The Temple of Amada, the oldest

Egyptian temple Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the gods and in commemoration of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt and regions under Egyptian control. Temples were seen as houses for the gods or kings to whom they were dedicated. Within the ...

Nubia Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...

, was first constructed by Pharaoh

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 28 ...

of the 18th dynasty and dedicated to

Amun Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...

and Re-Horakhty. His son and successor,

Amenhotep II Amenhotep II (sometimes called ''Amenophis II'' and meaning ''Amun is Satisfied'') was the seventh pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Amenhotep inherited a vast kingdom from his father Thutmose III, and held it by means of a few militar ...

continued the decoration program for this structure. Amenhotep II's successor,

Thutmose IV Thutmose IV (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis IV, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; egy, ḏḥwti.msi(.w) "Thoth is born") was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately the 14th century ...

decided to place a roof over its forecourt and transform it into a pillared or

hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or un ...

hall.Oakes, p.204 During the Amarna period,

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...

had the name Amun destroyed throughout the temple but this was later restored by

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom period, ruling c.1294 or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II. The ...

of Egypt's 19th Dynasty.Oakes, p.205 Various 19th Dynasty kings especially Seti I and

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...

also "carried out minor restorations and added to the temple's decoration." The

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

s of the Viceroys of Kush

Setau Setau was the Viceroy of Kush in the second half of Ramesses II's reign. Contemporary records show that Setau served in this position from Year 38 until at least Year 63 of Ramesses II's reign. Setau was "a graduate of the royal school" and alread ...

, Heqanakht and Messuy and that of

Chancellor Bay Bay, also called Ramesse Khamenteru (died 1192 BC), was an important Asiatic official in ancient Egypt, who rose to prominence and high office under Seti II Userkheperure Setepenre and later became an influential powerbroker in the closing stages ...

describe their building activities under Ramesses II,

Merneptah Merneptah or Merenptah (reigned July or August 1213 BC – May 2, 1203 BC) was the fourth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt for almost ten years, from late July or early August 1213 BC until his death on May 2, 1 ...

and

Siptah Akhenre Setepenre Siptah or Merenptah Siptah was the penultimate ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. His father's identity is currently unknown. Both Seti II and Amenmesse have been suggested although the fact that Siptah later changed his r ...

respectively. In the medieval period the temple was converted into a church. As part of the

International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia The International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia was the relocation of 22 monuments in Lower Nubia, in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan, between 1960 and 1980. The success of the project, in particular the creation of a coalition of 50 ...

, along with

Abu Simbel Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel ( ar, أبو سمبل), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about sou ...

Philae ; ar, فيلة; cop, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ , alternate_name = , image = File:File, Asuán, Egipto, 2022-04-01, DD 93.jpg , alt = , caption = The temple of Isis from Philae at its current location on Agilkia Island in Lake Nasse ...

and other Nubian archaeological sites, Amada was relocated in the 1960s and inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

in 1979.

Temple interior

The original building plan for the structure featured a pylon, forecourt and a portico which led to a sanctuary. However, when Thutmose IV roofed the open forecourt, the pillars and walls "were decorated with offering scenes, with those involving Thutmosis IV on the left" and Thutmose III and Amenhotep II on the right.Oakes, p.204 Although the temple has a dull and crumbling exterior, its interior features enjoy some of the most finely cut reliefs with bright and vibrant colours. The finest painted reliefs are in the innermost section of the temple where Thutmose III and Amenhotep II are shown being embraced or making offerings to various Egyptian gods.Oakes, p.204 The left hand side of the vestibule shows Amenhotep II being crowned by Horus and Thoth and running with an oar and a ''hap'' (or navigational instrument). The cult room at the side of the sanctuary contains some interesting foundation and consecration scenes for the temple which depict "the ritual of the 'stretching of the cord', the ceremonial making and laying of bricks, and the offering of the temple to its gods."

