[Centre for Egyptological Studies of the RAS]

Archaeology

Memphis

General Information

Memphis was founded in the apex of the Delta, where the Nile splits into several branches and the country emerges from a narrow valley into a wide plain. The localities on this plain were poorly connected in ancient times and formed isolated islands (gesiras) during the period of inundation. The location of Memphis made it possible to control trade from Upper Egypt with the Delta and the Mediterranean area. Memphis was also the vital strategic key to the Nile Valley.

According to Herodotus, the city was founded by Menes who constructed a dyke and drained the surrounding area. The history of Memphis began from the moment of unification of the Nile Valley and the Delta under the power of a single ruler. Most probably this event first took place around 3100 BC during the reign of the pharaoh Horus Catfish (Narmer) or Horus Fighter (Aha). The majority of contemporary scholars identify legendary Menes with one of these rulers. However, there is a reasonable assumption that there was already a settlement in the place of Memphis at the time when Horus Fighter or Horus Catfish came to the apex of the Delta.

Kom Tuman. Palace of Apries.

No part of the Early Dynastic or the Old Kingdom town of Memphis has ever been found. The earliest standing monument within the ruin-field is the First Intermediate Period cemetery at Kom Fakhry in the west-central part of the site. Several attempts to localize the capital of the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom have been undertaken recently. According to D. Jeffreys and A. Tavares, at that time Memphis was a narrow ribbon-like city on the west bank of the river. The west bank was selected, because it was always relatively high-lying which kept it dry. However, by the end of the Old Kingdom the ground level became higher on the eastern side which resulted in shifting the settlement to the east bank.

The situation with the Middle Kingdom city of Memphis is not clear. It is almost certain that Memphis as well as Avaris was one of the main strongholds of the Hyksos power in Egypt. According to Manetho, quoted by Josephus Flavius, the Hyksos ruled the country from Memphis whereas Avaris was a secondary frontier. This information must be taken critically in the light of Austrian exploration of the site Tell ed-Dabba where the town of Avaris was located. Monumental palatial buildings discovered in Avaris do not leave any doubts that this town was a capital of the Hyksos empire. It is no less certain that Memphis played a significant role in the political history of the Hyksos period.

During the New Kingdom Memphis regained its position as the capital city, where the government of the huge empire gradually shifted, probably gaining this position with the accession of Tuthmosis IV. During the rule of Amenhotep III the first burial of Apis bull was made in Saqqara, initiating the famous Serapeum. This is undoubtedly a confirmation of the rise of the city’s status. Several finds made by the British archaeologist W.M.F. Petrie during his excavations of the palace of Apries, a pharaoh of the XXVI Dynasty, provided the evidence that the palace was built on the ruins of a temple or palatial buildings of an earlier йpoque, probably of XVIII Dynasty. However, this hypothesis is not accepted by some scholars.

During the Ramesside period (XIX-XX Dynasties) Memphis lost its status as a capital; it was moved to the Eastern Delta, first to Per-Ramesses and than to Tanis. However, Memphis remained undoubtedly the second city of Egypt. Here the kings assumed the throne and celebrated state solemnities such as sed-festivals. One of the principle deities patronized by the new ruling dynasty was Ptah-Tatenen. A temple devoted to this god was much enlarged and embellished during the Ramessids Period and became the very center of the city

Base of column. Kom Dafbabi

Memphite history begins to fill with facts and details from the period of the XXVI (Saitic) Dynasty onwards. A famous palace was erected in the north-eastern part of Kom Tuman by the king Apries. This complex of palatial buildings was excavated by W.M.F. Petrie at the beginning of the twentieth century. During the rule of Apries’s successor pharaoh Amasis the garrisons of Carian and Ionian mercenaries were moved to Memphis from the Delta, where they had been deployed on the borders. The mercenaries were stationed in detached areas separated from each other by walls. The most suitable place for billeting the mercenaries was the territory of Kom Tuman outspread in front of the palace of Apries. Most probably, it was here the military camp known to ancient writers as Leukon Teikhos was built up.

In 525 BC Egypt was conquered by the army of the Persian king Kambyses. Apparently, a Persian military garrison was quartered in Memphis. Vestiges of Persian military presence were found in the territory of the palace of Apries and surroundings.

After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great and the founding of Alexandria Memphis preserved the position of the second capital. During the rule of the Ptolemaic Dynasty the city covered a square of about 50 sq. km, about 6 square km of which laid within the central dykes. At that time Memphis might have a total population of 50000–200000.

According to the contemporary researches, the Ptolemaic palace was situated close to the palace of Apries, perhaps in the western part of Kom Tuman. Near there was the temple of Ptah, where (at least from the reign of Epiphanes) the Ptolemaic kings were crowned according to ancient Egyptian rites.

In Roman times Memphis remained a large city. It is plausible to assume that the Roman military camp was situated in the territory of Kom Tuman at that time. The contingent was not numerous, it consisted of about 500 solders. It is reasonable to suppose that a temple of god Mithra was built to the east of the camp. At the beginning of the XIX century several dozens of pieces of Mithraic sculpture were found on Tell Dafbaby. A theatre mentioned in one of the letters referring to the Roman times might well be located near the Mithra sanctuary.

During the Byzantine Period the city lost its lustre and started to fade. In VII century the mayor of Memphis signed its capitulation and the city surrendered to Arab troops under the command of Ibn abd el-Asa. The importance of Memphis was entirely eclipsed by the foundation of the Islamic garrison city of Fustat which later developed to the city al-Qahira (modern Cairo). The identity of the site was lost, when it ceased to be a bishopric. Memphis remained forgotten until the sixteenth century, when it was tentatively identified by European travelers. However, its location and identity remained a matter of debate until firmly established by the Napoleonic Commission in 1799.

At present the site of ancient Memphis is a cluster of about a dozen artificial mounds (tells or koms) separated by villages and canals. Although the majority of tells are protected by the Supreme Counsel for Antiquities of the ARE their territory is diminishing steadily. Due to the rapid growth of the local population the terrain of the site is being constantly striped away for agricultural needs. The locals represent a constant threat for the monuments due to the fact that the main material constituting the tells is mudbrick made from the Nile silt, which is very good and cheap natural fertilizer for the farmers’ fields. That is why almost all ancient Egyptian sites are suffering from systematic destruction caused by local farmers who dig out the brickwork and spread it on their fields. The main danger to the monument is of course illicit digging for antiquities. On the majority of tells the upper layers are badly disturbed by pits dug by local hunters for ancient artifacts.

A. Krol