Tūna el-Gebel - Tūna el-Gebel

Tuna el-Gebel, Arabic:تونة الجبل‎, Tūnat al-Ǧabal, is a village with about 16,000 inhabitants^[1] in the central egyptianEl-Minyā Governorate about 45 kilometers south of el-Minyā, 15 km northwest of Mallawī and 10 kilometers west of el-Ashmunein on the west bank of the Nils. 5 kilometers southwest of the village is the archaeological site of the same name, a cemetery from Greco-Roman times.

background

The Tuna el-Gebel village is at the western end of the fruiting land. The village's cemetery is already in the desert. In 2006 there were 16,126 inhabitants in the village.

The former is located 5 kilometers southwest of the village of Tūna el-Gebel in the desert necropolis the high priests of the god Thoth, the temple servants and the military personnel of the Gau capital Chemenu (Hermopolis magna) near today's village el-Ashmuneinused from the 18th dynasty to the Greco-Roman times.

One of the necropolis was destroyed today Thoth templethat with underground Animal galleries for baboons and ibises, the sacred animals of Thoth, and has been used since the 19th dynasty. This place of worship soon developed into a place of pilgrimage. In the Greco-Roman times in particular, important personalities settled here in Limestone and adobe chapels bury. The most famous grave lords include the Thoth priest Petosiris, Ptolemaios and Isadoro / Isidora.

In the Amarna time the north-west border of the urban area of ​​Achetaton was located here, today's Tell el-āAmārna.

getting there

In the street

Of el-Minyā from the south (42 kilometers) or Mallawī from the north you drive to er-Rōda (Arabic:الروضة‎, ar-Rūḍa), then about 6 kilometers west to the village el-Ashmunein, from here another 10 kilometers to Tūna el-Gebel. It is possible that you will have to join a convoy.

mobility

There is one just to the north in front of the archaeological site 27.74155230.7044111 parking spot. The terrain has to be explored on foot. It is another 500 meters in a southerly direction to the tomb of Petosiris. One happens 27.74037530.7046411 mosque on the east side and various administrative buildings.

Tourist Attractions

The 27.73611130.7052 necropolis is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The admission price is LE 60, for students LE 30 (as of 11/2019) for a joint visit el-Ashmunein. The border post about 500 m before the entrance to Tūna el-Gebel is accessible free of charge.

Tomb of Petosiris

The main attraction is that of the des 27.73653830.7042773 Tomb of the Thoth priest Petosiris, which dates back to about 300 BC. Lived because of its decoration. The grave consists of a vestibule and a sacrificial hall. The vestibule with its partition walls is decorated with scenes of daily life in a mixed Egyptian-Greek style: craftsmen (metalworkers, carpenters, ointment makers) and farmers plowing, harvesting grain and flax and making wine. On the back wall you can see offering bearers with bouquets and the sons of Petosiris.

The adjoining pillar hall contains exclusively religious scenes in the ancient Egyptian style. The grave lord is depicted on the pillars worshiping various gods. The left wall shows the funeral procession, the central field of the back wall shows his father and brother as they worship Osiris, Isis and Nephthys, and the right wall shows the grave lord in front of various gods and offerers. From this chamber one got to the underground burial chamber. The coffin of Petosiris is in the today Egyptian Museum of Cairo.

More tombs

In the south of the tomb of Petosiris there are other graves, such as that of the 27.73634430.7042184 Ptolemy and further east that of the 27.7363330.7046045 Isadoro / Isidora. The latter lived in the 2nd century AD and was very revered in the following years. She drowned in the Nile, her mummy is still in her grave today.

On the way back you should go west to the 35 meter deep 27.73562230.7028286 Well shaft (es-Sāqīya) from Ptolemaic times. There is a north of the well house 27.7360930.7029787 pillar-lined access path.

The final highlight is the visit to the 27.73930730.7025338 Animal catacombs (Gallery C; Arabic:السرادب‎, as-Sarādib) in the northwest of the necropolis. A separate path branches off from the main path to the tomb of Petosiris to the west and leads to the entrance building of the catacombs. The cult image room of the is located at the end of the entrance stairs Ptolemy I. and a painted baboon chamber. The galleries themselves consist of numerous niches in which ibis mummies were buried in clay jugs and baboon mummies; both are the sacred animals of the god Thoth. Filled niches were later closed.

Amarna steles

Before or after visiting the necropolis, you should take the 27.7469530.7016869 Amarna border post A(27 ° 44 '49 "N.30 ° 42 ′ 6 ″ E)Pay a visit about 500 meters north of the entrance to the necropolis on the western side of the road. It is one of the 14 so-called border steles that mark the city limits of Tell el-āAmārna to mark. They contain a decree establishing the city. The stele A is framed on both sides by a group of statues of the royal couple. Column A is the most easily accessible border column. A staircase facilitates access.

accommodation

Accommodation options exist in el-Minyā.

Practical advice

Tourist information

The tourist information in Tūna el-Gebel can be reached on Tel .: (086) 263 7725/6.

trips

The visit to Tūna el-Gebel can be combined with a visit to el-Ashmunein and Deir Abū Fānā connect.

literature

• Kessler, Dieter: Tuna el Gebel. In:Helck, Wolfgang; Westendorf, Wolfhart (Ed.): Lexicon of Egyptology; Vol. 6: Stele - cypress. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1985, ISBN 978-3-447-02663-5 , Col. 797-804.

• Tyldesley, Joyce A.: Tuna el-Gebel. In:Bard, Kathryn A. (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. London, New York: Routledge, 1999, ISBN 978-0-415-18589-9 , Pp. 847-849.

• Lefebvre, Gustave: Le tombeau de Petosiris. Le Caire: Imprimerie de l’Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 1923. 3 volumes: Vol. 1: Description, Vol. 2: Les textes, Vol. 3: Vocabulaire et planches.

• Tuna el-Gebel. Hildesheim: Gerstenberg, 1987–. Four volumes have been published so far: 1: Die Tiergalerien, 1987, ISBN 978-3-8067-8102-1 ; 2: The baboon cult chamber G-C-C-2, 1998, ISBN 978-3-8067-8137-3 ; 3: The superstructures of the Ibiotapheion in Tuna el-Gebel, 2011, ISBN 978-3-9812000-1-0 ; 4: Little gods - big gods: Festschrift for Dieter Kessler on his 65th birthday, 2013, ISBN 978-3-944207-02-5 .

• Kessler, Dieter; Brose, Patrick (Ed.): Egypt's last pyramid: the tomb of Seuta (s) in Tuna el-Gebel. hair: Brose, 2008 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-3-9812000-0-3 .

Web links

• Tuna el-Gebel project, Excavation of the Institute for Egyptology at LMU Munich and the Faculty of Archeology at Cairo University.

Individual evidence