Aghūrmī - Aghūrmī

Upper town of Aghūrmī
Aghūrmī · ‏أغورمي‎
Governorate	Maṭrūḥ
Residents	1.486 (2006)
no tourist info on Wikidata:
location
Aghūrmī

Aghurmi (also Aghormy, Arabic:أغورمي‎, Aghūrmī) is a village and an archaeological site to the east of the city Siwa. It is the oldest settlement in Siwa and houses the oracle temple of Amun, the Ammoneion, arguably the most important archaeological site in the valley. Currently around 1,500 people live in the village below the castle hill. The local temple may be of little importance in its structural design, but his world historical The importance is all the greater: here was Alexander the Elder. Size the sonship of God awarded. With that he could become king of Egypt.

background

The Greek historian Diodorus reports about the temple and about Alexander's move to Siwa:^[1]

“The temple is said to have been built by the Egyptian Danaus. The holy district of the god borders the homes of the Ethiopians around noon and evening; around midnight, however, a Libyan nomadic tribe and the Nasamons, which extend into the interior, reside. The Ammonians [inhabitants of the Ammon's oasis] live in villages; but in the middle of their land is a castle, fortified with a triple wall. The first curtain wall encloses the palace of the old rulers; the second the women's courtyard with the apartments of the children and women and relatives, also the fortifications of the square, and moreover the temple of God and the holy spring in which the sacrifices made to God are consecrated; the third, however, the lodgings of the satellites [bodyguards] and the fixed locks for the ruler's bodyguard. Outside the castle, not far away, there is another Temple of Ammon built under the shade of many large trees. In the vicinity of it is a spring which, because of its nature, is called the Sun Spring. "

When travelers at the end of the 18th and 19th centuries undertook the arduous expedition to Siwa, they had only one goal: to visit the oracle temple of Jupiter-Amun, described by Greek historians, where Alexander the Great was sons of God in 311 BC . Was awarded - an important requirement to be King (Pharaoh) of Egypt in the Ptah Temple Memphis to be able to.

Aghūrmī is the oldest settlement in the Siwa Depression. The name comes from a Berber dialect and means "village". There is also a second term, Shargiehwhich comes from the Arabic word Sharqīya, east city.

It is not known how long the village has existed. We only know that it was in the area of ​​the temple and that the temple was built around 570 BC. Was built.

Today the approximately 1,500 inhabitants live^[2] exclusively outside the Temple Mount.

The Temple Mount

The Temple Mount in the middle of the village of Aghurmi is a 20 to 25 meter high limestone witness mountain. It measures about 120 meters in east-west and about 80 meters in north-south direction. The only natural access is to the south and leads to a sloping plateau.

The temple is located in the western half, reaching as far as the northern steep slope. To the west of the temple was the palace of the oasis king, who was also the high priest. Furthermore, on the mountain in the north-east were the queen's women's area and the harem, and in the south the priestly apartments and soldiers' quarters.

Until 1972, the castle hill was built over with modern adobe houses. The temple area was only exposed in 1971/72.

Building history of the temple

Since when the temple has existed and whether it had a previous building is not known. The only chronological evidence found in the sanctuary (Holy of Holies) is the cartouche of King Amasis (around 470 BC, 26th dynasty). The temple was commissioned by the Egyptian Amun priesthood. His use to hold the royal oracle was already planned at the planning stage. The temple was built by Greek craftsmen from Cyrenaica (northeast Libya), which can be seen in the style and tool marks. The local residents themselves had no experience in building stone buildings.

Dedication and Purpose of the Temple

The temple was to the god Amun or the theban Trinity dedicated to Amun, his consort Mut and their son Chons. Amun is the oracle god here. In its shape with an elongated phallus, it is also god of fertility. Amun was equated with the Roman god Jupiter.

The temple was with the Amun temple of 400 meters to the south Umm ʿUbeida via a processional street and thus cultically connected.

Research history

Believe it or not, the temple has only been known since the middle of the 19th century. There were two reasons for this: on the one hand there are two Amun temples in a short distance, the second in Umm ʿUbeidaOn the other hand, the hostility of the local residents prevented any investigation until 1820.

Although the Briton visited George Browne (1768–1813) 1792,^[6] the German Friedrich Hornemann (1772–1801) disguised as an Islamic merchant 1798,^[7] the Frenchman Frédéric Cailliaud (1787–1869) 1819^[8] and the German Heinrich Freiherr von Minutoli (1772–1846) 1820^[9] the sink. But they all describe the temple of Umm Ubeida. In 1820 the Italian enters Bernardino Drovetti (1776-1852) under the protection of Egyptian troops the hill of Aghurmi. But he does not discover the temple.

In 1853, James Hamilton discovered the temple of Aghurmi.^[10] Unfortunately we only know his book about him, but no dates.

Several German and one Egyptian researchers subsequently brought together our knowledge of Aghurmi. This is 1869 Gerhard Rohlfs (1831–1896),^[11] 1899/1900 Georg Steindorff (1861–1951),^[12] 1932/1933 Steindorff together with Herbert Ricke (1901–1976) and Hermann Aubin,^[13] 1971/72 Ahmed Fakhry (1905–1973) and from 1980 Klaus P. Kuhlmann. The exploration of the temple is still ongoing.^[14] In recent years, three graves have been found in the area of ​​the temple, which were dug at the same time as the temple was built or earlier. Such temple burials have also been known from Thebes since the third interim period.

getting there

The place is easy from the city Siwa reachable from. Follow the road to the northeast of Mīdān es-Sūq, the market place of Siwa, in an easterly direction past the Siwa Paradise Hotel. The green lanterns on the side of the road indicate that you are on the right path. The road is narrow, but it can also be driven on by a van or pick-up.

