Pithom
30°33′7″N 32°5′55″E / 30.55194°N 32.09861°E
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pr-jtm[1] in hieroglyphs | |||||
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Pithom (
The name
This name comes from Hebrew פיתום Pithom which was taken from the Egyptian toponym pr-(j)tm, "House of Atum". Atum's cult center was in Heliopolis.[6]
Biblical Pithom
Pithom is one of the cities which, according to the
Graeco-Roman Heroöpolis
Heroöpolis was a large city east of the
Location
Early on, the location of Pithom—just like the locations of other similar sites, such as
The 10th-century Jewish scholar Saadia Gaon identified Pithom place in his Judeo-Arabic translation of the Hebrew Bible as the Faiyum, 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Cairo.[9]
Édouard Naville and Flinders Petrie were looking for Pithom along the Wadi Tumilat, an arable strip of land serving as the ancient transit route between Egypt and Canaan across the Sinai—the biblical 'Way of Shur'.[10]
Tell El Retaba
Eight miles west of Tell El Maskhuta is the site of Tell El Retabeh. This is approximately the midpoint of Wadi Tumilat. The earliest find known from the site is the jasper weight of king Nebkaure Khety, but such an object might have been brought from elsewhere. Naville identified all these locations as being in the region of Tjeku (Sukkot), the 8th Lower Egypt nome.
Excavations at the Tell El Retabeh have shown that the site was first settled during the
Some scholars, such as
The joint Polish-Slovak expedition has carried out a systematic research at Tell El Retaba since 2007.[17] It is conducted with the cooperation of several institutions: Institute of Archaeology University of Warsaw, the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw, the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Aigyptos Foundation.[11]
More recent analyses have demonstrated that the designation for the temple of Atum, pr-itm, can be found in inscriptions at both sites—both at Tell El Retaba and at Tell El Maskhuta. This seems to demonstrate that the name 'Pithom' was used originally for the earlier site, Tell El Retaba, before it was abandoned. When the newer city of Tel El Maskhuta was built, the same name was applied to it as well, as the temple of Atum was moved to El Maskhuta. Thus, in effect, 'Pithom' was moved to a new location, a phenomenon that is attested for some other cities as well, such as Migdol.[18]
Wadi Tumilat Project – Tell El Maskhuta
In the spring of 1883, Naville believed he had identified Pithom as the archaeological site Tell El Maskhuta. The site of Pithom, as identified by Naville, is at the eastern edge of Wadi Tumilat, southwest of Ismailia. Petrie agreed with this identification. John S. Holladay Jr., a more recent investigator of the site, also supports this opinion. Alternatively, the recent Italian excavators have suggested identifying the site as the ancient city of Tjeku (Biblical Sukkot).[19]
Here was found a group of granite statues representing Ramesses II, two inscriptions naming Pr-Itm (Temple of Atum), storehouses and bricks made without straw. Recent excavations have also uncovered a significant New Kingdom tomb at the site.[19] The excavations carried on by Naville for the Egypt Exploration Fund uncovered a city wall, a ruined temple, and the remains of a series of brick buildings with very thick walls and consisting of rectangular chambers of various sizes, opening only at the top and without any entrances to one another.
Modern excavations at Tel El Maskhuta were carried out by the University of Toronto 'Wadi Tumilat Project' under the direction of John S. Holladay Jr. They worked over five seasons between 1978 and 1985. These excavations have shown that the history of Tel El Maskhuta is quite complex. There was a Middle Bronze IIB settlement there (18th–17th centuries BC), associated with the Hyksos, followed by a long break until the late 7th century BC, when there was rebuilding.[20]
This construction at the end of the 7th century may have been carried out by Pharaoh Necho II, possibly as part of his uncompleted canal building project from the Nile to the Gulf of Suez.[15][21]
See also
- List of ancient Egyptian towns and cities
- List of ancient Egyptian sites, including sites of temples
References
- ^ Gauthier, Henri (1925). Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol. 2. p. 59.
- ISBN 978-0-203-98283-9.
- ^ Strabo xvi. 759, 768, xvii. 803, 804; Arrian, Exp. Alex. iii. 5, vii. 20; Joseph. Ant. Jud. ii. 7. § 5; Plin. v. 9. § 11, vi. 32. § 33; Mela, iii. 8; Steph. B. s. v.; Ptol. ii. 1. § 6, iv. 15. § 54
- ISBN 978-1-58983-097-4.
- ISBN 978-0-521-36867-4.
- ISBN 0-415-34495-6.
- ^ Ἡρωοπολίτης κόλπος, Ptol. v. 17. § 1, Latin: Heroopoliticus Sinus
- ^ Theophrast. Hist. Plant. iii. 8.
- ^ Saadia Gaon, Tafsir (Judeo-Arabic translation of the Pentateuch), Exodus 1:11; Rabbi Saadia Gaon's Commentaries on the Torah (ed. Yosef Qafih), Mossad Harav Kook: Jerusalem 1984, p. 63 (Exodus 1:11) (Hebrew)
- ^ ISBN 0805446796
- ^ a b "Tell el-Retaba". pcma.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
- ISSN 1015-5104.
- ISBN 978-0-8028-3783-7.
- ISBN 978-0-631-18435-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-1850756507, [1]
- ISSN 1944-2815.
- ^ Aigyptos Foundation Slovak Egyptological team
- ISBN 0198035403
- ^ ISBN 978-1-78491-601-5.
- ISBN 0890030847
- ISBN 978-1-57506-028-6.
Bibliography
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Pithom". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Pithom". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- Sarna, Nahum M. “Exploring Exodus: The Oppression,” Biblical Archaeologist, Volume 49: 1986 (2001 electronic ed.)
- M.I. Bakr and H. Brandl, "Various Sites in the Eastern Nile Delta: Tell el-Maskhuta", in: M.I. Bakr and H. Brandl, with F. Kalloniatis (eds.), Egyptian Antiquities from the Eastern Nile Delta (= Museums in the Nile Delta, vol. 2). Cairo/Berlin 2014, pp. 78 and 266-267, cat. 72. ISBN 9783000453182.