DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4143#0006
THE
TEMPLE OF DEIE EL BAHAKL
DESCRIPTION OE PLATES.
PLATES XXV.-XXIX.
THE EBONY SHRINE.
In every Egyptian temple the room constituting the
sanctuary, the crryKos as Strabo calls it, contained a
shrine or naos, in which were hidden the emblems of
the god to whom the temple was dedicated. These
shrines were often monolithic monuments, sometimes
even of large dimensions, like that of the god Sopt
found at Saft el Henneh, part of which has been
preserved. In that case they rested on fixed bases,
varying in height according to the size of the shrines.
But generally they were made of wood, so that they
could be moved, and either placed on sacred boats or
carried by means of staves, as was the ark of the
Israelites. At the great festivals, when the processions
were formed, priests of a certain order took the shrine
out of the sanctuary and carried it on their shoulders
round the temple, and perhaps even outside. We
know that this was done with the shrine of the
goddess Hathor at Denderah, in order, as the in-
scriptions say, " that she might see the face of her
father—the sun."
All the wooden shrines have perished, except one
which belongs to the museum in Turin. It is very
small, only one foot high, and evidently had been
deposited in a tomb. Except this, all those which
are still extant are made of stone, a few of them
being still in situ, as the Shrine of floras at Edfu,
while all the rest are scattered in various museums.
One of the best finds, therefore, made at Deir el
Bahari was certainly that of a wooden panel, which
formed one of the sides of a large shrine more than
six feet high, together with one of the leaves of the
door (pis. xxv., xxvi.).
On the 1st of March, 1893, while clearing the
platform above the Sanctuary of Anubis, the workmen
quite unexpectedly came across the panel, lying flat,
about two feet above the floor; close to it was the
leaf of the door. Considerable care was necessary in
lifting the panel from the ground, on account of its
weight. Moreover, as it is made up of a great
number of small pieces, any shock or any attempt
to set it upright would undoubtedly have caused its
collapse. However, we succeeded in laying it upon
a large board, on which it was carried to my house
in the village of Gurneh. There it was packed care-
fully under the supervision of Mr. John Newberry,
and afterwards conveyed to the Ghizeh Museum,
where it is now exhibited.
The fact of its having been left on the floor shows
that even in ancient times the place on which it was
found was not used as a terrace; it was merely the
roof of the Hypostyle Hall in front of the Shrine of
Anubis. Very soon after the destruction of the naos,
of which it had formed part, the panel must have
been thrown where it lay and covered by the rubbish
falling from the cliff ; otherwise it would not have
escaped destruction by the Copts.
These two fragments, the panel and the door, show
that the whole naos was made of small bits of ebony,
held together by pegs of the same wood. The
ebony tree never grows to a sufficient height or
TEMPLE OF DEIE EL BAHAKL
DESCRIPTION OE PLATES.
PLATES XXV.-XXIX.
THE EBONY SHRINE.
In every Egyptian temple the room constituting the
sanctuary, the crryKos as Strabo calls it, contained a
shrine or naos, in which were hidden the emblems of
the god to whom the temple was dedicated. These
shrines were often monolithic monuments, sometimes
even of large dimensions, like that of the god Sopt
found at Saft el Henneh, part of which has been
preserved. In that case they rested on fixed bases,
varying in height according to the size of the shrines.
But generally they were made of wood, so that they
could be moved, and either placed on sacred boats or
carried by means of staves, as was the ark of the
Israelites. At the great festivals, when the processions
were formed, priests of a certain order took the shrine
out of the sanctuary and carried it on their shoulders
round the temple, and perhaps even outside. We
know that this was done with the shrine of the
goddess Hathor at Denderah, in order, as the in-
scriptions say, " that she might see the face of her
father—the sun."
All the wooden shrines have perished, except one
which belongs to the museum in Turin. It is very
small, only one foot high, and evidently had been
deposited in a tomb. Except this, all those which
are still extant are made of stone, a few of them
being still in situ, as the Shrine of floras at Edfu,
while all the rest are scattered in various museums.
One of the best finds, therefore, made at Deir el
Bahari was certainly that of a wooden panel, which
formed one of the sides of a large shrine more than
six feet high, together with one of the leaves of the
door (pis. xxv., xxvi.).
On the 1st of March, 1893, while clearing the
platform above the Sanctuary of Anubis, the workmen
quite unexpectedly came across the panel, lying flat,
about two feet above the floor; close to it was the
leaf of the door. Considerable care was necessary in
lifting the panel from the ground, on account of its
weight. Moreover, as it is made up of a great
number of small pieces, any shock or any attempt
to set it upright would undoubtedly have caused its
collapse. However, we succeeded in laying it upon
a large board, on which it was carried to my house
in the village of Gurneh. There it was packed care-
fully under the supervision of Mr. John Newberry,
and afterwards conveyed to the Ghizeh Museum,
where it is now exhibited.
The fact of its having been left on the floor shows
that even in ancient times the place on which it was
found was not used as a terrace; it was merely the
roof of the Hypostyle Hall in front of the Shrine of
Anubis. Very soon after the destruction of the naos,
of which it had formed part, the panel must have
been thrown where it lay and covered by the rubbish
falling from the cliff ; otherwise it would not have
escaped destruction by the Copts.
These two fragments, the panel and the door, show
that the whole naos was made of small bits of ebony,
held together by pegs of the same wood. The
ebony tree never grows to a sufficient height or