 South side of the entrance gate in the north wall of the Ramessid fortress Zāwiyat Umm er-Racham | ||
| Zāwiyat Umm er-Racham زاوية أم الرخم | ||
| Governorate | Maṭrūḥ | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | 2.643 (2006) | |
| height | 5 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
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Zāwiyat Umm er-Racham or Umm er-racham (also Zawyet / Zawiyet / Saujet Umm / Oum / Oumm el-Rakham, Arabic:زاوية أم الرخم, Zāwiyat Umm ar-Racham, „Mosque / branch 'mother of the vultures'“) Is a hamlet on the egyptianMediterranean coast, about 300 kilometers west of Alexandria and about 25 kilometers west of Marsā Maṭrūḥ. About two kilometers west-northwest of the hamlet is an archaeological site where Ramses ii, King in the 20th ancient Egyptian dynasty at the beginning of the late bronze age, a fortress and trading town built on the western border of Egypt. Archaeologists and Egyptologists should be mainly interested in this site.
background
The hamlet
Little is known about the hamlet of Zāwiyat Umm er-Racham. In 2006 about 2,600 people lived here. The hamlet was probably only founded in the 19th century. The indicationزاوية, Zāwiya, is actually not part of the name and means mosque or branch of a religious brotherhood. Here comes the most likely Sanūsīya Brotherhood in question, in the second half of the 19th and in the first half of the 20th century in the Cyrenaica and in the Western desert Egypt acted.
The hamlet lies roughly in the middle of the fertile coastal strip. The main livelihood of its inhabitants is agriculture, to a lesser extent tourism.
History of the discovery and research of the fortress
On April 16, 1946, the Sheikh found Fayiz Awad while developing a plantation for fig trees about two kilometers west of the hamlet, south of ʿAgība, three labeled limestone blocks and informed the governor in Marsā Maṭrūḥ about the find. In mid-July 1946, Alan Rowe (1890–1968), then director of the Greco-Roman Museum, inspected it Alexandria and Inspector for the Western Desert, the site to locate the blocks found. Possibly - Rowe's map does not reveal this - the blocks were found near the entrance gate in the north wall (also called Gate B).[1] These blocks are now kept in the Greco-Roman Museum under the accession numbers JE 10382-10384. On the 65 to 86 centimeter high blocks, the god Ptah and the fortress commander, "leader of the troops, overseer of the foreign lands Neb-Re", are named in single-column inscriptions. It is not known whether the blocks came from steles or door frames.
In 1949, 1952, 1954 and 1955 the Egyptian Egyptologist stayed or left here Labib Habachi (1906–1984) carry out further excavations, during which a.o. a temple, the chapels and the so-called gate B were uncovered and numerous steles were found. The Egyptian King Ramses II was shown on the stelae. The results and findings, however, were not sufficiently published.[2] Some of the steles were made by a French Egyptologist Jean Leclant (1920–2011) published,[3] however, their full publication was not made until 2007 by Snape on the basis of the excavation photos in Chicago House in Luxor submitted. The excavation results from the excavations mentioned were recorded by Gerhard Haeny and Jean Jacquet from the Swiss Institute for Egyptian Building Research and Antiquity. They also drew up (at least) one plan, which was only published by Habachi in 1980. The complete course of the fortress wall and the function of gate B have not yet been recognized.
In 1991 the archaeological site was again excavated and uncovered by the Egyptian Antiquities Organization (EAO). Research has been carried out by the University of Liverpool since 1994 under the direction of the British Egyptologist Steven Snape. These excavations are part of a project to explore the coastal strip between the Nile Delta and the Libyan border, which started with the renewed uncovering of the already known buildings. The entire area has not yet been explored.
