Two tombs and the remains of a Ptolemaic temple will soon be open to
visitors near the Upper Egyptian town of Beni Sweif, reports Nevine El-Aref.
To the west of Beni Sweif lies the Deshasha Cemetery with its rock-hewn
tombs of Ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom officials cut into a cliff above the
desert plain. The site was investigated in 1897 by British Egyptologist
Flinders Petrie, who discovered several tombs from the Fifth Dynasty as well as
others from the 18th Dynasty. Egyptologist Naguib Qanawati later worked at the
site for 15 years early in the 20th century. Among the best-preserved tombs at
the site today are those belonging to the bartender Inty and the supervisor of
the royal palace garden Shedu.
Omar Zaki, director of Beni Sweif antiquities, told Al-Ahram Weekly that
Inty’s Tomb included two main halls, the first having three pillars and painted
walls depicting the deceased in different positions with his family and deities
as well as in hunting, cultivation and artisanal scenes including woodworking.
The second hall is perpendicular to the first and does not have any
paintings or engravings. The burial shaft is eight metres below ground level.
“There is a rare relief depicting a group of Egyptian military lancers invading
a fortified town in Asia on one of the Inty tomb’s walls,” Zaki said, adding
that according to the hieroglyphic text on the wall the town was in southern
Palestine. Further studies might reveal its name, he said.
The tomb of Shedu is similar to that of Inty but contains an important relief
of two bulls fighting one another. The Ministry of Antiquities in collaboration
with the Beni Sweif governorate is now developing the Deshasha site in order to
make it more tourist friendly and to open it to visitors.
“Both tombs are in very good condition
and do not need any restoration work,” Zaki said, adding that the road leading
to the necropolis was well paved and accessible to visitors. He said that in
order to make the site more tourist friendly it only needed signboards, a
lighting system, and a ticket kiosk. The funerary collections from the tombs
are now on display at the Petrie Museum in London. They include two
well-preserved linen garments as well as pottery.
In the tomb chapel of the ancient mayor of Deshasha, Nenkheftkha,
neighbouring the Inty tomb, an Old Kingdom statue of the tomb owner was also
found and is now in the British Museum in London. The statue, carved in
limestone, shows Nenkheftkha standing with his left leg forward and his arms at
his sides. He is wearing a short kilt and a black wig on his head.
A statue of Nekheftkha in a similar position with his wife Nefer-shemes
standing with her feet together and wearing a close-fitting robe, necklace and
a long wig was also found in his tomb, and this is now exhibited in the museum
of the Oriental Institute of Chicago in the US. Each statue was carved
separately and altered prior to burial to fit into a shared base.
The Gabal Al-Nour site in south Beni Sweif is also under development.
Egyptologist Rabea Eissa told the Weekly that the area included the remains of
a limestone temple from the reign of Ptolemy II and a residential area.
The remains of the temple were uncovered in 2014 and highlight the
history of Ptolemy II’s rule, who reigned over the country for 36 years. The external
walls of the temple’s eastern side are decorated with scenes depicting Ptolemy
II in various positions before the Nile god Hapy, while other walls bear
hieroglyphic texts that shows Gabal Al-Nour’s ancient name of “Isis, lady of
the Mirouwat.”
“This means that the temple was
built on the ruins of an even older ancient Egyptian temple,” Eissa said. He
added that in 2016, the hall of the temple had been uncovered along with a
large tomb. To the west, the foundation of the temple kiosk had been found decorated
with ancient Greek texts.
These show that the architecture of the temple was influenced by that of
the Late Period and the later Roman Empire, with Roman rulers making their own
additions to the temple.
“This shows that the temple was
used in the Roman period,” Eissa said, adding that a residential settlement
from the Byzantine era had also been found beside the temple, showing its
continued use in the Byzantine period.
Mudbrick foundations have been unearthed, as well as the remains of
walls and halls. A collection of rounded ovens has been found filled with
ashes. “These items have been restored, and the mission team is documenting
them,” Eissa said, adding that further excavations would be conducted in
December to reveal more of the temple’s secrets.
Early this week Minister of Antiquities Khaled Al-Enani visited both
sites and gave the go-ahead for their development. He also visited the Ramses
II temple in Ehnasia, where he inspected a project for decreasing the
subterranean level.
Ehnasia houses a number of tombs and temples from the Middle Kingdom to
the Roman period. Among the most important is a temple dedicated to the local
ram-headed god of fertility Herishef, whose name means “he who is upon his
lake.”
The Ramses II temple was founded in the Middle Kingdom but was enlarged
during the 19th Dynasty with major additions being made during the reign of
Ramses II. It consists of a forecourt with side chambers and a colossal statue
of Ramses II in front of the columns.
Beyond it, there is an entrance hall with a double row of eight
palm-columns. Behind it, a hall with six pillars leads to the inner chambers
where the temple is found. There are many column bases and fine reliefs
scattered across the site
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