El-Tod

El-Tod
Tuphium
طود

Northeastern side of the Ptolemaic pronaos of the Temple of Monthu in El-Tod
Shown within Egypt
Location Luxor Governorate, Egypt
Region Upper Egypt
Coordinates 25°34′59″N 32°32′1″E / 25.58306°N 32.53361°E / 25.58306; 32.53361Coordinates: 25°34′59″N 32°32′1″E / 25.58306°N 32.53361°E / 25.58306; 32.53361
Type Settlement

El-Tod (Arabic: طود‎‎ aṭ-Ṭūd, Egyptian: Djerty or Ḏrty, Ancient Greek: Touphion, Latin: Tuphium, Coptic: Thouôt or Tuot) was the site of an Ancient Egyptian town[1] and a temple to the Egyptian god Monthu.[2] It is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Luxor, Egypt,[1] near the settlement of Hermonthis.[3] A modern village now surrounds the site.

History

The history of the site can be traced to the Old Kingdom period of Egyptian history. A granite pillar of the Fifth dynasty pharaoh, Userkaf, is the oldest object found at El-Tod.[2] It was this same pharaoh who ordered that the temple to Monthu be enlarged.[4] Evidence of Eleventh dynasty building is shown in the discovery of blocks bearing the names of Mentuhotep II and Mentuhotep III. Under Senusret I, these buildings were replaced with a new temple.[2] Further additions to this temple were made under Ptolemy VIII.[2]

Culture

Aside from Monthu, to whom a temple was dedicated, the Egyptian goddess Junit was of local importance.[5] According to Flinders Petrie, the god of Tuphium was Hemen.[6] As part of the Thebaid, the area also saw the worship of Sebak (Sobek), the Egyptian crocodile god.[7][8]

Remains

On the 7th of March we visited the ruins of the ancient Tuphium, now Taoud situated on the right bank of the river but in the vicinity of the Arabic chain and very near to Hermonthis which is on the opposite bank. Here there are two or three little apartments of a temple, inhabited by Fellahs or their cattle. In the largest there are still some bas-reliefs, which informed me that the triad worshipped in the temple consisted of Mandou, the goddess Ritho, and their son Harphré, the same as in the temple of Hermonthis, the capital of the nome (district) to which Tuphium belonged.
— Jean-François Champollion, [9]

Tod Treasure

Tod Treasure on display at the Louvre

In 1936, archaeologists digging at the temple location found in the support structures under the ruined building a number of metallic and lapis lazuli artifacts. The objects were made largely of silver. They were earmarked for some authorities of unknown origin and epoch, who are believed to have been of non-Egyptian origin. Nevertheless, the style of the objects resemble artifacts that were excacated in Knossos, which date to c. 1900–1700 BC.[10] Yet, at Knossos such objects were made of clay, possibly imitating metal.

The initial discovery of four chests (inscribed with the name of pharaoh Amenemhat II[11]) made of copper and containing the objects had been made by F. Bisson de la Roque.[1][12] Some sources posit that the treasure is of Asiatic origin and that some of it, in fact, was manufactured in Iran (the latter as claimed by Roger Moorey).[11] Some gold artifacts are also part of the Treasure, and they may have originated from Anatolia. A similar conclusion is drawn on the origin of the silverware based on evidence obtained from relative analysis of the metallic constituents.[13][14]

Objects that were found as part of the Treasure seem to have originated from various parts of the world, indicating trade contacts between the Ancient Egyptians and other early civilizations.

The total weight of all gold items was 6.98 kg, and of the silver items 8.87 kg.[15] After discovery, the Treasure was divided between the Louvre Museum and the Egyptian Museum.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Simon Hayter. "Tod the site of ancient Djerty (Graeco-Roman Tuphium)". Ancient Egypt Web Site. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Arnold, Dieter (2003). The encyclopaedia of ancient Egyptian architecture. I.B.Tauris. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-86064-465-8. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Jean-François Champollion (1814). L'Égypt sous les Pharaons: ou Recherches sur la géographie, la réligion, la langue, les écritures et l'histoire de l'Égypte avant l'invasion de Cambyse (in French). Chez de Bure frères. p. 195. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  4. ↑ Nicolás Grimal; Nicolas-Christophe Grimal (11 July 1994). A history of ancient Egypt. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-631-19396-8. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  5. ↑ Lurker, Manfred (20 August 2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Psychology Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-415-34018-2. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  6. ↑ Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1939). The making of Egypt. Sheldon Press. p. 68. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  7. ↑ Tiele, Cornelis Petrus (1882). History of the Egyptian religion. London: Trübner and Co. p. 135. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  8. ↑ Budge, E. A. Wallis (1904). The gods of the Egyptians, or studies in Egyptian mythology. 2. Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company. p. 357. ISBN 0-7661-2988-8. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  9. ↑ "The London literary gazette and journal of belles lettres, arts, sciences, etc". H. Colburn. 1829. p. 634. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  10. ↑ According to P-B Geneviève of the Louvre museum
  11. 1 2 Moorey, P.R.S. Ancient mesopotamian materials and industries: the archaeological evidence (415 pages). Eisenbrauns, 1999 ISBN 1-57506-042-6. Retrieved 2011-12-13. cf. E. Porada, (1982) “Remarks on the Tod Treasure in Egypt,”
  12. ↑ Pierrat-Bonnefois Geneviève, Louvre Museum website. Musée du Louvre, Multimedia Division, Cultural Production, Department 75058, Paris, Cedex 01,France [Retrieved 2011-12-13]. Also see at the Louvre Museum website
  13. ↑ Paul T. Nicholson, Ian Shaw books.google.co.uk Ancient Egyptian materials and technology (702 pages) Cambridge University Press, 2000 ISBN 0-521-45257-0,[Retrieved 2011-12-19]
  14. ↑ K.R.Maxwell-Hyslop (citing E.Porada) JSTORA Note on the Anatolian Connections of the Tôd Treasure Anatolian Studies Vol. 45, (1995), pp. 243-250 (article consists of 8 pages) Published by: British Institute at Ankara [Retrieved 2011-12-13]
  15. ↑ Ancient Egypt and Archaeology Web Site

Further reading

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