Purpose of the fortress
This garrison was probably part of an Egyptian defense system against Libyan nomads from the Marmarica. The Libyan tribes of the Tjemeh, Tjehenu, Libu and Meshvesh were probably resident here. The fortress was built around or in the area of wells to ensure access to water and to secure it against Libyan attackers. The vessels of non-Egyptian origin from the fortress magazines and the local production of linen, ceramic and metal objects suggest that this is also a trading post on the Mediterranean coast along the shipping routes from Crete has been to Egypt. The products purchased included olives and wine. However, there must also have been contact with the local Libyan inhabitants, as indicated by the remains of ostrich eggs, fish, sheep or goats that were found here in exchange for beer, bread, linen and metal objects.
With the construction of the fortress city, Ramses ’II was probably right at the beginning of the reign of the 20th dynasty, possibly even under his predecessor Seti I. at the time of his campaign in Libya (Snape, 2007, p. 129). The fortress was probably built by the fortress commander Neb-Re. Under Ramses ’successor Merenptah the fortress was abandoned. In the Merenptah campaign report against the Libyans, which is on the so-called Merenptah stele on the east wall of the Cachette court in Karnak Temple is preserved, a western fortress is still documented.[4] In the fortress itself, however, only Ramses II is documented.
The temple of the fortress shows parallels to those of the early Amessid fortress buildings in Nubia on. But these fortresses had existed since the Middle Kingdom. Under Ramses II were the first time on the western edge of the Nile deltas, so z. B. in Kōm el-Ḥiṣn (Arabic:كوم الحصن)[5], Kōm Firīn (كوم فرين)[6] and Tell el-Abqaʿain (تل الأبقعين)[7], and on the Mediterranean coast, so in el-Gharbānīyāt (الغربانيات), About 4 kilometers southwest of El-ʿArab Castle, and in el-ʿAlamein, built.[8][9] So far, however, there have been only a few studies of these systems.
In later times, the fortress was briefly used by Libyans passing through, as their buildings indicate.
Different researchers like John Ball[10] or Donald White[11] believe that at this point or near that of the historians Pliny the Elder[12] and Strabo[13] Traditional Greco-Roman port city Apis could have found.
Content of the votive steles
The written knowledge about the temple city comes from the door frame inscriptions and votive steles. Habachi received photographs of 21 of these steles. The limestone steles had a semicircular finish at the top, as far as it was still understandable. Today they rest in various magazines in Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ez-Zaqāzīq and in unknown places. Ramses II was depicted on the steles during the defeat of the enemy and the capture of enemies, Ramses II in front of the gods Amun, Sachmet and Seth as well as the kneeling or standing donor and the associated dedicatory inscription. The donors were all senior military officials. General Panehesy and various standard bearers who were in command of a company were named. Two standard bearers are shown simultaneously on a stele, so that one can assume that at least two companies were stationed here, that is about 500 soldiers. Nothing is known about the relationship between the fortress commander Neb-Re and General Panehesy. Neb-Re is the senior.
getting there
The hamlet can be made with a microbus Marsā Maṭrūḥ in the direction ʿAgība can be achieved. A taxi is required to visit the archaeological site.
The hamlet and archaeological site can be reached via the coastal road from Marsā Maṭrūḥ to the west. The hamlet is included 1 31 ° 23 '46 "N.27 ° 2 ′ 38 ″ E on the north side of the street. About two kilometers further west, 2.5 kilometers southeast of ʿAgība Beach, branches off at 2 31 ° 24 ′ 4 ″ N.27 ° 1 '44 "E an asphalt road to the south. After another 400 meters it branches off 3 31 ° 23 '52 "N.27 ° 1 '36 "E take a road northwest to the archaeological site. After another 175 meters, leave the vehicle on the side of the road to cover the rest of the way on foot. The archaeological site is located north of the magazine building and extends to the fig plantation in the east.
mobility
The archaeological site can only be explored on foot.
Tourist Attractions
Fortified city of Zāwiyat Umm er-Racham
Zāwiyat Umm er-Racham is officially listed as a sight open to the public. But there is still no local infrastructure. It makes sense to find out about the possibility of visiting at the tourist information office in Marsā Maṭrūḥ before visiting.
