 Double gate el-Babein north of es-Siririya | ||
| Es-Sirīrīya · السريرية | ||
| Governorate | Minyā | |
|---|---|---|
| height | 43 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
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Es-Siririya or es-Saririya, Arabic:السريرية, as-Sirīrīya, tooالسراريةAndالسررية, Is a village in Middle Egypt in the north of the governorate el-Minyā about 24 kilometers north of the city el-Minyā and north of Gebel eṭ-Ṭeīr east of the Nile. The village lives mainly from the local limestone quarries, which are located northeast of the village. Of particular interest is the archaeological site in the plain of el-Bābein between the villages of es-Sirīrīya and Benī Chālid.
background
limestone has been broken here since the ancient Egyptian Empire. The limestone present here is a white, very fine-grained nummulite limestone, i. That is, it was formed from the calcium deposits of unicellular, shell-bearing amoeba living in the sea in the Tertiary. Calcite crystals are embedded in the cavities. These rocks extend to the south to about into the area of esch-Sheikh ʿIbāda. Limestone is still mined today, mainly for the steel industry in Helwan.
In the plain of el-Bābein, Arabic:البابين, al-Bābain, „the two gates“, Between es-Sirīrīya in the north and Benī Chālid in the south there are several archaeological monuments like tombs and the rock temple of Merenptah, a king (pharaoh) of the 19th ancient Egyptian dynasty. It is one of the frequent combinations of (ancient) quarries and sanctuaries or graves, as one can find them in Ṭihnā el-Gebel, Zāwiyat el-Maiyitīn and Deir el-Barschā finds. The name of the plain comes from a free-standing quarry in the form of two gates.
The goddess worshiped here in the rock temple of Merenptah, Hathor, mistress of ʿAchwj (ancient Egyptian: Ḥatḥor nebet ʿachwj / ʿḫwj), is probably only documented here and was the patron saint of quarry workers. ʿAchwj / ʿḫwj, the "two altars",[1] is the name of a place, not necessarily a settlement. The associated settlement would probably be in es-Sirīrīya itself or in Benī Chālid, as there are no remains of settlements in the area of the temple.[2] The income of the priesthood of Hathor, mistress of ʿAchwj, was drawn from a single plot of land on the west side of the Nile.[3]
In Ptolemaic times, Hathor experienced a transformation. The goddess Sekhmet is worshiped in place of the Hathor.
getting there
One usually travels by car or taxi on the Nile bank side in the direction Gebel eṭ-Ṭeīr further north. You leave Gebel eṭ-Ṭeīr in the north and cross the next village Benī Chālid,بني خالد, On the northern edge of which there is a cement factory. There is a to the northeast of the factory 1 Helipad(28 ° 18 ′ 16 ″ N.30 ° 44 ′ 51 ″ E). The road on its south side leads further east to the archaeological site. You cannot drive directly to the ancient Egyptian monuments, but have to cover the last few meters on foot.
mobility
The monuments can be explored relatively easily on foot, they are located in a very small space.
Tourist Attractions
The 1 archeological site of es-Sirīrīya(28 ° 18 ′ 13 ″ N.30 ° 45 ′ 3 ″ E) is about 5 kilometers north of the village and is known by the locals as el-Bābein. This name comes from two mighty rock gates above the Hathor Chapel. Since no remains of a settlement have been found in the vicinity, the monuments found here are exclusively related to the quarry.
