Temple
Memphis was one of the oldest settled areas of pharaonic Egypt. The city and necropolis of Memphis were shifted during the history due to the yearly fluctuations of the Nile.[1] The area of the New Kingdom settlements, cemeteries and temples was noticed early and W.M.F. Petrie performed excavations in the area of great Ptah temple enclosure.[2] He did not find, however, any remains of the temple from the times of the early Thutmoside kings. The earliest 18th-dynasty artefact found by him comes from the reign of Thutmose I (private stela[3]). Royal activity in the area during the early 18th dynasty was attested for the reign of Thutmose IV (foundation deposit of Thutmose IV,[4] private stela from his reign[5]).
The excavations carried out by Rudolph Anthes in 1955 brought more information on the presence of the early 18th-dynasty kings in Memphis.
R. Anthes stated that because of the level of underground water it was impossible to dig deeper than to the level of the temple of Ptah from the times of Ramesses II.[6]
Only one object which proves any activity in the examined area during the reign of Hatshepsut was found: the calcite vessel with the well preserved prenomen of the queen.
Another object, which can be dated similarly, was discovered near the wall of the small temple of Ptah built by Ramesses II, at the southwestern corner of the Enclosure Wall of Ptah.[7] It was a fragment of an offering list with a kneeling figure holding an unpreserved offering in his hand, in a style which is very similar to the early Thutmoside relief decoration. If it comes from a temple decoration it would indicate that most probably the royal cult was performed there.
The observation made by Jeffreys, Malék and Smith in the report of the season 1982 seems to be very interesting in comparison with what was found by R. Anthes. They stated that no anomalous readings appeared during the examination of the area beneath the small temple of Ptah, which means that this area was abandoned before Ramesses II.[8] Because a small group of finds from the area was reported by R. Anthes, the observation of Jeffreys, Malék and Smith can suggest that the area was leveled during the foundation of a new temple by Ramesses II. This can also be true, for a group of reused blocks incorporated in the walls of the building coming from the 18th dynasty was mentioned.[9]
It should be mentioned that there is another object dated to the reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III which is reported as coming from Memphis: a statuette of one of these rulers. The provenance as well as dating of this object are, however, uncertain.
Footnotes
- ^ 350: The Historic Landscape of Early Dynastic Egypt - - 1994 - Jeffreys, David , Tavares, Ana .
- ^ 351: Memphis I - - 1909 - Petrie, William Matthew Flinders.
- ^ 351: Memphis I - - 1909 - Petrie, William Matthew Flinders.
- ^ 351: Memphis I - - 1909 - Petrie, William Matthew Flinders.
- ^ 351: Memphis I - - 1909 - Petrie, William Matthew Flinders; 352: Riqqeh and Memphis VI - - 1915 - Petrie, William Matthew Flinders.
- ^ 43: Mit Rahineh 1955 - The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania - 1959 - Anthes, Rudolf.
- ^ 43: Mit Rahineh 1955 - The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania - 1959 - Anthes, Rudolf.
- ^ 354: The Survey of Memphis, 1982 - - 1984 - Jeffreys, David , Málek, Jaromir, Smith, H.S..
- ^ 43: Mit Rahineh 1955 - The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania - 1959 - Anthes, Rudolf; 354: The Survey of Memphis, 1982 - - 1984 - Jeffreys, David , Málek, Jaromir, Smith, H.S..