The fortress axis runs from northeast to southwest. For the sake of simplicity, the side of the fortress wall facing the sea should be called the North Sea coast.
The 1 Fortress city(31 ° 24 ′ 1 ″ N.27 ° 1 '34 "E) was four to five feet thick, approximately eight to ten feet high roughly square Fortress wall Enclosed from air-dried clay bricks. With an edge length of 140 meters, the enclosed area is 20,000 square meters. Bricks 42 centimeters long were used, so that around 1.5 million bricks were built into the wall. The only access is in the north wall. In a later phase an extension was built in front of the temple to the north with an entrance in the east, and probably also one in the west.
Two clad in blocks of local limestone Towers flank the 2 Access(31 ° 24 ′ 3 ″ N.27 ° 1 '35 "E). The posts of this gate in the north wall - Habachi called it gate B - protrude slightly into the passage and thus offer the possibility of inserting wooden gates in the corners. Two-column inscriptions on the posts and one-column inscriptions on the reveals are fragmentary. The inscriptions on the reveals and the south side only show the throne name Ramses ’II. The inscriptions on the north side of the gate indicate the fortress as "mnnw- Fortress [a heavily fortified city] in the hill country of the Tjemeh and the well in it "and as a fortress of the User-maat-Re-setep-en-Re - this is the throne name of Ramses’ II.
At the north end of the western wall there were nine 3 Magazines(31 ° 24 ′ 3 ″ N.27 ° 1 ′ 33 ″ E), which were only discovered in 1995/1996, built from mud bricks. They are each 16 meters long and four meters wide. The door frame to each magazine was once made of limestone blocks, which are now stored in a magazine. The posts and lintels were inscribed. The one-column post inscription gives the title of Ramses ’II. The fall of the fifth magazine shows the fortress commander Neb-Re adoring the cartouches of Ramses’ II. Most of the magazines contained ceramic vessels of foreign origin, e.g. B. amphorae Kana in Galilee and from the Mediterranean and are typical of the late bronze age (approx. 1300–800 BC), into which the 20th Egyptian dynasty falls. To the east in front of the magazines there are several circular structures that were probably built and used as temporary accommodation or stables for later Libyan settlers after the fortress was abandoned. But these are by no means graves.
Immediately south of the magazines is a nowadays inscription-free, built from blocks of local limestone 4 temple(31 ° 24 ′ 3 ″ N.27 ° 1 ′ 33 ″ E) with access in the east. Based on the various inscriptions and steles found here, it is assumed that the temple could have been dedicated to the Memphite trinity, the god Ptah, the goddess Sekhmet and the child god Nefertum. The temple ruins are about a meter away. The entire complex with the forecourt is 20 × 12 meters. The pillar courtyard is only paved in the rear and has three pillars each on its north and south sides, and two additional columns on the east and west ends. A paved 1.8 meter wide driveway leads across the courtyard, a dromos that leads into a 1.5 meter wide staircase ramp. Up until a few years ago, there was a limestone plinth on the way up. At the beginning of the path you can still see the remains of the former drainage drainage - there were further drains on the north and south side of the courtyard - which should lead the winter rainwater to a cistern that has not yet been found. On the south side of the courtyard, doors lead to the neighboring chapel forecourt. These door frames and thresholds were also made of limestone and carried the cartouches of Ramses ’II. Snape suggested that there may have been a pylon in front of the temple, for which there is as yet no archaeological evidence.
The temple house consists of two transverse halls and three sanctuaries (holiest of holies), which are located on a 10.1 meter long and 8.5 meter wide raised platform. The front transverse hall is 7.1 meters wide and 2.3 meters deep, the rear 7.3 meters wide and 2.65 meters deep. The following sanctuaries are 2.7–2.9 meters deep, the outer ones about 1.8 and the middle one about 2.7 meters wide. On the back wall of the central sanctuary there is a 1.5 meter wide and 30 centimeter thick “stele”.