The Rock chapel (Speos) of Merenptah and Hathor, mistress of ʿAchwj, is the main attraction. The chapel, which was decorated in the 19th ancient Egyptian dynasty, is a secondary use of a gallery quarry or a grave from the Old Kingdom. Originally part of a rock face, the chapel is now free. It once consisted of two halls, but of the front transverse hall there are only a few remains of the wall in the east today. The chapel is closed with an iron grille door, through which one can see a large part of the decoration. The facade itself is undecorated. Some scraps of text are on the east post. On the invisible entrance walls there are depictions of the gods Onuris-Shu, deity of battle and heaven, in the west and Osiris in the east. The left (western) wall of the rectangular longitudinal hall shows the sacrificing King Merenptah before the gods Herischef, a battle and fertility god, the goddess Hathor, mistress of ʿAchwj, and the Amun-Re, king of the gods (Amunrasonter). On the east wall you can see the sacrificing Merenptah in front of the gods Anubis, Hathor and Ptah, who presented the king with victory over Lebanon. The back wall shows three statues: in the middle that of Merenptah, on the right (east) that of Hathor, mistress of ʿAchwj, and on the left probably that of Merenptah's wife. Several winged vultures are depicted one behind the other on the vaulted ceiling. The upper end of the scenes on the side walls is achieved by a so-called. Cheker frieze formed, which is interrupted by cartridges of the Merenptah. Above the Speos there is access to a grave shaft.
A little below on the west side of the Speos there is a 3.6 m wide and 3.9 m high Stele Ramses ’III. The king looking to the left is followed by Hathor and receives the so-called Ḥeb-sed of the god Sobek-Re from standing before him [Jw-n] šꜢ as a token of his coronation anniversary. Ramses III holds the Ankh sign (sign of life) in his right hand and the sign of the coronation anniversary in his left hand. In front of his head are two cartouches with his throne name User-Ma'at-Re merj-Amun (Wsr-MꜢʿat-Rʿ mrj-Jmn, "Rich in Ma'at, a Re, lover of Amun") and his proper name Ramessu heqa-Junu (Rʿ-msj-sw ḥqꜢ-Jwnw, “Ramses (it is Re who created him), ruler of Heliopolis). The god in front of him has an incomplete inscription, certainly Sobek, which identifies him as Lord of Scha. In the first version it was crocodile-headed before it was reworked to be human-headed. On his head he wears a crown with a sun disk and feathers, in his right hand a curved dagger and in his left a palm panicle with the annual entries. Hathor, mistress of ʿAchwj, mistress of heaven and ruler of the two countries, wears the sun disk between her horns on her head and the ankh symbol in her left hand. The names Scha and ʿAchwi are probably local place names. It is interesting to note that nearby (Ṭihnā el-Gebel) there is a comparable relief. Next to the relief are two cartouches of the same king.
That gives the name 2 Double gate el-Babein(28 ° 18 ′ 16 ″ N.30 ° 45 ′ 3 ″ E) is located north above the chapel, it can be easily reached via a ramp east of the chapel.
In the northeast of the Hathor Chapel are the remains of the ancient Limestone quarry. There are also two graves from the Old Kingdom in the rock galleries.
activities
shop
kitchen
accommodation
Accommodation options exist in the nearby el-Minyā.
trips
A visit to es-Siririya can be combined with a visit to the monastery Deir el-ʿAdhrāʾ and the archaeological sites Ṭihnā el-Gebel and the Fraser graves connect.
literature
The monuments and the quarry are described in the scientific literature:
- : Stones and quarries in ancient Egypt. Berlin [and others]: Jumper, 1993, ISBN 978-3-540-54685-6 , Pp. 82-85, 87 f.
- : Une chapelle rupestre de Merenptah dédiée à la déese Hathor, maîtresse d'Akhouy. In:Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK), ISSN0342-1279, Vol.39 (1983), Pp. 207-223, panels 48-59 (in French).
- : Three Large Rock-Stelae Carved by Ramesses III near Quarries. In:The Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (JARCE), ISSN0065-9991, Vol.11 (1974), Pp. 69–75, especially pp. 70 f., Panels 6 and 9, doi:10.2307/40000775 (in English).
Individual evidence
- ↑Sometimes too the two hells.
- ↑: Historical topography of the region between Mallawi and Samaluṭ. Wiesbaden: Reichert, 1981, ISBN 978-3-88226-078-6 , Pp. 68, 329.
- ↑Wilbour Papyrus, Part A, A 98, 25. See also: : The Wilbour Papyrus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1941.
