 Facade of the Temple of Sobek-Re | ||
| Qar Qarun · قصر قارون Dionysias · Διονυσιάς | ||
| Governorate | Faiyūm | |
|---|---|---|
| height | −2 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
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Qasr Qarun (Arabic:قصر قارون, Qar Qarun; the ancient Dionysias) is an archaeological site in Faiyūm in Egypt from Ptolemaic-Roman times. The ancient city was founded in the 3rd century BC. Founded in BC, given a fortress in Roman times and abandoned in the fourth century AD. Qaṣr Qārūn belongs with Kōm Auschīm, the ancient Karanis, one of the most important sights of Faiyūm.
background
The ancient city was founded in Greco-Roman times, in the third century BC. Founded. In Roman times it was supplemented by a fortress to defend against nomadic people Blemmyes served. In the fourth century AD, the city was abandoned.
The earliest descriptions of the area come from Richard Pococke (1704–1765), who here the famous labyrinth of Hawara believed to discover[1] and by the scientists of the Egyptian Napoleon campaign[2]. First scientific investigations were carried out by the British Bernard Pyne Grenfell (1869–1926), Arthur Surridge Hunt (1871–1934) and David George Hogarth (1862–1927) in 1895.[3]
Extensive excavations were carried out in the late 1940s and early 1950s by a French-Swiss mission led by the papyrologist Jacques Schwartz (1914–1992). Household items such as measuring beakers and stamping molds for coins were found in the exposed buildings. The Egyptian Antiquities Service carried out various restoration work in the 1960s. Other smaller investigations followed on site.
getting there
Qaṣr Qārūn is located near the southwestern tip of the Qārūn Lake. You can reach Qaṣr Qārūn via the southern shore road of the lake, past the Hotel Panorama. 1.6 km behind the Panorama Hotel, turn south from the road and come to a village called Shakschuk, from where you take the path to Ibschawy, about 9 km away. From here you drive about 5 km to the village of el-Schwaschnah, after another 15 km you reach Qaṣr Qārūn.
Qaṣr Qārūn can be seen from the pyramid field of Giza Reach via Karanis in about 2½ hours.
If you want to use public transport, you first take a service taxi from Madīnat el-Faiyūm to Shakschuk, 45 kilometers away. Another service taxi takes you to the village of Qārūn.
mobility
When visiting sites in Faiyūm, you will be accompanied by police officers.
Tourist Attractions
Today the area covers an area of around 500 m × 500 m. It can be fully explored from The admission price is LE 60 and LE 30 for students (as of 11/2018). Opening hours 9 am–4pm.
In the center of the ancient city is the imposing, well-preserved Ptolemaic 1 Temple of Sobek-Re(29 ° 24 ′ 21 ″ N.30 ° 25 ′ 6 ″ E)which was built from yellowish limestone blocks. Due to the lack of inscriptions, the time of construction can only roughly be between 323 and 330 BC. Begin.
The temple was once surrounded by a wall, of which only the remains of the pylon in front of the temple entrance have survived. There are stone brick pillars between the pylon and the temple. The temple facade was decorated with four half columns.
After two large rooms one arrives at the three-part sanctuary, the holy of holies, whereby the middle, somewhat longer sanctuary room was perhaps intended to accommodate a crocodile. Within the temple there are several corridors and stairwells that lead to several rooms that were safely used to store the implements for the temple ritual.
The main temple building has hardly any decorations. The lintels have a cove with the winged sun and an urea frieze. Only the roof temple, which can be reached via a staircase to the left, has scenic representations. On the back wall you can see a Ptolemaic king sacrificing to the crocodile god Sobek. From the temple roof you also have a good overview of the area.
300 meters northwest of the temple, almost on the edge of the excavation area, are the remains of a roughly square one 2 roman fortress(29 ° 24 '27 "N.30 ° 24 '58 "E.) from the time of the Roman emperor Diocletian, of which only the foundation walls can be made out. The corners of the 90 meter wide and 80 meter deep fortress were laid out as square bastions. In the middle of the walls there was another, usually semicircular bastion. The entrance to the north of the fortress was protected by two bastions. The crew barracks were on the walls of the fortress. In addition to administrative buildings, a Christian basilica was also laid out in the fortress area. From the basilica, which is oriented from north to south, the entrance, column bases and a staircase can still be seen.
The main part of the former settlement is located northeast of the temple. There are also numerous other houses in the east and south of the temple. But only a few of these buildings have been scientifically examined. The buildings examined are mainly located in the area between the temple and the fortress. Thermal baths and houses that were once decorated with frescoes have been found here. But over 50 years have passed since the excavations, so that the uncovered buildings have silted up again.
activities
Every year on December 21st, the day of the winter solstice, early morning sunlight reaches the sanctuary of the temple before 7 a.m. Every year there is now a Sun festival carried out.
kitchen
accommodation
There are hotels on the southern edge of the Qārūn Lake and in Madīnat el-Faiyūm.
trips
The visit of the Qaṣr Qārūn can be done e.g. with the visit of Karanis or Madinat Madi connect.
literature
- : Qaṣr-Qārūn / Dionysias, 1948. Le Caire: Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire, 1950, Fouilles franco-suisses: rapports; 1.
- : Qaṣr-Qārūn / Dionysias, 1950. Le Caire: Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire, 1969, Fouilles franco-suisses: rapports; 2.
Individual evidence
- ↑: A description of the east and some other countries; Volume the First: Observations on Egypt. London: W. Bowyer, 1743. Plate XXIII.H opposite p. 61. — : D. Richard Pococke’s description of the Orient and some other countries; Part 1: From Egypt. gain: Walther, 1771 (2nd edition), Pp. 95-97, panel XXIII.H.
- ↑Jomard, Edme François [ed.]: Description de l’Égypte, Antiquités, vol. iv, Paris, 1817, plates 69 f.
- ↑: Fayûm Towns and their papyri. London, 1900, Graeco-Roman Memoirs; 3, P. 63, panel X.a.