The temple house has a U-shaped walkway that was accessible from the temple courtyard both in the north and in the south. The access was bordered on all sides by a wall and on the back by the fortress wall. During the excavation under Habachi in the 1950s, the lettered post bases and thresholds of the doors to this passage were still preserved. They also contained the name Ramses ’II. Habachi found part of the steles already described in the handling, especially in its southwest corner.
Immediately south of the temple are located three chapelsthat belong to an architectural unit and were already known in the 1950s. They possibly served as places of worship for the deified Ramses II. The chapels could be reached via the irregular courtyard in the east. The courtyard is roughly paved, about 8.5 meters wide and about 9 meters deep. There are two column bases in front of the middle chapel. The chapels are about 7 meters long, the outer 3 meters and the middle 2.5 meters wide. The walls are about a meter thick and consist of limestone fragments held together with clay plaster. The northernmost chapel has a niche in the back wall. The finds included ceramic vessels and shards.
At the east end of the chapel forecourt there is a second temple. Its entrance is to the west, and it also consists of two transverse rooms and three sanctuaries.
South of the chapels was the Governor's residence built. The building complex, which had not yet been completely uncovered, had numerous rooms, including a private chapel, bedroom, bathroom and warehouse.
In the southern half, roughly in the area of the temple axis, there is what was once a two-storey building 5 South building(31 ° 24 ′ 0 ″ N.27 ° 1 ′ 33 ″ E), of which only the lower floor has been preserved. This building has no parallels in ancient Egyptian architecture. The entrance in the north leads to a wide forecourt with two columns, which are adjoined by three parallel long rooms. In each of these long rooms there is a two meter high stone with a rounded end, which however did not fulfill the function of a pillar. Inside this building there were two lintels showing the fortress commander Neb-Re in front of his wife Meryptah.[14]
In the southeast corner of the fortress city, the so-called 6 Area K(31 ° 23 '59 "N.27 ° 1 '34 "E) exposed with granaries, mortars, mills and ovens. Three wells that are only three meters deep have also been found in this area. Food such as beer and bread was produced in this area. The grain for this came from the surrounding area on the fertile Mediterranean coastline. Tools for processing flax and spinning were also found in Area K. Ceramic and metal objects were made elsewhere in the fortress. The products made here probably also served as an exchange with the local Libyans.
Wādī Umm er-Racham
About 700 meters west of the fortress city, east of ʿIzbat Ṣālih (Arabic:عزبة صالح), Is the one used for agriculture 7 Wādī Umm er-Racham(31 ° 23 '59 "N.27 ° 1 ′ 7 ″ E), Arabic:وادي أم الرخم. This valley can only be reached on foot.
kitchen
There are restaurants in Marsā Maṭrūḥ. Shortly before reaching ʿAgība Beach there is in 1 Porto Bambino(31 ° 24 '34 "N.27 ° 0 ′ 48 ″ E), Arabic:بورتو بامبينو, Another restaurant.
accommodation
Accommodation is mostly chosen in Marsā Maṭrūḥ. There are also hotels on the way to Marsā Maṭrūḥ on el Ubaiyiḍ Beach.
trips
- The visit to the archaeological site can be combined with a visit to the city Marsā Maṭrūḥ connect.
- To the west of Marsā Maṭrūḥ there are several sandy beaches, some of which are part of holiday resorts. The most popular public beach is the ʿAgība Beach about 2.5 kilometers from Zāwiyat Umm er-Racham.
literature
- : The Military Posts of Ramesses II on the Coastal Road and the Western Part of the Delta. In:Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale (BIFAO), vol.80 (1980), Pp. 13-30, especially pp. 13-19, panels V-VII. The forts at el-ʿAlamein and el-Gharbānīyāt are described on pages 19-23 and 23-26, respectively.
- : The excavations of the Liverpool University Mission to Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 1994-2001. In:Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Egypte (ASAE), ISSN1687-1510, Vol.78 (2004), Pp. 149-160.
- : Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham; 1: The temple and chapels. Bolton: Rutherford Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9547622-4-7 . Additional chapters contain the comparison with temples of Nubian fortresses and the description of the stelae found by Habachi.
- : In front of the barracks: External Supply and Self-Sufficiency at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. In:Bietak, Manfred; Czerny, E.; Forstner-Müller, I. (Ed.): Cities and urbanism in Ancient Egypt: papers from a workshop in November 2006 at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Vienna: Verl. Of the Österr. Akad. Der Wiss., 2010, ISBN 978-3-7001-6591-0 , Pp. 271-288.
- : Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham; 2: The Monuments of Neb-Re. Bolton: Rutherford Press, 2017.
Web links
- Edwards, Geoff: Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, 2003, accessed July 26, 2014.
Individual evidence
- ↑: A history of ancient Cyrenaica: new light on Aegypto-Cyrenaean relations; two Ptolemaic statues found in Tolmeita. Le Caire: Impr. De l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 1948, Supplément aux Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte (CASAE); 12th, P. 4 f., 10, 77, fig. 5.
- ↑: Découverte d’un Temple-Fortresse de Ramsès II. In:Les grandes découvertes archéologiques de 1954. Le Caire, 1955, Revue du Caire: bulletin de litterature et de critique; 33.1955, no. 175, Numéro spécial, Pp. 62-65.
- ↑: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1952-53. In:Orientalia: commentarii periodici de rebus Orientis antiqui; Nova Series (Or), ISSN0030-5367, Vol.23 (1954), P. 75, fig. 16; ... 1953–54, Orientalia, Vol. 24 (1955), p. 310, Fig. 27; ... 1954–55, Orientalia, Vol. 25 (1956), p. 263.
- ↑: The Great Karnak inscription of Merneptah: grand strategy in the 13th century BC. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Egyptological Seminar, Dept. of Near Estern Languages and Civilizations, The Graduate School, Yale Univ., 2003, Yale Egyptological studies / Yale Egyptological Seminar; 5, Pp. 47-50.
- ↑See e.g. B. : The Naukratis Survey. In:Brink, Edwin C. M. van den (Ed.): The archeology of the Nile Delta, Egypt: problems and priorities; proceedings. Amsterdam: Netherlands Foundation for Archaeological Research in Egypt, 1988, ISBN 978-90-70556-30-3 , Pp. 259-263.
- ↑: Kom Firin I: the Ramesside temple and the site survey. London: British Museum, 2008, ISBN 978-0-86159-170-1 .
- ↑: Tell Abqa’in: a Fortified Settlement in the Western Delta: Preliminary Report of the 1997 Season. In:Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK), ISSN0342-1279, Vol.56 (2000), Pp. 371–376, plate 43.
- ↑: Some recent discoveries at El-Alamein. In:Bulletin de la Société royale d'archéologie, Alexandrie (BSAA), ISSN0255-8009, Vol.35 = NS vol. 11.2 (1942), Pp. 78-81, 163-165, four panels.
- ↑: A Contribution to the Archeology of the Western Desert. In:Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, ISSN0021-7239, Vol.36 (1953), Pp. 128-145; 37: 484-500 (1954).
- ↑: Egypt in the classical geographers. Cairo, Bulâq: Government press, 1942, P. 78.
- ↑: Apis. In:Bard, Kathryn A. (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. London, New York: Routledge, 1999, ISBN 978-0-415-18589-9 , Pp. 141-143.
- ↑Pliny the Elder, Natural history, 5th book, 6th chapter.
- ↑Strabo, geography, 17th book, 1st chapter, § 14.
- ↑: New Perspectives on Distant Horizons: Aspects of Egyptian Imperial Administration in Marmarica in the Late Bronze Age. In:Libyan Studies, ISSN0263-7189, Vol.34 (2003), Pp. 1–8, especially p. 5.