Historical records

There are two important historical inscriptions from Amada temple. The earliest, dated to Year 3 of Amenhotep II, "is on a round topped stelae at the rear (eastern) wall of the sanctuary."Baines & Málek, p.182 Its text describes this pharaoh's ruthless military campaign in Asia: Amenhotep II goes on to describe how he hanged six of the dead chiefs "on the walls of Thebes" while the seventh was hung on the walls of

Napata Napata (Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic language, Meroitic ''Napa''; grc, Νάπατα and Ναπάται) was a city of ancient Kingdom of Kush, Kush at the fourth cataract of the Nile. It is located approximately 1.5 kilometers from ...

(a Nubian frontier city near the

Fourth Cataract The Cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths (or whitewater rapids) of the Nile river, between Khartoum and Aswan, where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones jutting out of the river bed, as well as many rocky ...

). This was done as a clear warning to the subject Nubians of the dangerous consequences of rebellion during Amenhotep's reign. The second historical text, "on a stela engraved on the left (northern) thickness of the entrance doorway" mentions the defeat of an invasion from Libya in Year 4 of Merneptah.Baines & Málek, p.182 The temple was described by early travellers and first published by Henri Gauthier in 1913.

Church

The temple was converted into a church presumabely in the 6th century. The Christians plastered the hieroglyphs with Christian paintings that survived until the 19th century.

Frederic Louis Norden Frederic Louis Norden (22 October 1708 – 22 September 1742) was a Danish naval captain, cartographer, and archaeological explorer. Also known as ''Frederick'', ''Frederik'', ''Friderick'', ''Ludwig'', ''Ludvig'' and ''Lewis'', names used ...

described them as early 1738 as depicting "the Trinity, the apostles, and divers (sic.) other saints".

Franz Christian Gau Franz Christian Gau (15 June 1790, in Cologne – January 1854, in Paris) was a French architect and archaeologist of German descent. In 1809 he entered the Académie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and in 1815 visited Italy and Sicily. In 1817 he went to ...

painted what remained of them in 1822. Already a few years later, in 1830,

Jean-Jacques Rifaud Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 19 ...

and

Johann Matthias Neurohr Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

proposed to tear the Christian paintings down to access the ancient Egyptian art beneath. They were destroyed soon after.

Relocation

Between 1964 and 1975, the temple was moved from its original location to a new site "some 65 m higher and 2.5 km away from its original site". Chopping it into blocks, as was being done with the other temples, was not an option; the paintings would not have survived. Seeing that all seemed resigned to see the temple flooded by the silty waters of Lake Nasser,

Christiane Desroches Noblecourt Christiane Desroches Noblecourt (; 17 November 1913 – 23 June 2011) was a French Egyptologist. She was the author of many books on Egyptian art and history and was also known for her role in the International Campaign to Save the Monuments ...

announced that France would save it. She asked two architects to propose a method for moving the temple in one piece. Their idea was to put the temple on rails and transport it hydraulically to a site a few kilometers away that was more than 60 meters higher. The rock-cut

Temple of Derr The Temple of Derr or el-Derr is a ''speos'' or rock-cut Egyptian temple, now located in New Amada in Lower Nubia. It was built during the 19th Dynasty by Pharaoh Ramesses II. It is the only rock-cut temple in Nubia, which was constructed by thi ...

was also moved to the new site of Amada.Christine Hobson, Exploring the World of the Pharaohs: A complete guide to Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson 1993 paperback, p.177

Gallery

File:Amada temple-church, 1822.png, The Amada temple in 1822. At this date there still existed the early medieval dome which was built when the temple was converted into a church. File:Amada Temple by Dennis G. Jarvis.jpg, The interior of Amada temple File:Amada temple Christian paintings.png, Remains of painted Christian saints plastered over the ancient reliefs. File:S03 06 01 018 image 2409.jpg, Egypt - Temple of Amada, Nubia. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection File:Amada ( 110 miles south of Aswan, left bank ). Temple founded by Tuthmosis III.jpg, Inscriptions on this pillar in the hypostyle hall concern the lord of the Island of Biggeh. File:Amada - Temple founded by Tuthmosis III end Amenophis II of the XVIIIth dynasty.jpg, Exterior view File:Amada - interior detail of Thutmose III with natural spotlight.jpg, Interior detail depicting Amenhotep II with natural spotlight

References