Temple of Gerf Hussein: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 23°17′00″N 32°54′00″E / 23.2833°N 32.9000°E / 23.2833; 32.9000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
move the commonscat down
No edit summary
(33 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Archaeological site in Egypt}}{{Infobox ancient site|name=Gerf Hussein|native_name=Per Ptah|native_name_lang=[[Egyptian language]]|type=Temple|epochs=[[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt]]|map_type=Egypt|condition=Partially reconstructed, some submerged|builder=[[Setau]]|caption=The freestanding courtyard of Gerf Hussein temple, reconstructed at [[New Kalabsha]]|location=[[New Kalabsha]]}}
[[Image:The temple of Gerf Hussein by George Snyder.jpg|thumb|The freestanding courtyard of Gerf Hussein temple]]
[[Image:David Roberts Rock Temple Gerf Hussein.jpg|thumb|The inside rock-cut temple of Gerf Hussein by [[David Roberts (painter)|David Roberts]].]]
The temple of '''Gerf Hussein''' was originally a partly free-standing, and partly rock-cut (ie. hemispeos) temple of pharaoh [[Ramesses II]], which was built by the Viceroy of Nubia, [[Setau]], at a site some 90 km south of Aswan.<ref>Dieter Arnold, Nigel Strudwick & Sabine Gardiner, The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, I.B. Tauris Publishers, 2003. p.98</ref> It was dedicated to "[[Ptah]], Ptah-Tatenen and [[Hathor]], and associated with Ramesses, 'the Great God.'"<ref>Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Blackwell Books, 1992. p.260</ref> Gerf Hussein was known as Per Ptah or the "House of Ptah."<ref>Grimal, p.260</ref> An avenue of ram headed sphinxes led from the Nile to the first pylon, which like the courtyard beyond is also free standing.<ref>Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, op. cit., p.99</ref> The courtyard is surrounded by six columns and eight statue pillars.<ref>Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, p.99</ref> The entrance to a peristyle court "is decorated with colossal Osiris statues."<ref>Grimal, p.260</ref> The rear portion of the building which is 43 m in depth was carved out of rock and follows the structure of Abu Simbel with a pillared hall featuring two rows of three statue pillars and, curiously, four statue recesses, each with divine triads along the sides.<ref>Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, p.99</ref>


The temple of '''Gerf Hussein''' (in Ancient Egypt: '''Per Ptah''', or 'House of Ptah') was dedicated to pharaoh [[Ramesses II]] and built by the [[Setau]], Viceroy of [[Nubia]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Francis Frith (1822-98) - Another view of the temple of Gerf-Hossayn|url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/2701172/another-view-of-the-temple-of-gerf-hossayn|access-date=2022-02-04|website=www.rct.uk|language=en}}</ref> Situated on a bank of the Nile some 90&nbsp;km south of [[Aswan]], it was partly free-standing and partly [[rock-cut architecture|cut from the rock]].<ref>Dieter Arnold, Nigel Strudwick & Sabine Gardiner, The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, I.B. Tauris Publishers, 2003. p.98</ref> It was dedicated to "[[Ptah]], Ptah-[[Tatenen]] and [[Hathor]], and associated with Ramesses, 'the Great God.'"<ref>Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Blackwell Books, 1992. p.260</ref><ref>Grimal, p.260</ref>
Beyond the hall lay the hall of the offering table and the barque chamber with four cult statues of Ptah, Ramesses, Ptah-Tatenen and Hathor carved out of the rock. During the building of the Aswan dam project in the 1960s, sections of the free-standing portion of this temple were dismantled and they have now been reconstructed at the site of [[New Kalabsha]]. Most of the rock cut temple was left in place and is now submerged beneath the waters of the Nile due to their poor condition.{{Fact|date=January 2009}}

During the building of the Aswan dam project in the 1960s, as part of the [[International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia]], sections of the free-standing portion of this temple were dismantled and they have now been reconstructed at the site of [[New Kalabsha]]. Most of the rock cut temple was left in place and is now submerged beneath the waters of the Nile.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Francis Frith (1822-98) - Another view of the temple of Gerf-Hossayn|url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/2701172/another-view-of-the-temple-of-gerf-hossayn|access-date=2022-02-04|website=www.rct.uk|language=en}}</ref>

