Temple of Kalabsha

Coordinates: 23°36′00″N 32°49′00″E / 23.6°N 32.816667°E / 23.6; 32.816667(pre-relocation)
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Temple of Kalabsha in 2004
Carved relief from Kalabsha temple

The Temple of Kalabsha (also Temple of Mandulis) is an ancient Egyptian temple that was originally located at Bab al-Kalabsha (Gate of Kalabsha), approximately 50 km south of Aswan.[1]

In the 1960s the temple was relocated under the

Amada.[2]

History

Egypt - Temple of Kalabscheh, Nubia. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection

The temple was situated on the west bank of the

Nile River, in Nubia, and was originally built around 30 BC during the early Roman era. While the temple was constructed in Augustus's reign, it was never finished.[3] The temple was a tribute to Mandulis (Merul), a Lower Nubian sun god.[4] It was constructed over an earlier sanctuary of Amenhotep II.[5]

The temple is 76 m long and 22 m wide in dimension.

sacred lake.[8]

Several historical records were inscribed on the temple walls of Kalabsha such as "a long inscription carved by the Roman Governor Aurelius Besarion in AD 250, forbidding pigs in the temple" as well as an inscription of "the Nubian king

Silko, carved during the 5th century and recording his victory over the Blemmyes and a picture of him dressed as a Roman soldier on horseback."[9] Silko was the Christian king of the Nubian kingdom of Nobatia.[10]

When Christianity was introduced to Egypt, the temple was used as a church.[4] In 1819 the traveller Joseph de Senkowsky mentioned a variety of paintings depicting Christian saints, among them John the Baptist.[11]

Movement

Kalabsha Gate, ca. 30 BCE, at the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, given as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia
Main article: International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia

With help from

Aswan High Dam was built,[when?] to protect it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser. The temple was moved to a site, located just south of the Aswan High Dam. The process of moving the temple took more than two years.[4] The temple of Kalabsha was the largest free-standing temple of Egyptian Nubia (after Abu Simbel, which was rock-cut, not free-standing) to be moved and erected at a new site.[12] Although the building was never completed, it "is regarded as one of the best examples of Egyptian architecture in Nubia."[13]

In 1971, Egypt gave one of the temple's gates to the Federal Republic of Germany out of gratitude for Germany’s participation in the rescue of the Nubian temples. Since 1977 the gate has been located in the annex of Berlin's Egyptian Museum in Berlin-Charlottenburg.[14] The gate will be moved to become the monumental entrance to the fourth wing of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, which is currently, as of 2023, being constructed.[15]

  • Temple of Kalabsha
    Temple of Kalabsha
  • relief of Augustus at Kalabsha
    relief of Augustus at Kalabsha
  • The Nubian god Mandulis from Kalabsha temple
    The Nubian god Mandulis from Kalabsha temple
  • Stereo card of the temple (1904)
    Stereo card of the temple (1904)
  • Coptic inscriptions commemorating the temple's conversion into a church
    Coptic inscriptions commemorating the temple's conversion into a church
  • Graffiti of crosses
    Graffiti of crosses
  • 19th-century sketch of a Christian wall painting
    19th-century sketch of a Christian wall painting
  • Photo of a Christian wall painting from 1911
    Photo of a Christian wall painting from 1911
  • View of the main gate from inside
    View of the main gate from inside
  • Relief on the walls of the temple
    Relief on the walls of the temple
  • Kalabsha - main pilon
    Kalabsha - main pilon
  • Remains of sculptures close to the temple
    Remains of sculptures close to the temple

See also

References

  1. ^ Lorna Oakes, Pyramids, Temples and Tombs of Ancient Egypt: An Illustrated Atlas of the Land of the Pharaohs, Hermes House:Anness Publishing Ltd, 2003. p. 208
  2. ^ "Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  3. ^ Rosalie David, Discovering Ancient Egypt, Facts on File, 1993. p. 103
  4. ^ a b c Kamil, Jill (1996). Upper Egypt and Nubia: The Antiquities from Armarna to Abu Simbel. Egyptian International Publishing Company. pp. 141–143.
  5. ^ David, p. 103
  6. ^ "New Kalabsha at Aswan". Al-Ahram Weekly. June 13, 2002. Archived from the original on January 3, 2004.
  7. ^ Christine Hobson, Exploring the World of the Pharaohs: A Complete Guide to Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson 1993 paperback, p. 185
  8. ^ Hobson, p.185
  9. ^ Hobson, p.185
  10. ^ Oakes, p.209
  11. ^ Joseph de Senkowsky (1819): "Précis du journal inédit d'un voyage fait dans la Nubie et le nord de l'Ethiopie, en 1819" in "Journal des voyages, découvertes et navigations modernes, Vol. 17", p. 151
  12. ^ Christine Hobson, Exploring the World of the Pharaohs, Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1997. p.177
  13. ^ Oakes, p.208
  14. ^ "History of Museum: (Society for the Promotion of the Egyptian Museum Berlin)". www.egyptian-museum-berlin.com. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  15. ^ "Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection". www.museumsinsel-berlin.de. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
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23°36′00″N 32°49′00″E / 23.6°N 32.816667°E / 23.6; 32.816667(pre-relocation)

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