 ʿAin Amūr, looking northeast | ||
| ʿAin Amūr · عين أمور | ||
| Governorate | New valley | |
|---|---|---|
| height | 466 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
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(Gebel) 'Ain Amur (also Enamour, Ayn Amour, Ain amoor, Arabic:عين أمور, ʿAin Amūr, „the Amūr source“) Denotes a Roman temple complex with a water source in the Western desert in Egyptthat are between ed-Dāchla and el-Chārga on the desert slope Darb ʿAin Amūr between ed-Dāchla and Asyūṭ is located.
background
ʿAin Amūr is or was the location of one source on the desert slope Darb ʿAin Amūr. ʿAin Amūr is about 70 kilometers from Tineida and 60 kilometers from el-Chārga away. In Roman or late Ptolemaic times, the spring was surrounded by a large wall, the spring was in the middle. In the northwest was a Temple probably for Amun-Re and courage built. Possibly the main task of the temple was to make the source visible from afar and to give it protection. Since there are no inscriptions, a more precise dating is hardly possible.
The source and temple are on a plateau that rises slightly to the north. On the surface there is a limestone formation that sits on top of a sandstone formation. The water of the spring probably comes from surface or rainwater and is probably not of artesian origin. The area is littered with herbaceous bushes, and there are even three palm trees to the west behind the temple.
Outside the temple area there are no traces of settlement (any more).
At this point, too, the Briton belongs Archibald Edmonstone (1795–1871)[1] to the first Europeanswho visited and described ʿAin Amūr. So that he is not forgotten, he has also left a visitor inscription with the year 1819. Edmonstone gave the size of the temple, mentioned the representations on the outside and stayed in the temple. In the following year the Frenchman looked Frédéric Cailliaud (1787–1869) on the site and documented the layout of the temple.[2] They were followed by the British in 1825 and 1874 respectively John Gardner Wilkinson (1797–1875)[3] and the German Africa explorer Gerhard Rohlfs (1831–1896).[4] Wilkinson reported on the cartouche of a Roman emperor and gave Khnum (more likely the ram-headed Amun), Amun-Re and Mut as revered deities.
On May 2, 1908, the American Egyptologist visited Herbert Eustis Winlock (1884–1950) the temple and gave a rather extensive description. He mentioned Coptic inscriptions at the main entrance and at the entrance to the temple, including the name of a Mercury, as well as a depiction of a king before Amun and Min, which was no longer available at that time. He also dealt with one found in 1912 by British William Joseph Harding King (1869-1933)[5] Safaite or Thamudic inscription of a pre-Islamic tribal member named Sayyār, who was alone on foot through the desert in search of water and found the water and his salvation here. The temple was later rebuilt by the Egyptian Egyptologist Ahmed Fakhry (1905-1973) treated.
A cemetery was discovered south of the temple in 2004.[6]
getting there
The arrival from ed-Dāchla or el-Chārga can only be done with an all-terrain vehicle (4 × 4). You need an experienced driver who knows the terrain.
One leaves el-Chārga towards ed-Dāchla or Tineida towards el-Chārga. The total distance from el-Chārga is about 80 kilometers, the journey takes about two hours. For example at 1 25 ° 21 '56 "N.30 ° 21 ′ 41 ″ E, approx. 25 kilometers west of el-Chārga and approx. 500 meters east of the intersection with a mining railway line, one branches off to the north-northwest into the desert and can partly follow a visible runway. After 35 kilometers you can see rising rocks in the west and turn north-west into a wadi. After a total of 55 kilometers in the desert, i.e. after a further 20 kilometers, one arrives at 2 25 ° 39 ′ 39 ″ N.29 ° 59 ′ 37 ″ E to a place where the vehicle has to give up when climbing the hill. Now follows a not very easy, about one and a half kilometer long ascending walk in almost south direction, for which you need about 20 minutes.
ʿAin Amūr is also used by the approximately 10-day camel safaris from ed-Dāchla to el-Chārga happens.
mobility
The subsoil is rocky or sandy. The 1.5 km area around the source can only be explored on foot.
Tourist Attractions
The area of the 1 Amun temple(25 ° 39 '8 "N.29 ° 59 ′ 27 ″ E) is surrounded by a mud brick wall about 2.75 meters thick and about 10 meters high in the east and south. The course of the wall forms an irregular square, the side lengths of which are about 80-90 meters. In the northern part of the east side is the approximately 2.7 meter wide stone main entrance gate. On the south side, near the southeast corner, there is a 1.25 meter wide stone side entrance.
The main entrance leads directly to the temple, which is oriented from south-east to north-west and is located in the north-west corner of the area. The temple and the gates in the surrounding wall were built from sandstone blocks. Limestone was used for the ceiling tiles and the lintels. The material was mined nearby. Overall, the temple is almost 20 meters long and 9.2 meters wide, its walls are half a meter wide. The only building decorations are round bars at the corners. The temple consists of a narrow vestibule, a roughly square hall that leads to a transverse hall - probably the sacrificial hall - and the adjoining sanctuary with two side rooms.
In the passage between the narrower vestibule and the square hall you can see remains of Greek inscriptions and remains of colored painting, but also the visitor inscriptions by Edmonstone, Hyde and Drovetti from 1819.
Today the only surviving depiction is on the back wall of the temple. The remains of a winged deity, the ram-headed Amun, a third deity and the most sparse text remains can be made out.
In the 19th century a 3.5 meter deep well with a diameter of two meters could still be made out in the middle of the temple area.
kitchen
You have to bring your own food. The local palm trees make it possible to take the meal in their shade. The remains should of course be taken back.
accommodation
Accommodation is usually chosen in el-Chārga.
trips
The visit of ʿAin Amūr can be combined with the visit of ʿAin Umm ed-Dabādīb connect.
literature
- : Ed Dākhleh Oasis: Journal of a camel trip made in 1908. new York: Metropolitan Museum, 1936, Pp. 48-50, panels XXXIV-XXXVI.
- : A Roman temple between Kharga and Dakhla. In:Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte (ASAE), Vol.40 (1940), Pp. 761-768, panels XCIV-XCVIII.
Individual evidence
- ↑Edmonstone, Archibald: A journey to two of oases of upper Egypt, London: Murray, 1822, p. 60 f.
- ↑Cailliaud, Frédéric: Voyage a Méroé, au fleuve blanc, au-delà de Fâzoql dans le midi du Royaume de Sennâr, a Syouah et dans cinq autres oasis ..., Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1826, volume 1, p. 227 f., Volume 2, panel XLII.1.
- ↑: Modern Egypt and Thebes: being a description of Egypt; including the information required for travelers in that country; Vol.2. London: Murray, 1843, P. 366.
- ↑: Three months in the Libyan desert. Cassel: Fisherman, 1875, P. 306 f. Reprint Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, 1996, ISBN 978-3-927688-10-0 .
- ↑: Mysteries of the Libyan Desert. London: Seeley, 1925, ISBN 978-1850779575 , P. 333, No. 244.
- ↑: North Kharga Oasis Survey 2004 Preliminary Report: Ain el-Tarakwa, Ain el-Dabashiya and Darb Ain Amur. In:Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK), vol.63 (2007), Pp. 167-184, plates 23 f, especially 180.
