Sun Temples 20-21

Sun Temples
Dr. Abir Enany

Spring 2020
Fall 20-21
Ancient documents including the Abusir papyri inform us of six
temples, one for each king of the Fifth Dynasty except for Djedkare-Isesi
and Unas. Unfortunately, only two have been discovered. These two are
the sun temples of Userkaf and of Niuserre of which, that of Niuserre is
the bestbetter preserved. However, preserved in this case only implies
that we can make out some of its structure from the ruins.
What is a Sun Temple:

There are two types of sun temples. The first type is that built for the
sun god Re at Heliopolis. It contained an open court with an alter and a
platform with a benben. The second type represents sun temples built
for the kings of the Fifth Dynasty to confirm the idea that they are the
children of the sun. It was suggested that theythese temples were
mortuary complexes for the sun, or for the king in his identity as the sun
before birth and after death. They are sun temples with a funerary
nature and were therefore built on the west bank of the Nile and
containedcontain the elements of a funerary complex. That means a
valley temple, a causeway, an upper temple, a platform with a benben,
and a sun boat.
The Abusir Papyri give us a glimpse of the functioning of Neferirkare’s
sun temple. On papyrus fragments we read of provisions delivered by
canal twice daily from the sun temple to the pyramid. One ox a day was
slaughtered, and the meat sent over to the pyramid. Bread and beer
were also delivered from the sun temple, suggesting that they may have
been produced nearby, perhaps in the valley enclosure.
The Sun Temple of Niuserre: Ssp-jb-ra "Delight of Ra"

Niuserre' sun temple is located at Abu Ghurob (Abu Ghurab) to
the North of Abusir where he and most Fifth Dynasty kings built their
pyramids. Abu Ghurob lies less that a kilometer to the north of Abu
SirAbusir. Niuserre's sun temple was originally excavated by the German
archeologists, Ludwig Borchardt and Heinrich Schafer between 1898 and
1901. We believe it was originally made with mudbrick walls forming a
grid that was then filled with rubble. Later, these mudbrick walls were
sheathed in a casing of yellow limestone blocks. The name of the sun
temple was originally "Delight of Re".
The valley temple was built within an enclosure with thick walls that
Borchardt apparently thought were the walls of an ancient town, and so
he did not investigate the structure. There is also the problem that very
little of it remains, and it is covered by water from the valley. However,
it is believed that in front, there was a pillared entrance portico with
four palm columns. In addition, to either side of the building there were
porticos that accessed narrow corridors leading into the gateway. The
causeway extended to the upper temple, which was built upon a natural
platform of rock.
A 3-D reconstruction of the of the Sun Temple of Niuserre

Ground Plan of the Sun Temple of Niuserre
Everything within the upper temple appears to have been built around a
platform with a huge obelisk that symbolized the benben. The benben
was the mound of creation that symbolized the sun god Re. Within
Niuserre's complex, we estimate that the benben structure was about
36 meters tall. It stood on a great pedestal 20 meters high. Both the
obelisk and the tapering platform on which it stood were stone
constructions built of several blocks not one. The benben structure was
built of limestone blocks, while the pedestal is also made of limestone
with a red granite base.
The pedestal
Near the center of the courtyard stood a great four-sided white
alabaster altar formed from four hetep signs oriented towards the
cardinal directions and surrounding a large solar disk. The hetep sign
means "offering, "satisfied" or "peace". The altar therefore actually says
'Re is satisfied' in the four principal directions.
The white alabaster altar of the sun temple of Nyuserre
Some archeological features in the temple were interpreted by

Borchardt as belonging to a large ‘slaughter court’ with channels carved
in the upper surface perhaps ran to a row of nine large alabaster basins
that still survive. Each basin, about 1.18 m in diameter, had a series of
small, circular shallow dips, between 24 and 26, carved around the rim.
Borchardt thought that originally there were ten basins, and that the
channels drained fluids - either the blood of sacrificed animals or the
water used in cleaning up after the sacrifice - into them. However, the
Egyptologist Miroslav Verner doubts whether this was a place of
slaughter at all. No tethering stones, flint knives or bones were found
Perhaps offerings were ritually purified by laying them on the alabaster
altar. The channels and basins certainly suggest that liquids were
involved.
The alabaster altar in front of the obelisk pedestal building and nine large basins
From the entrance hall a right turn led along a corridor to a set of
magazines built against the north enclosure wall, probably for short-
term storage of offerings. At the east end a stairway led to the roof. A
left turn in the entrance hall led to corridors with a wealth of fine relief
carvings. These include one of the earliest scenes of the Sed festival of
the king’s renewal. In a section that attached to the pedestal building
the three seasons were depicted, Fragments of the harvest (shemu) and
inundation (akhet) seasons were preserved, but the season of seeding
(peret) was lost.
Fragments of reliefs from the Sun Temple of Niuserre at Abu Gurob - Dyn V -
Limestone - NEUES MUSEUM, BERLIN (ÄM 20038)
Just outside the enclosure of the upper temple a huge mudbrick model
of a boat, 30 m (98 ft) long, was found. This colossal simulacrummodel
of a ship perhaps signifies the mythic boat in which the sun god sailed
across the ocean of the sky.
http://picssr.com/tags/templesolaire

Sun Temples 20-21

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sun Temples 20-21

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sun Temples 20-21

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sun Temples

Dr. Abir Enany

What is a Sun Temple:

The Sun Temple of Niuserre: Ssp-jb-ra "Delight of Ra"

A 3-D reconstruction of the of the Sun Temple of Niuserre

The white alabaster altar of the sun temple of Nyuserre

Some archeological features in the temple were interpreted by

You might also like