Tell el-Balamun

Tell el-Balamun in hieroglyphics
Greek	Diospolis inferior ; The city of Zeus below

Tell el-Balamun ( ancient Egyptian Sema-Behdet, Waset-mehu , Pa-ju-en-Amun ) is a hill of ruins in today's Egypt . The place was as the capital of the Throngaues (17th Lower Egyptian Gau) in the northern Behdet region in the Nile Delta . With a diameter of about one kilometer, it is one of the largest ruined mounds in the delta that is still standing today. The good preservation of the hill is mainly due to the remote location of the ruins.

The soil is very salty, which is another reason why the mound was not cleared, as such mounds of ruins made from Nile mud often provide good fertilizer material. In Greco-Roman times the place was known as Diospolis inferior . Intensive excavations took place from 1991 to 2008 and have mainly excavated the temple area of the old city.

The temple complex of Amun

Tell el-Balamun

Heliopolis

Tell el-Balamun in Egypt

The center of the city was the temple complex of Amun , whose entrance was oriented to the north-east. The oldest remains date to the New Kingdom . The remains of a temple wall were found that date back to this time. The actual temple was already completely destroyed and only the foundation pits could be found, which give an indication of the size of the building. In addition, foundation pits and their additions give clues to builders. Only a few decorated stone fragments were found. The temple was about 80 × 40 m in size. Under Scheschonq III. a pylon was built in front of it . Later again a colonnade was built in front of the temple and a first pylon in front of it. There was also a small necropolis here , where dignitaries of the 22nd and 23rd Dynasties were buried. The grave structures were found to be badly dilapidated. Only the Iken's grave could be identified by name.

The foundations of a barge station from the 22nd dynasty were found next to this temple . Next to it was another building with an unknown function. From the 26th Dynasty there is another temple and a citadel within the temple area. The temple may have been destroyed during the Persian era . Further to the north was a temple of Nectanebo I , which was about 62 × 72 m in size. This temple is largely only known from the foundation pit. The main temple was also completely rebuilt or at least renovated by Nektanebos I. This pharaoh also built a new perimeter wall.

literature

Hans Bonnet: Diospolis , in: Lexicon of the Egyptian religious history. Nikol, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-937872-08-6 , p. 158.
Alan Jeffrey Spencer: Excavations at Tell El-Balamun, 1991-1994. British Museum Pres, London 1996, ISBN 0-7141-0991-6 .
AJ Spencer: Excavations at Tell el-Balamun 1995-1998. British Museum Pres, London 1999, ISBN 0-7141-1933-4 .
AJ Spencer: Excavations at Tell El-Balamun, 1999-2001. British Museum Pres, London 2003, ISBN 0-7141-1958-X .

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Rainer Hannig: Large Concise Dictionary Egyptian-German: (2800 - 950 BC) . von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-1771-9 , p. 1107.
↑ Christian Leitz u. a .: Lexicon of the Egyptian gods and names of gods . (LGG), Volume 2: ʿ-b (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. [OLA] Volume 111). Peeters, Leuven 2002, ISBN 90-429-1147-6 , p. 255.

31.258611111111 31.571388888889Coordinates: 31 ° 16 ' N , 31 ° 34' E

[1] Rainer Hannig: Large Concise Dictionary Egyptian-German: (2800 - 950 BC) . von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-1771-9 , p. 1107.

[2] Christian Leitz u. a .: Lexicon of the Egyptian gods and names of gods . (LGG), Volume 2: ʿ-b (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. [OLA] Volume 111). Peeters, Leuven 2002, ISBN 90-429-1147-6 , p. 255.