Tourist Attractions

South side of Aghurmi Castle Hill

Entrance to the Acropolis of Aghurmi

Aghurmi Temple

View of the sanctuary of the temple

Sanctuary of the temple

Inscription in the sanctuary of the temple

Settlement remains and minaret on the castle hill

Aghurmi Mosque

Fountain on the castle hill

The main attraction of Aghurmi is of course the mountain mountain. At the ticket booth in the south of the mountain near the entrance, you can buy tickets for the price of LE 25 (as of 3/2011).

As in the old days, the wooden gate is reached via a small climb. Behind the gate a staircase leads to the plateau. The path continues to the north end of the plateau. On the right you can still see some houses that are now uninhabited. The temple can already be seen on the left. In the area to the left south end of the path is the well of Aghurmi.

The temple complex is 15 m wide and 52 m long, the actual temple 14 m wide and 22 m long. The temple was reached from the south through the open forecourt. In the north is the approximately 8 m high temple, which was built from local limestone and partly driven into the natural rock. The temple had no stone ceiling, rather it was covered with halved palm trunks.

The passages allow a direct view of the sanctuary (holy of holies). The gate passages close at the top with a hollow, the front passage also has a half-column on both sides. With the exception of the Holy of Holies, the temple is otherwise undecorated.

First you enter two halls one behind the other. The front one is about 7.75 m wide and 4.75 m deep, the second 4.50 m deep. On the back wall of the second hall are the entrances to the left hall, the Holy of Holies and a corridor on the right.

The Holy of Holies is 3.3 m wide and 6.2 m deep. It is the only hall with figurative representations and inscriptions. On the left wall of the entrance you can see Sethirdis, the prince of Siwa, the greats of the foreign lands and chief of the deserts. His figure has been destroyed, he wore a feather as a hair ornament that identifies him as a Libyan. He pays homage to eight gods depicted on the left wall. These are Amun-Re (Amunrasonther), his companion Mut, Dedun-Amun - a god otherwise only known from Nubia - the lion-headed goddess Tefnut, the ram-headed Harsaphes - main god of Ihnasiya -, again Mut, the ibis-headed Thoth and his companion Nehemet -awai.

The right entrance wall shows the king (Pharaoh) Amasis (26th Dynasty) with a lower Egyptian crown, as he offers wine to various gods on the right wall. These are Amun-Re, the goddess Mut, a ram-headed god with a double feather crown (probably Amun or Harsaphis, Lord of Herakleopolis), Chons (?), Two unrecognizable deities, the lion god Miysis (also Mihōs, Mahes) and a goddess with a double crown .

The purpose of the hall to the left of the sanctuary is unknown. Perhaps it was used to store temple equipment.

The corridor on the right is the really important thing about the Oracle Temple. The approximately 70 cm wide corridor continued on the north wall of the temple and led to a secret chamber above the holy of holies and to a rock chamber. From the secret chamber the priests could eavesdrop on what was going on. But they did not speak, speaking oracles were not common in Egypt. The rock chamber served as a writing or workplace for the priests.

In the south of the area there is a well made of stone blocks with a diameter of about 2 meters. From the west, a 70 cm wide staircase leads to the well shaft at a depth of 3.5 m.

The high tower near the entrance is a minaret. The associated mosque was restored around 2010 and can also be visited.

Do not fail to enjoy the excellent view. In the north you can see both the burial hill Gebel el-Mautā as well as a little to the west the old town of Shali. In the south you can see the range of hills Gebel et-Takrūr catch sight of.

shop

They have now also adjusted to tourists. Textiles are offered for sale and henna tattoos are applied to the hand, for example. If you want to question the oracle correctly, you can also purchase incense sticks.

kitchen

There are restaurants in the nearby town Siwa. There is also a small café at the sun spring approx. 1.5 km away.

accommodation

Accommodation is available in the nearby town Siwa.

trips

A visit to the temple of Aghurmi can be compared to that of the temple of Umm ʿUbeida including the sun source connect. One can also visit the burial mound Gebel el-Mautā or the double mountain Gebel et-Takrūr append.

literature

• Fakhry, Ahmed: Siwa Oasis. Cairo: The American Univ. in Cairo Pr., 1973, The oases of Egypt; 1, ISBN 978-977-424-123-9 (Reprint), pp. 150-164.
• Kuhlmann, Klaus P [eter]: The Ammoneion: Archeology, History and Cult Practice of the Oracle of Siwa. Mainz: from Zabern, 1988, Archaeological publications; 75, ISBN 978-3-8053-0819-9 , Pp. 14–37, figs. 1–14, plates 8–27. Pages 127-137 describe the Siwa oracle process.
• Bruhn, Kai-Christian: “No temple of splendor”: Architecture and history of the temple from the time of the Amasis on Aġūrmī, Siwa oasis. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2010, Archaeological publications; 114, ISBN 978-3-447-05713-4 .

Individual evidence

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29 ° 12 '18 "N. 25 ° 32 '37 "E