Temple of Soleb

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Temple of Soleb in hieroglyphics
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Mennu-chai-em-Maat
Mnnw-ḫˁj-m-M3ˁt
Soleb Temple (2) (34385481131) .jpg
Ruins of the temple

The Temple of Soleb in Sudan is the largest Egyptian temple south of Thebes . It was founded around 1350 BC. Under Amenophis III. and was dedicated to the imperial god Amun-Ra and the deified king.

Location and surroundings

Relief Map: Sudan
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Temple of Soleb​
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Sudan

The temple is located 500 km south of Aswan between the 2nd and 3rd cataracts , on the west bank of the Nile . Two cemeteries from the New Kingdom and the Meroitic period were discovered in the area. Amenophis III. build the small temple of Sedeinga , which was dedicated to his wife Teje .

Surname

The Egyptian name of the temple was mennu cha-em-maat ("fortress / monument of Cha-em-maat"). It is made up of the word mennu for "fortress" and the name of Horus from Amenophis III. together. There are several spelling variants, for example the short form cha-em-maat is also used.

Research history

The ruins of the temple were first visited in 1813 by the Swiss traveler Jean Louis Burckhardt . In 1821 the French Frédéric Cailliaud made a plan of the temple and an elevation of the columns. He also copied lists of place names in which Jean-François Champollion was interested. In 1844 Karl Richard Lepsius provided the first accurate description of the complex, which had previously been interpreted as a palace . James H. Breasted and Norman de Garis Davies studied Akhenaten's relief scenes in 1907 . From 1957 to 1977 an Italian mission under the direction of Michaela Schiff-Giorgini was active to research the history of the temple in more detail.

architecture

Floor plan of the temple after Karl Richard Lepsius
Reconstruction of one of the inner courtyards

The Temple of Soleb was designed as part of an extensive building program by Amenophis, son of Hapu , who also designed the Luxor Temple and the Millennium in West Thebes . The temple was originally much smaller and was brought to its final three-axis shape over the course of five construction phases.

Building history

In the first phase of construction, the sanctuary consisted of a small podium temple with access. This stood in the south-west corner of a double wall that was 105 meters long and 120 meters wide. A canal connected the Nile to a quay in front of the walls.

In phase two, a hypostyle with 24 palm capital columns , a columned courtyard and a first pylon were built in front of the core building . The quay was redesigned and received a barge station with a three-part sanctuary .

In the third phase, a second enclosure wall with a circumference of 140 by 175 meters was erected, reinforced with protruding towers and into which a new pylon was integrated. The first pylon was replaced by the pillared rear hall of the new courtyard.

In phase four an avenue was ram - sphinxes created that resulted from the new pylon to the quay. The new courtyard was now surrounded by halls with bundled papyrus columns . Two obelisks and six colossal statues were placed in front of the second pylon .

In the final construction phase, the obelisks and colossal statues on the second pylon were replaced by a monumental kiosk with four 12-meter-high obelisks and palm pillars. The surrounding wall was enlarged to 210 by 240 meters and a third pylon was built on the Sphinxallee, in front of and behind which two obelisks were erected. The temple house had a length of 170 meters up to the third pylon and was thus considerably longer than the Luxor temple of Amenophis III.

columns

The papyrus bundle columns in the temple of Soleb are characteristic of the buildings of Amenhotep III. Similar can also be found in the Temple of Luxor. This type of column appeared in the Old Kingdom , but only rarely in sanctuaries in the subsequent period. The papyrus bundle pillars gained popularity especially under Akhenaten in Amarna .

Granite lion in the British Museum
Reconstruction of the dromos

Dromos and Widderallee

In the beginning, living rams grazed freely in the meadows next to the driveway without any fencing. Later on, stables measuring 1 by 5 meters were built directly on the flank of the drom , which were aligned so that the animals could look directly at the drom. With two brick stamps with the inscription "Aries herd of Nebmaatre", the keeping of a holy herd could be proven for the first time archaeologically. The stables were later replaced by stone statues. A total of at least two granite lions, four black granite falcons and twelve granite rams are said to have stood along the Dromos, of which only the remains of a falcon and two rams are on site today. The remaining statues were abducted and are now in various museums.

Decoration and picture program

On the back of the second pylon there are Sedfest scenes from the 30th year of Amenhotep III's reign. receive. They show the coronation celebrations in Thebes and the ritual procession around the wall with stations at the various city gates.

On the second pylon there are also representations with Amenhotep III. and his successor Akhenaten. On one of them, Akhenaten receives the ankh sign from his deified father and is crowned by four gods. Other reliefs show him at the incense and libation offering . What is striking about these scenes is that the name of the deified father ( Amun ) was not persecuted, as was otherwise customary in the Amarna period .

On the pillars of the hypostyle is a list of about 60 foreign place and people names. There are, among other Tunip , Kadesh , Byblos and Carchemish enumerated, but also some new place names that are not known from other sources.

Representations of foreign races on the pillars of the hypostyle Representations of foreign races on the pillars of the hypostyle
Representations of foreign races on the pillars of the hypostyle

literature

  • Dieter Arnold : The temples of Egypt. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-215-1 , pp. 73-74.
  • Julia Budka : Presence in Nubia - the Temple of Soleb. In: Kemet . Year 2003, number 4, pp. 37–42.
  • Michela Schiff Giorgini: Soleb. Volume 1: 1813-1963. Sansoni, Florence 1965.
  • Michela Schiff Giorgini: Soleb. Volume 4: Le temple: Plans et photographies. Institut français d'archéologie orientale, Cairo 2004, ISBN 2-7247-0347-2 .
  • Michela Schiff Giorgini: Soleb. Volume 5: Le temple - Bas-reliefs et Inscriptions. Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Cairo 2006, ISBN 2-7247-0223-9 .

Web links

Commons : Temple of Soleb  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Dieter Arnold : The temples of Egypt. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-215-1 , pp. 73-74.
  2. ↑ a b J. Budka, Presence in Nubia , 2003, p. 41.
  3. ↑ a b J. Budka, Presence in Nubia , 2003, p. 37.
  4. ↑ J. Budka, Presence in Nubia , 2003, pp. 37–38.
  5. ↑ a b J. Budka, Presence in Nubia , 2003, p. 38.
  6. ↑ a b c d e J. Budka, Presence in Nubia , 2003, p. 39.
  7. ↑ J. Budka, Presence in Nubia , 2003, pp. 39–40.
  8. ^ J. Budka, Presence in Nubia , 2003, p. 40.
  9. ↑ J. Budka, Presence in Nubia , 2003, pp. 40–41.

Coordinates: 20 ° 26 '10.9 "  N , 30 ° 20' 2.6"  E