Temple of Taffeh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Temple of Taffeh is an ancient Egyptian temple which was given to the Netherlands for its help in historical preservation. It is now located in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, Netherlands.

The temple was built of sandstone around 0-100 AD by the Roman emperor Augustus.^[1] It was part of the Roman fortress known as Taphis^[2]

In 1960, due to the construction of the Great Dam of Aswan and the consequent threat posed to several monuments and archeological sites, UNESCO made an international call to save these sites^[3]. In gratitude, Egypt gave several monuments to the countries that helped significantly, including the Netherlands.^[4] Adolf Klasens, the director of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden and a Dutch Egyptologist^[5] played a part in arranging the agreement.

The building is comprised of 657 blocks weighing approximately 250 tons.^[6] After arriving in 1971, it was reconstructed in a new wing of National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) in Leiden, Netherlands. The new structure was designed so that the Dutch weather would not affect the stone, that natural light would illuminate the temple and that visitors could see the temple before having to pay admission^[7]. There was also an effort to replace the minimum number of damaged stones.

Greek inscriptions and a Christian cross remain carved into the walls.^[8]