Achaeology

Tell Ibrahim Awad

Temple

Tell Ibrahim Awad which is situated in the north-eastern part of the Nile Delta is famous for its sensational archaeological discoveries. Here the most ancient temple in the history of the Lower Egypt which dates back to the Proto/Early Dynastic period (the end of the IVth–the beginning of the IIIrd millennium BC) was found. The temple existed during one and a half thousand years, at least until the XII Dynasty, and survived the stages of renovations, reconstructions, rebuilding as well as the periods of desolation.

Phase	Date
1	1a — mid. XII Dynasty (c. 1800 BC) 1b — I Intermideate Period (c. 2160–2055 BC)
2	Old Kingdom: IV–VI Dynasties (c. 2613–2181 BC)
3	Early Old Kingdom II–III Dynasties (c. 2890–2613 BC)
4	Late Early Dynastic period
5	5a — Late I–II dynasty; 5b — Early I dynasty
6	«00» / 0 dynasty Naqada III a–b
7	final Late Chalcolithic

Periods of the temple construction at Tell Inrahim Awad

The latest temple covered the area of 27 x 54 m. In the course of excavations in the sanctuary there were discovered seven building horizons which correspond to the classification worked out by E. van den Brink for all archaeological objects of Tell Ibrahim. According to this system the upper building horizon of the temple can be referred to phase 1a. In phase 1b which corresponds to the First Intermediate Period a naos made of limestone and based on pure sand occupied the central position. It was destroyed in ancient times and there were numerous fragments of it all over the sanctuary. Three altars made of mudbrick were preserved only in this phase. The base of one of the altars contained a small deposit of votive objects represented by miniature pottery belonging to the late Old Kingdom. This pottery was transferred from an earlier building horizon (phase 2).

Plan of the temple at Tell Ibrahim Awad (by D. Eigner)

In the times of Old Kingdom the sanctuary was renovated and its walls were reconstructed, but its general lay-out did not have any considerable changes. According to D. Eigner's reconstruction during the IV – VI Dynasties the sanctuary was a rectangular structure 2,62 x 7,85 m made of mudbricks with dimensions 27 x 13 and 30 x 15 cm. It stretched along the axis north-south and was divided by the interior transverse walls into three sections. In the northern section there was a little courtyard with a passage in the eastern wall where a narrow by-pass corridor, which surrounded the core of the sanctuary, led. There was a mudbrick step platform in  the courtyard. In front of the platform along the western wall 14 high cylindrical ceramic stands stood. This deposit (No 1) of stands for offering tables H3w.t or vessels was partly blocked by a wall adjacent to the western corridor. It was filled with numerous ceramic and stone vessels.

Building horizon beneath the temple of the Middle Kingdom

Just under the structure belonging to the IV–VI Dynasties there was a sanctuary erected in the times of early Old Kingdom (phase 3). Some deposits of votive objects were just under the deposits of the layer overlapping this building horizon. Such localization of deposits is typical of the sanctuary.

Principal finds were made under the platform where the sanctuary foundation of phase 3 had three deposits (Nos 10, 12, 13) situated in a line along the axis east-west. The deposits contained a lot of objects of small plastic arts made of faience, stone, carved bone and ivory which were typical for the Early Kingdom (0–II Dynasties). However, a small part of such objects was transferred to later layers (for example, deposit ¹ 11, situated above the deposits under the platform).

Fayence tiles. Early/ Old Kingdom

The structures of phases 3 and 5 are divided by a layer of burnt ground filled with a lot of kitchen pottery. This fact is an evidence of the interval in functioning of the sanctuary in phase 4. Ceramic shapes from a grave of a young man (phase 4) make it possible to date the period of the decline of the sanctuary from the end of the I–beginning of the II Dynasties.

The lowest layers (phase 6) date back to the times of the so-called 0 Dynasty. The earliest structures by their size corresponded to the Old Kingdom sanctuaries, but in contrast to them were orientated along the axis east-west. It is from these layers the transfer of the objects of small plastic arts to the caches under foundations of the future structures of the sanctuary began.

Figurine of a baboon from the second layer of the finds

The caches in the form of simple pits or chambers made of mudbrick contained more than 600 votive objects. They are models of sacred objects, symbols of king's power, figurines of animals dedicated to ancient Egyptian gods, anthropomorphous statuettes, faience decorative tiles as well as tools, ceramic and stone vessels. Among the figurative images an image of a baboon prevails. There were found about 200 small figures made of faience and ivory. The predominance of baboon's image among the figurative objects in the caches of the temple in Tell Ibrahim Awad is an important evidence of its cult. It can be confirmed by the fragments of the head and the leg of quite a large statuette of a baboon made of baked clay.

Among the objects of small plastic arts the artifacts connected with the king's cult can be distinguished. They include the symbols of king's power represented by several dozens of pear-shaped heads of maces made of calcite and diorite, and by sacred objects which emphasize a sacral character of the king's power. They are faience models of pr-nw (ancient sanctuary in the Lower Egypt) and naoi, figurines of falcon which symbolize god Horus, a great number of faience tiles. On the back side of some objects there was cut a srx-sign, but without a Horus name of a king. Another royal name — nbtj — is inscribed on a fragment of faience with the image of goddess Nehbet sitting on a plot.

Mace-head. Early/ Old Kingdom

A large collection of objects made of bone and ivory is also connected with the king's cult. This collection includes figurines of a lion. Its image was one of the king's symbols. A hand-shaped staff with the head with a pair of hands holding a vessel between them is also worth mentioning.

Such a cultural phenomenon as a creation of cashes containing votive objects dedicated to the cult of the Early Kingdom pharaohs came into existence in sanctuaries of later periods as a result of a crisis situation in the society and was an act of political as well as ideological character. The burial of ancient sacred objects under sacral structures reflects the idea of cultural succession, of adherence to ancient sacred objects and sites. The reconstruction of the Early Dynastic temple during the Old Kingdom can be explained as the return to the traditions of the first kings — powerful founders of the state. It should be noted that the earliest known chronicle inscribed on the Palermo Stone was made under the rule of the V Dynasty. And it was at that time when in different parts of Egypt there was a reconstruction of the most ancient temples (Abydos, Hierakonpolis, Elephantine) as well as burials of sacred relics of the Early Kingdom pharaohs in the new constructions. These temples marked the geopolitical and religious boundaries of ancient Egypt with the western desert and Nubia. Thus the localization of the temple in Tell Ibrahim Awad on the territory of the XIV nome of the Lower Egypt, which adjoin the north-eastern border of the state, completes the picture of exclusive cosmos.

T. Sherkova