary was clad with white limestone and of course the sun was intensified and dazzled even more. The ceiling of the substructure was decorated with stars.

The walls were decorated with reliefs of the large festival representation. It is therefore a continuation of the large festival display from the southern corridor. Sun rituals were certainly celebrated on the surface of the obelisk base. The top of the obelisk received the sun in the morning, descended along the obelisk to the earth and gathered on the sacrificial altar for ritual acts by the priests. The obelisk was a connection between heaven and earth.

altar

Altar of the solar sanctuary

Directly in the axis of the entrance hall a narrow entrance led into the open courtyard with the alabaster altar. The altar consists of a round, raised plate in the middle, around which four blocks in the form of ḥtp signs are pushed. The round plate in the middle is supposed to imitate the sun disk. The altar is still in the solar sanctuary today.

The Htp blocks are aligned to the four cardinal points. The whole altar can be read as “may Re be satisfied”. In his preliminary excavation report, Borchardt assumed that the altar was surrounded by a wall and was probably in a small temple.

Big and small slaughterhouse

Sacrificial basin of the large slaughterhouse

At the western end of the northern corridor you get to the anteroom of the large slaughterhouse. The large slaughterhouse was about 800 m². The courtyard was about 15 cm above the pavement and was aligned horizontally. For the drainage of liquids, shallow channels were cut along the entire length of the pavement, which deepened to the east. There they ran into ten alabaster collecting basins, of which only nine are left today. It is doubted that real slaughter took place there. No entrance was found that was big enough to bring the cattle into the slaughterhouse. In addition, no holes were found for eyelets to which the animals were tied. Therefore it became a slaughterhouse as a place for “ritual cleansing” of the sacrificed animals. Just like the Sedfest representations, the slaughterhouses are not reproductions of real events in the sanctuary.

To the west of the large slaughterhouse was a small slaughterhouse. Only one limestone block has survived from him. The small slaughterhouse is said to have had the same function as the large slaughterhouse.

Sun ship

Some distance to the south is the Sun Ship. It is 20 m long and stored in an east-west direction. It was built with bricks. It had wooden planks and wooden ceiling structures, some of which were gilded. It was very detailed. So one tried to imitate the lines of wooden planks on the bricks. It is known in inscriptions as the maatj-barque. However, in mythology there are two ships. One for the day trip mˁnḏt (" day barge ") and one for the night trip msktt ("night barge "). So far only one ship has been found near Niuserre.

Interpretation and function

The courtyard and obelisk face east-west so that the obelisk's front faces east. The temple cult was for the sun god Re, as well as his consort Hathor and the king. There was an extensive priesthood who performed the cult at the solar sanctuaries. Their names and titles have been documented for generations. This shows the importance of this temple in the Old Kingdom. Among other things, there are also priestly titles there, which suggest the Hathor. The cult for the king was undoubtedly continued during the ruler's lifetime, as evidenced by priesthood.

The cult for Hathor and for the king was inseparably dependent on that of Re. The trinity (triad) Re-Hathor-König was apparently represented in the form of statues in the sanctuary. The cult of Re, Hathor and the king in the Sun Sanctuary was accompanied by a series of festivals. The festivals from the Niuserre calendar in the valley temple can be interpreted on the one hand as royal festivals for the ruler and on the other hand as gods' festivals. There are many different meanings of the sun sanctuaries. One opinion is that they are death complexes for the sun. Another theory by Dietrich Wildung says that there is a duality between God and King; similar to the million year houses . Sun rituals were surely celebrated in the solar sanctuary, which were accompanied by sun hymns.

In the sun cult, all those cult rites performed in the other temples of the gods ceased and were replaced by the recitation of hymns . Based on the World Chamber, it is noticeable that the representation only addresses one component of creation (people, animals and plants). The king, on the other hand, is found in the Sedfest scenes . So if we take the Sedfest depictions of the southern corridor and the obelisk corridor together with the world chamber, creation is complete again: King, humans, animals and plants are created by the sun god. It seems as if the decoration is subject to an overall concept.

The motif of the Sedfest is as cyclical as the motif of the seasons. It is about the constant renewal of the king's power and thus about the king's desire for eternal power. The southern half of the sanctuary, including the obelisk, thus thematizes the creation of Re and the regeneration of the king. The northern half and the magazines served as a supply area. Three pyramid archives in hieratic script were found in Abusir. They provide information about rosters, inventories, lists and architectural registers from the pyramids in Abusir. It is known that in the sanctuaries of the sun an ox, as well as beer and bread, were delivered to the surrounding pyramids every day.

literature

General literature on the sun sanctuaries

• Dieter Arnold : Lexicon of Egyptian architecture. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2000, ISBN 3-491-96001-0 , pp. 176–177, sv Niuserre , pp. 241–242, sv Sonnenheiligtum .
• Dieter Arnold: The temples of Egypt. Apartments for gods, places of worship, architectural monuments. Artemis & Winkler, Zurich 1992, ISBN 3-7608-1073-X , p. 36 ff.
• Jan Assmann : Sun barge. In: Wolfgang Helck , Eberhard Otto (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie. Volume 5: Building a pyramid - stone vessels. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02489-5 , Sp. 1078-1094.
• Hans Bonnet: Real Lexicon of Egyptian Religious History. 3rd unchanged edition. Nikol, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-937872-08-6 , pp. 735-738, sv Sonnenheiligtum .
• Werner Kaiser : To the sun sanctuaries of the 5th dynasty. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. (MDAIK). Vol. 14, 1956, ISSN  0342-1279 , pp. 104-116.
• Rainer Stadelmann : Sun sanctuary. In: Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie. Volume 5: Building a pyramid - stone vessels. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02489-5 , Sp. 1094-1099.
• Susanne Voss: Investigations into the sun sanctuaries of the 5th dynasty. Significance and function of a singular temple type in the Old Kingdom. Hamburg 2004 (Hamburg, University, dissertation, 2000), ( PDF; 2.5 MB ).

