Naos of the Decades, also known as the

Saft el-Hinna Saft el-Hinna (), also written as Saft el-Hinneh, Saft el-Henna, Saft el-Henneh, is a village and an archaeological site in Egypt. It is located in the modern Al Sharqia Governorate, in the Nile Delta, about 7 km southeast of Zagazig. The ...

Naos, is a black granite naos preserved in several parts that have been discovered almost two centuries apart. The naos is dedicated to the god Shu-

Sopdu Sopdu (also rendered Septu or Sopedu) was a god of the sky and of eastern border regions in the religion of Ancient Egypt.Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. p. 211 He was Khensit ...

and dates to the reign of

Nectanebo I Nectanebo I ( Egyptian: Nḫt-nb.f; ; died 361/60 BCE) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, founder of the last native dynasty of Egypt, the 30th. Name Nectanebo's Egyptian personal name was Nḫt-nb.f (Nakhtnebef), which means "the strong one o ...

. An astrological calendar is engraved on its sides depicting 36 decades, or 10-day periods marked by small constellations of stars called

decan The decans (; Egyptian ''bꜣktw'' or ''baktiu'', "

hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant. Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound w ...

connected with work") are 36 groups of stars (small constellations) used in the Egyptian astronomy, ancient Egyptian astronomy to conveniently divide the 360 degree ecliptic into 36 parts ...

Discovery

The upper part of the monument, known as the

pyramidion A pyramidion (plural: pyramidia) is the capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or the upper section of an obelisk. Speakers of the Ancient Egyptian language referred to pyramidia as ''benbenet'' and associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred b ...

, has been on display in the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

since 1817, and it was discovered and brought back by French explorers. The rest of the naos consists of many pieces. One large piece was found in 1940 by

Prince Omar Toussoun Prince Mohamed Omar Toussoun (1872–1944) was an Egyptian prince of the Muhammad Ali dynasty. He is one of the most admired princes of the Muhammad Ali family. He was famous for his excellence in many fields, his charitable works, his discoveri ...

and is held at the

Graeco-Roman Museum The Graeco-Roman Museum is an archaeological museum located in Alexandria, Egypt. Its collection of over 40,000 objects includes sculptures, mosaics, woodwork, and coins. History Erected in 1892, it was first built in a five-room apartment, in ...

in Alexandria. Other pieces were discovered in 2001 by

Franck Goddio Franck Goddio (born 1947 in Casablanca, Morocco) is a French underwater archaeologist who, in 2000, discovered the city of Thonis-Heracleion off the Egyptian shore in Aboukir Bay. He led the excavation of the submerged site of Canopus and of ...

during the underwater excavations he organized in search of the sunken cities of

Canopus Canopus is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina (constellation), Carina and the list of brightest stars, second-brightest star in the night sky. It is also Bayer designation, designated α Carinae, which is Rom ...

and

Heracleion Heracleion (Ancient Greek: ), also known as Thonis (Ancient Greek: ; from the Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: ; ) and sometimes called Thonis-Heracleion, was an ancient Egyptian port city located near the Canopic Mouth of the Nile, abo ...

. All of these pieces were found in the

Abu Qir Bay The Abū Qīr Bay (sometimes transliterated Abukir Bay or Aboukir Bay) (; transliterated: Khalīj Abū Qīr) is a spacious bay on the Mediterranean Sea near Alexandria in Egypt, lying between the Rosetta mouth of the Nile and the town of Abu Qir ...

. The complex was brought together for the occasion of an exhibition in 2006, which recounts these excavations and discoveries.

References

{{Authority control Egyptian temples 1940 archaeological discoveries 2001 archaeological discoveries Egyptian antiquities in the Louvre