Gebel el-Silsila
Jabal al-Silsilah ( جبل السلسلة Jabal al-Silsilah, DMG Ǧabal al-Silsilah, the chain mountain ', also Gebel es - Silsila; ancient Egyptian Chenu or Cheny, German " Ruderort " ) is the most important sandstone quarry in Egypt and an archaeological facility located on both banks of the Nile in upper Egypt in Aswan Governorate, about 145 and 40 kilometers south of Luxor and Edfu and 20 and 65 kilometers north of Kom Ombo and Aswan. The Nile laces here to a width of less than 400 meters one, dominated by the upcoming sandstone rocks.
- 2.1 'settlement
- 2.2 History of Research
Description
Sandstone quality
The sandstone is easy to break down and in large quantities in this quarry. The rock quality is very good, even up to 40 meters high walls upcoming indicate that there has been in these positions hardly disorders.
However, the composition of the sandstone is not uniform. The sandstone on the east side is mainly bound with quartz, feldspar hardly occurs. For the binding of the sandstone on the west bank in the greater extent carbonate cement is responsible. On both sides there are lighter and darker varieties, of varying proportions of brownish limonite (brown iron ore, iron hydroxide ) or iron carbonate derived.
Monuments
Among the monuments on the west bank belong to the shrine of Horemheb, the Speos (rock temple ) of Horemheb ( dedicated to Amun, Mut, Khonsu, Sobek, Taweret ( Thoeris ), Thoth and Pharaoh Horemheb ), rock stelae of Seti I, Ramses II. Merenptah and Ramses and V., Sheshonk I and Ramses III .. in addition, 28 rock bands from the New Kingdom (18th Dynasty), as cenotaphs ( tombs deputy ) of senior officials, including the administrator Senmut, the High Priest of Amun Hapuseneb, the Wezirs users and the Registrar Min and Sennefer served, as well as extensive quarries from the New Kingdom and from Greco- Roman times.
Among the monuments on the east bank include unfinished sculptures like Sandsteinsphingen, the kiosk Amenhotep III. in the north of the quarry, south-west of the harbor basin stand, which was used in times of Nile flooding, as well as gallery quarries, Nilstandsmarken and several rock carvings from different times, but were only partially published.
History
Graffiti on the sandstone cliffs on either side of the Nile and a prädynastischer cemetery on the east bank prove the settlement since prehistoric times. Testimonies from the Old Kingdom are rare. The site was used at all times until in modern times as a quarry, the intensive mining uses since the Middle and New Kingdom.
Cause is the onset since the Middle Kingdom technology change in the temple, as were built to replace adobe buildings with limestone cladding sandstone. From the temple apart at Philae, the building material of all the temples in Upper Egypt comes from this quarry. This includes both the Theban mortuary temples since Mentuhotep II and the temple of Dendera, Karnak ( including buildings Akhenaten ), Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Esna.
Workers' settlement
The ancient Egyptian settlement of the miners was located on the eastern shore. Seen from an archaeological perspective you know about her but only a little. The most important monuments are located on the west bank, who wants to explore the other hand, mining and transportation technologies, should go to the east side.
History of Research
The archaeological site is true at least since the Napoleonic expedition known to have a complete description, there are, from a guide ( Weigall, 1910 ), above, to this day. A well full exploration of the site was carried out under the direction of Ricardo Augusto Caminos, but its publication was left unfinished by the death of the excavation director. Andrea Christina Thiem 2000 published a complete description of the Temple of Horemheb.