Excavation reports

• Friedrich-Wilhelm Freiherr von Bissing : The Re-sanctuary of the king Ne-Woser-Re. Volume I, Verlag Alexander Druncker, Berlin 1905.
• Ludwig Borchardt , Heinrich Schäfer : Preliminary report on the excavation at Abusir in the winter of 1899/1900. In: Journal for Egyptian Language and Archeology (ZÄS). Vol. 38, 1900, pp. 94-100.
• Ludwig Borchardt, Heinrich Schäfer: Preliminary report on the excavation at Abusir in the winter of 1900/1901. In: Journal for Egyptian Language and Archeology (ZÄS). Vol. 39, 1901, pp. 91-103.
• Heinrich Schäfer: Preliminary report on the excavation near Abusir in the winter of 1898/1899. In: Journal for Egyptian Language and Archeology (ZÄS). Vol. 37, 1899, pp. 1-9.

Further building descriptions

• Mark Lehner : Secret of the Pyramids. Approved special edition. Bassermann, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-89555-388-3 .
• Rainer Stadelmann: The Egyptian pyramids. From brick construction to the wonder of the world (= cultural history of the ancient world . Vol. 30). von Zabern, Mainz 1985, ISBN 3-8053-0855-8 , 164 ff.
• Miroslav Verner : The pyramids. Edition completely revised and expanded by the author. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1998, ISBN 3-498-07062-2 .

To the decoration program

• Elmar Edel , Steffen Wenig : The seasonal reliefs from the sun sanctuary of Ne-user-re (= messages from the Egyptian collection. Vol. 7, ZDB -ID 1015130-8 ). Panel tape. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1974.
• Wolfgang Helck: Season reliefs. In: Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie. Volume 3: Horhekenu - Megeb. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1980, ISBN 3-447-02100-4 , Sp. 241.
• Wolfgang Helck: World Chamber. In: Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie. Volume 6: Stele - Cypress. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1986, ISBN 3-447-02663-4 , Sp. 1215.
• Werner Kaiser: The small Hebsed representation in the sun sanctuary of Neuserre. In: Contributions to Egyptian building research and antiquity. H. 12, 1971, ZDB ID 503160-6 , pp. 87-105.

Questions of detail

• Jürgen von Beckerath : Handbook of the Egyptian king names (= Munich Egyptological studies (MÄS). Vol. 49). 2nd, improved and enlarged edition. von Zabern, Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-8053-2591-6 .
• Wolfgang Helck: The "dedication" of the Neuserre. In: Studies on Ancient Egyptian Culture. (SAK). Vol. 5, 1977, ISSN  0340-2215 , pp. 47-77.
• Karl Martin: Sedfest. In: Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie. Volume 5: Building a pyramid - stone vessels. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02489-5 , Sp. 782-796.
• Bertha Porter , Rosalind LB Moss : Topographical Bibliography of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings. Volume 3: Memphis. Part 1: Abû Rawâsh to Abûsîr. 2nd edition, revised and augmented, reprinted. By Jaromír Málek . Griffith Inst. Et al., Oxford 1974, 319-324.
• Matthias Rochholz: Sedfest, sun sanctuary and pyramid district, for the interpretation of the tombs of the kings of the 5th and 6th dynasties. In: Rolf Gundlach, Matthias Rochholz (Hrsg.): Ägyptische Tempel - Structure, function and program (= Hildesheimer Ägyptologische contributions. (HÄB). Vol. 37). Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1994, ISBN 3-8067-8131-1 , pp. 225-280.
• Dietrich Wildung : Ni-User-Rê, Sun King - Sun God (= writings from the Egyptian Collection. Vol. 1, ZDB -ID 238799-2 ). On the occasion of the special exhibition Sun King - Sun God, State Collection of Egyptian Art, Munich, July 22, 1984 - February 28, 1985. State Collection of Egyptian Art, Munich 1985.

Web links

Commons : Sun Sanctuary of Niuserre  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• The Ancient Egypt Site - The Solar Temple of Niuserre

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Years after Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 .
2. ↑ Wolfgang Helck: Abu-Gurab . In: Wolfgang Helck (Ed.): Lexicon of Egyptology . tape I . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1975, ISBN 3-447-01670-1 , p. 23 .
3. ↑ ^{a b} Elmar Edel: On the inscriptions on the seasonal reliefs of the "World Chamber" from the solar sanctuary of Niuserre, part 2 . In: News from the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, No. 5 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1964, p. 189.

Coordinates: 29 ° 54 ′ 15 ″  N , 31 ° 11 ′ 38 ″  E