El Hiba (alt. el-Hibeh;
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
الحيبة ) is the modern name of the
ancient Egyptian city of Tayu-djayet (''t3yw-ḏ3yt''), an ancient nickname meaning "their walls" in reference to the massive enclosure walls built on the site. In
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet ...
, it was known as , and during the
Graeco-Roman period it was called and . In antiquity, the city was located in the 18th Upper Egyptian
nome, and today it is found in the
Bani Suwayf
Beni Suef ( ar, بني سويف, Baniswēf) is the capital city of the Beni Suef Governorate in Egypt. Beni Suef is the location of Beni Suef University. An important agricultural trade centre on the west bank of the Nile River, the city is locate ...
governorate.
History
From the late
20th Dynasty
The Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XX, alternatively 20th Dynasty or Dynasty 20) is the third and last dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1189 BC to 1077 BC. The 19th and 20th Dynasties furthermore toget ...
to the
22nd Dynasty
The Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt is also known as the Bubastite Dynasty, since the pharaohs originally ruled from the city of Bubastis. It was founded by Shoshenq I.
The Twenty-first, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-f ...
, Tayu-djayet was a frontier town, marking the division of the country between the
High Priests of Amun at
Thebes and the
kings
Kings or King's may refer to:
*Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings
*One of several works known as the "Book of Kings":
**The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts
**The ''Shahnameh'' ...
of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
at
Tanis
Tanis ( grc, Τάνις or Τανέως ) or San al-Hagar ( ar, صان الحجر, Ṣān al-Ḥaǧar; egy, ḏꜥn.t ; ; cop, ϫⲁⲛⲓ or or ) is the Greek name for ancient Egyptian ''ḏꜥn.t'', an important archaeological site in the ...
. A massive enclosure wall was built at the site, with bricks stamped with the names of the High Priests
Pinedjem I and
Menkheperre
Menkheperre, son of Pharaoh Pinedjem I by wife Duathathor-Henuttawy (daughter of Ramesses XI by wife Tentamon), was the High Priest of Amun at Thebes in ancient Egypt from 1045 BC to 992 BC and ''de facto'' ruler of the south of the country. ...
. Earlier, the High Priest
Herihor also lived and operated from al-Hibah. During the 22nd Dynasty, king
Shoshenq I
Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq I (Egyptian ''ššnq''; reigned c. 943–922 BC)—also known as Shashank or Sheshonk or Sheshonq Ifor discussion of the spelling, see Shoshenq—was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Twenty-secon ...
built a temple dedicated to "Amun-Great-of-Roarings" at the site, complete with a topographical list of cities captured during his "First Campaign of Victory" in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
; the temple is also decorated by his son,
Osorkon I. The ancient settlement is at a little to the North of the modern town.
Today
Since 2001, El Hibeh has been the focus of ongoing excavations by a team of
U.C. Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...
archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. However, due to instability as a result of the
2011 Egyptian Revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...
,
looters
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
have been allowed to systematically plunder the site, digging hundreds of pits, exposing tombs, destroying walls, and leaving human remains strewn about the grounds.
See also
*
List of ancient Egyptian towns and cities
Notes
References
*Daressy, Georges. 1901. "Le temple de Hibeh." ''Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte'' 2:154–156.
*Feucht, Erika. 1978. "Zwei Reliefs Scheshonqs I. aus el Hibeh." ''Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur'' 6:69–77.
*Ranke, Hermann, ed. 1926. ''Koptische Friedhöfe bei Karâra und der Amontempel Scheschonks I. bei el Hibe: Bericht über den badischen Grabungen in Ägypten in den Wintern 1913 und 1914''. Berlin and Leipzig: Walter de Gruyter & Co.
*Wainwright, Geoffrey Avery. 1927. "El Hibah and esh Shurafa and Their Connection with Herakleopolis and Cusæ." ''Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte'' 27:76–104.
*Wenke, Robert J. 1984. ''Archaeological Investigations at el-Hibeh 1980: Preliminary Report''. American Research Center in Egypt Reports: Preliminary and Final Reports of Archaeological Excavations in Egypt from Prehistoric to Medieval Times 9. Malibu: Undena Publications
External links
U.C. Berkeley Excavations at El HibehThe Hibeh papyri vol. I, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt, 1906
at the Internet Archive
El Hibeh (el-Hiba) on Global Heritage Network"Save El Hibeh Egypt" Facebook group
{{Coord, 28, 46, 25, N, 30, 55, 22, E, display=title, region:EG_type:city
Cities in ancient Egypt
Archaeological sites in Egypt
Populated places in Beni Suef Governorate
Former populated places in Egypt