Kom el-Hisn
Kom el-Hisn
كوم الحصن | |
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Coordinates: 30°47′44″N 30°36′01″E / 30.7955°N 30.6004°E | |
Country | Lower Egypt |
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jmꜣw[1] in hieroglyphs | ||
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Era: Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 BC) | ||
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pr nb jmꜣw[2] in hieroglyphs | ||||
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Late Period (664–332 BC) | ||||
Kom el-Hisn (
The site's main findings include the Tomb of Khesuwer, a large necropolis, and a temple dedicated to Sekhmet-Hathor. Inscriptions designating Hathor as the "Mistress of Imu", among other similar inscriptions, and the location of Kom el-Hisn have given evidence to the site being the former nome capital Yamu, or Imu. Much of the information on this site from previous excavations is lost or remains unpublished.[3]
Excavation history
The site was initially uncovered by
Another survey in 1902, this time by Georges Daressy, found more artifacts related to Ramesses II such as two broken colossi of Amenemhat III later usurped by Ramesses II, and four blocks originally inscribed for Ramesses II, but later usurped by Shoshenq II and reused for a chapel.[4]
In 1910 the Tomb of Khesuwer, a priest of Hathor, was found and excavated by
In the early 1940s, mudbrick tombs were uncovered after a heavy rainfall. El-Amir, Farad, and Hamada excavated what turned out to be a large necropolis from 1943 to 1949. There was a count of over one thousand graves ranging from lower to upper class burials. The most common were simple sand-pit burials. Among these, blades were found in a portion of the tombs labeled the “warrior group”, but most burials contained no or little grave goods. The 1946 and 1948 excavations yielded a large number of "pot-burials" containing the remains of children. Among these, family tombs or mass graves were also found containing mostly children. They were identified the length of necklaces found with the remains.
The exact number of graves is unknown. The majority date to the
A study of fauna and flora remains from residential deposits was completed in 1988. Considering the Nile Delta's historical association with cattle production, the small amount of cattle bones found suggests the site still had some affiliation with cattle production and the overall Estate, but not including butchering or raising cattle.[6] A majority of their food appears to come from pigs, with remains indicating consumption of pigs outnumbering that of sheep and goats. This number suggests the site was not heavily involved in grain production. Cow bones found on the north end of the site suggests an animal necropolis, giving further evidence to the relation between the presence of the Hathor cult and involvement in the cattle production of the Nile Delta. This has not been excavated.
A series of excavations in 1984, 1986, and 1988 found remains of domestic architecture and materials, including an enclosure wall that had bordered much of the site. From these excavations came artifacts like bread molds and bowls that could be used for food storage, but the lack of basic items and the means to produce them suggests Kom el-Hisn was a religious settlement or ran under a governmental authority. During Robert J. Wenke's excavation in 1988, he uncovered broken sealings and ceramics dating to the
Tomb of Khesuwer
One of the first major findings at the site was the
One scene depicts Khesuwer and four rows of priestesses, who are clapping and playing instruments, giving evidence to his title as "Overseer" of the priestess' of Hathor.[10] It is assumed his office was that of the temple found at Kom el-Hisn.
Yamu
Yamu or Imu was a capital of the 3rd Nome of Lower Egypt. It is found in texts as early as the 5th Dynasty but the current location of the town is unknown. Due to the discovery of the inscription on the statues found at Kom el-Hisn, this site is thought to have been the location of Yamu.
Unpublished notes from Petrie's visit to the site in 1884 describe an offering table to the goddess Sekhmet, with an inscription that reads "the king gives an offering [to] the mistress of Yamu, Sekhmet".[11] He also reported other inscriptions detailing the "mistress of Yamu", but is not specific about where he found them or if they refer to Kom el-Hisn. Though it is a strong theory that Yamu and Kom el-Hisn are the same, there is no concrete evidence to prove this.
See also
References
- ^ Gauthier, Henri (1925). Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol. 1. p. 70.
- ^ Gauthier, Henri (1925). Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol. 2. p. 91.
- ISSN 0065-9991.
- ^ Kirby, Orel & Smith 1998, p. 25.
- ^ Orel 2000, p. 39.
- ^ Redding 1992, p. 101.
- ^ Cagle 2001, p. 314.
- ^ Wenke 1988, p. 28.
- ^ Wenke 1988, p. 27.
- ^ Sakr 2005, p. 355.
- ^ Cagle 2001, p. 407.
Bibliography
- Cagle, Anthony J. (2001). The Spatial Structure of Kom El-Hisn: An Old Kingdom Town in the Western Nile Delta, Egypt. University of Washington [dissertation]: Ann Arbor, Bell and Howell Information and Learning.
- Kirby, C.J.; Orel, S.E.; Smith, S.T. (1998). "Preliminary Report on the Survey of Kom El-Hisn, 1996". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 84: 23–43. S2CID 165036596.
- Orel, Sara E. (2000). "A reexamination of the 1943-1952 excavations at Kom el-Hisn, Egypt". Göttinger Miszellen. 179: 39–49.
- Redding, Richard W. (1992). "Egyptian Old Kingdom Patterns of Animal Use and the Value of Faunal Date in Modeling Socioeconomic Systems". Paléorient. 18 (2): 99–107. .
- Sakr, Faiza M. (2005). "New Foundation Deposits of Kom El-hisn". Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur. 33: 349–355.
- Wenke, Robert J. (1988). "Kom El-hisn: Excavation of an Old Kingdom Settlement in the Egyptian Delta". JARCE. 25: 5–34. JSTOR 40000868.