Ad-Dakka (

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

: الدكة, also el-Dakka,

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

: Pselqet,

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Pselchis) was a place in

Lower Nubia Lower Nubia (also called Wawat) is the northernmost part of Nubia, roughly contiguous with the modern Lake Nasser, which submerged the historical region in the 1960s with the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Many ancient Lower Nubian monuments, ...

. It is the site of the

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

Temple of Dakka, dedicated to

Thoth Thoth (from , borrowed from , , the reflex of " eis like the ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an African sacred ibis, ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine count ...

, the god of wisdom in the

ancient Egyptian pantheon Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural for ...

. The temple was initially a small one-room shrine or chapel, first begun in the 3rd century BC by a Meroitic king named

Arqamani Arqamani (also Arkamani or Ergamenes IITörök (2008), p. 393.) was a Kushite King of Meroë dating from the late 3rd to early 2nd century BCE. Biography It is believed that Arqamani ruled in Meroë at the time of the Egyptian revolt of Horwen ...

(or Ergamenes II) in collaboration with

Ptolemy IV Ptolemy IV Philopator (; "Ptolemy, lover of his Father"; May/June 244 – July/August 204 BC) was the fourth pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 221 to 204 BC. Ptolemy IV was the son of Ptolemy III and Berenice II. His succession to the throne was ...

who added an antechamber and a gate structure.

Ptolemy IX Ptolemy IX Soter II Ptolemy IX also took the same title 'Soter' as Ptolemy I. In older references and in more recent references by the German historian Huss, Ptolemy IX may be numbered VIII. (, ''Ptolemaĩos Sōtḗr'' 'Ptolem ...

"subsequently enlarged the temple by adding a

pronaos A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultu ...

with two rows of probably three columns."Arnold, Strudwick & Gardiner, p.65 During the Roman period, the Emperors

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

and

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

further enlarged the structure with "the addition, at the rear, of a second sanctuary as well as inner and outer enclosure walls with a large pylon. The sanctuary contained a granite naos." The Temple of Dakka was transformed into a temple fortress by the Romans and surrounded by a stone wall, 270 by 444 metres long, with an entrance along the Nile. A large dromos leads to the pylon, which formed the entrance to the temple. Each of the pylon's towers is decorated in high relief and bears numerous graffiti from visitors, mostly in Greek but some in

Demotic Demotic may refer to: * Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language * Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language * Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used t ...

and

Meroitic script The Meroitic script consists of two alphasyllabic scripts developed to write the Meroitic language at the beginning of the Meroitic Period (3rd century BC) of the Kingdom of Kush. The two scripts are Meroitic Cursive, derived from Demotic Egy ...

. There are reliefs of cows offered as gifts to the god Thoth carved into the naos of the Temple of Dakka. While the temple of Dakka was similar architecturally to the temple of

Wadi es-Sebua The temples of Wadi es-Sebua (, so-called because of the sphinx-lined approach to the temple forecourts), is a pair of New Kingdom Egyptian temples, including one speos temple constructed by the 19th Dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses II, in Lower Nubia. ...

, it lacked a front courtyard of

sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...

es; however, its 12-metre-high pylon is in near perfect condition. A 55-metre-long processional approach ran from the temple's pylon to a cult terrace at the Nile.Arnold, Temples of the Last Pharaohs, p.244 During the Christian period of Egypt, the facade of the pronaos was converted for use into a church, and Christian paintings were still visible here in the 20th century before the temple was enveloped by the Nile floods. In the 19th century these paintings were described as rather crude and already quite damaged representations of Christian saints. The temple of Dakka collapsed in 1908–1909 and was subsequently rebuilt by

Alessandro Barsanti Alessandro Barsanti (1858–1917) was an Italian architect and Egyptologist who worked for the Egyptian Antiquities Service. He excavated throughout Egypt (most notably he 'discovered' the tomb of Akhenaten in 1891–1892). He was also in ...

Relocation

During the construction of the

Aswan Dam The Aswan Dam, or Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. When it was completed, it was the tallest earthen dam in the world, surpassing the Chatuge D ...

in the 1960s, the temple was dismantled and moved to the site of

New Wadi es-Sebua The New Wadi es-Sabua is an archaeological site in Egypt. Created during the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, it is located only 4 km west from the original site of Wadi es-Sebua, which today contains three ancient Eg ...

.Wilkinson, Richard H. (2000). ''The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. p. 219 At the time of its removal, some reused stone blocks from

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek language, Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom period, ruling or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and th ...

and

Merneptah Merneptah () or Merenptah (reigned July or August 1213–2 May 1203 BCE) was the fourth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. According to contemporary historical records, he ruled Egypt for almost ten y ...

were discovered which originated from an earlier

New Kingdom New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

structure in or near Kubban. The temple's pylon is now separated from the remainder of the temple due to the missing enclosure walls of the open court.

Reliefs

Image:Temple relief of king Arqamani from Dakka by Dennis C. Jarvis.jpg, Relief depicting the Kushite king Arkamani presenting an offering to the gods File:Tempel Dakka Relief 01.jpg, Relief File:Tempel Dakka Seitenkammer 09.jpg, Relief

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temple Of Dakka 3rd-century BC religious buildings and structures Egyptian temples Relocated monuments of Lower Nubia Thoth Augustus Tiberius Merneptah

Relocation

Reliefs

See also

References