An avenue of ram-headed sphinxes led from the Nile to the first [[pylon (architecture)|pylon]], which like the courtyard beyond is also free standing.<ref>Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, op. cit., p.99</ref> The courtyard is surrounded by six columns and eight statue pillars.<ref>Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, p.99</ref> The entrance to a peristyle court "is decorated with colossal Osiris statues."<ref>Grimal, p.260</ref> The rear portion of the building which is 43 m in depth was carved out of rock and follows the structure of Abu Simbel with a pillared hall featuring two rows of three statue pillars and, curiously, four statue recesses, each with divine triads along the sides.<ref>Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, p.99</ref> Beyond the hall lay the hall of the offering table and the barque chamber with four cult statues of Ptah, Ramesses, Ptah-Tatenen and Hathor carved out of the rock.

==Images==
<gallery caption="" heights="250px" widths="180px">
File:Gerf Hussein, the Temple of Ptah seen from the Nile.jpg|The Temple of Ptah seen from the Nile, 2 January 1960, [https://en.unesco.org/mediabank/5613/ UNESCO]
File:David Roberts Rock Temple Gerf Hussein.jpg|Painting inside the temple by [[David Roberts (painter)|David Roberts]] (1838)
File:Neu-Kalabscha_Gerf_Hussein_05.JPG|Somewhat "squat" statue of Ramesses II in the courtyard
File:Ramesses II from Gerf Hussein.jpg |At the [[Nubian Museum]] in Aswan
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of ancient Egyptian sites]], including sites of temples


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


{{coord|23.2833|N|32.9000|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}
==External links==
*[http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/gerfhussein.htm The temple of Gerf Hussein in Nubia]
{{commonscat}}


[[Category:Archaeological sites in Egypt]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Egypt]]
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian temples]]
[[Category:Egyptian temples]]
[[Category:International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia]]

[[Category:Ramesses II]]
[[fr:Temple de Ptah (Gerf Hussein)]]
[[Category:Rock-cut architecture]]
[[Category:Ptah]]

Revision as of 08:21, 19 December 2022

Gerf Hussein
Per Ptah
The freestanding courtyard of Gerf Hussein temple, reconstructed at New Kalabsha
Temple of Gerf Hussein is located in Egypt
Temple of Gerf Hussein
Shown within Egypt
LocationNew Kalabsha
TypeTemple
History
BuilderSetau
PeriodsNineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
Site notes
ConditionPartially reconstructed, some submerged

The temple of Gerf Hussein (in Ancient Egypt: Per Ptah, or 'House of Ptah') was dedicated to pharaoh Ramesses II and built by the Setau, Viceroy of Nubia.[1] Situated on a bank of the Nile some 90 km south of Aswan, it was partly free-standing and partly cut from the rock.[2] It was dedicated to "Ptah, Ptah-Tatenen and Hathor, and associated with Ramesses, 'the Great God.'"[3][4]

During the building of the Aswan dam project in the 1960s, as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, sections of the free-standing portion of this temple were dismantled and they have now been reconstructed at the site of New Kalabsha. Most of the rock cut temple was left in place and is now submerged beneath the waters of the Nile.[5]

An avenue of ram-headed sphinxes led from the Nile to the first pylon, which like the courtyard beyond is also free standing.[6] The courtyard is surrounded by six columns and eight statue pillars.[7] The entrance to a peristyle court "is decorated with colossal Osiris statues."[8] The rear portion of the building which is 43 m in depth was carved out of rock and follows the structure of Abu Simbel with a pillared hall featuring two rows of three statue pillars and, curiously, four statue recesses, each with divine triads along the sides.[9] Beyond the hall lay the hall of the offering table and the barque chamber with four cult statues of Ptah, Ramesses, Ptah-Tatenen and Hathor carved out of the rock.

Images

See also

References

  1. ^ "Francis Frith (1822-98) - Another view of the temple of Gerf-Hossayn". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  2. ^ Dieter Arnold, Nigel Strudwick & Sabine Gardiner, The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, I.B. Tauris Publishers, 2003. p.98
  3. ^ Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Blackwell Books, 1992. p.260
  4. ^ Grimal, p.260
  5. ^ "Francis Frith (1822-98) - Another view of the temple of Gerf-Hossayn". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  6. ^ Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, op. cit., p.99
  7. ^ Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, p.99
  8. ^ Grimal, p.260
  9. ^ Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, p.99

23°17′00″N 32°54′00″E / 23.2833°N 32.9000°E / 23.2833; 32.9000