The Ptah temple at Karnak and its Roman neighbourhood

Photo: E. Saubestre / CNRS.CFEETK The Ptah temple at The southern part of the late Roman neighbourhood. In the background, the Great Karnak and its Roman Hypostyle Hall. neighbourhood Since 2015, the French mission at Karnak had been exploring the Ptah temple in the Precinct of Amun-Re, with a focus on its late Roman occupation. Dating from the second half of the 4th century, the settlement was founded after the closing of the temple. Benjamin Durand describes the history of the sector, the spatial organization of the neighbourhood, and some artefacts that may help to understand who was living here. Thinking of the Karnak temple, the first pictures church installed in the Festival Hall of Thutmose that will often come to mind are of the obelisk III and some monasteries built against or of Hatshepsut, the Great Hypostyle Hall, or between the pylons. Nothing is known about the First Pylon of Nectanebo I. They can all domestic occupation, although we are aware be considered symbols of Egyptian culture of the fact that the Karnak temple became a during the pharaonic period. Less thought – quarry at that time, and that workshops and and scholarly attention – is usually given to domestic structures must have occupied some later periods. Looking back at a century of area of the precinct. scientific research on the Karnak temple, the Since 2008, a multidisciplinary programme late Roman period appears to be neglected. of the Centre Franco-Egyptien d’Étude des From the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, the Temples de Karnak (CFEETK) has focused on only reliable pieces of evidence concern a this forgotten period, in particular around the EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY ISSUE NO 54 SPRING 2019 9  THE PTAH TEMPLE AT KARNAK AND ITS ROMAN NEIGHBOURHOOD Orthoimage: O. Murray Orthoimage: P. Megard Orthoimage: P. Megard Photo: B. Durand / CNRS-CFEETK Ptah temple. Standing north of the Precinct taken from the area of the Ptah temple. This Unexpectedly, the discovery of what was Above: an orthoimage (left) of UB8690 and the of Amun-Re, the temple does indeed hold explains the bad state of preservation of the quickly recognized as a domestic neighbour- same structure after tr aces of the late Roman occupation. west and south sectors. Surface levels there hood from the end of the 4th century turned first cleaning, seen from the east (right). Nevertheless, before 2015 and the beginning par tly date back to the end of the New out to be a great opportunity to fill a gap in of the cleaning of the eastern part of the area, Kingdom, suggesting that more than 1,500 our knowledge in the history of Karnak. Despite the preserved remains covered only a few years of stratification had been removed for the fact that the remaining walls barely reach square metres of defined context. Earlier work Legrains work. As a result, archaeological 60 cm in height, the good preservation of the by George Legrain, chief inspector of Luxor, evidence gathered in these sectors is not sector enabled us to draw a complete plan. at the beginning of the 20 th centur y specific enough to give us a firm understanding The neighbourhood is divided in three unfortunately destroyed much of the surface of the function of the rooms or the nature of distinct parts. The northern one is occupied level. At that time, the French architect was the later occupation in general. During autumn by two sizeable buildings (UB8883, 8884). in charge of reconstructing par t of the 2015, the excavations were extended further One was clearly a house organised around a Hypostyle Hall, after several of its columns east, leading to the discovery of an untouched possible court with a kitchen. The 10 rooms had collapsed in 1899. In order to lift up the area of 1,500 m2 located between the temple of this house cover a total of 274 m2 . The columns, he filled the area with soil mainly of Ptah and the excavation of the Treasury of second building, with a footprint of 220 m2, Map of the Shabaka (see map opposite page, bottom). shelters eleven silos. The presence of two Photo: B. Durand / CNRS-CFEETK excavation area in the millstones indicates that processing of grain neighbourhood of the Ptah temple. also took place here. covered with small pottery sherds. It was Above left: an South of this unit, but without spatial probably used as garbage deposit. The still orthoimage of UB8696 connection to it, a 2 m-wide street runs from extant remains of an abandoned Ptolemaic with walls and other archaeological features east to west (‘Central Street’), separating it from building not reused during the Byzantine period drawn in. the second part of the sector. Three houses give no indication of any specific activities taking stand north of it (UB8690, 8696, 8891). They place here. In the south-west corner of this Top: orthoimage of are considerably smaller than UB8883 and section, another Ptolemaic building (UB8906) UB8804. UB8884, their sizes varying between 62 and 71 is still standing. It was probably rebuilt in part Above: UB8804, m2. Two of them have similar plans and likely during the Byzantine period. The discovery of showing the remains of fulfilled similar functions (UB8690, 8696). A small bricks in the destruction layer of one of two kilns in one corner. bigger house of 136 m2 stood facing them on its rooms indicates that it was once covered the southern side of the street (UB8804) (see by a vault. Its function, too, remains unclear. images above). Standing next to it, two badly As can be seen from the map, this description damaged structures are more difficult to covers only par ts – Sector 8 – of the understand: the eastern one (UB8886) consisted neighbourhood which once occupied the entire of four rooms organised as a corridor. The other area of the Ptah temple. Nevertheless, we one (UB8227) comprised three rooms, one managed to gather sufficient information during which held two silos. the excavation of this sector to put forward The third section, at the southernmost end some hypotheses that may well be applicable of the neighbourhood, is mainly open space to the whole. 10 EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY ISSUE NO 54 SPRING 2019 11  THE PTAH TEMPLE AT KARNAK AND ITS ROMAN NEIGHBOURHOOD of Constantine I (r. AD 306–37) (images below) illustrating the importance of this production. were discovered in the area, but they are the Furthermore, during the 4th century some of • Benjamin Durand is an archaologist/Egyptologist at the CNRS, USR 3172-CFEETK (Centre Franco- only evidence pointing to occupation beginning the greatest obelisks of the now abandoned Egyptien d’Étude des Temples de Karnak). The already in the early 4th century. Their presence temple were relocated. During the reigns of author would like to thank HE the Minister of can equally be explained by their extended use Constantine I and Constantius II (AD 337–61), Antiquities Khaled el-Enany, his colleagues throughout the entire 4th century. two obelisks were moved from Karnak, a task Mohamed Abd el-Aziz, general director of Upper It would appear, however, that reuse of the that must have required engineers and Egypt Antiquities, Badri Abd al-Sattar, co-director of the CFEETK, Mostafa es-Saghir, general Ptah temple did not include the construction specialised workers. One can assume that manager of the Karnak temples, the directors of of a Christian church, which may perhaps housing was built for them, possibly not too the temples of Karnak and the MoA inspectors suggested itself as a first possibility. Recent far from their work place. for their daily support and help. He would also research has showed that temple conversions As our mission is now finished and no further like to thank Christophe Thiers, co-director of into churches are very rare before the 6th evidence is likely to surface that might give an the CFEETK, and Guillaume Charloux, CNRS, century. Moreover, in the case of the Ptah indication of the identity and purpose of the for their scientific support and supervision. He would like to thank the specialists involved in the temple there is no trace of such Christian occupants of this area, we regard this excavation study: Mona Ali Abady, Lucie Antoine, Marie reuse. Rather on the contrary, the original as a great opportunity to fill the gap in our Antoine, Camille Bourse, Louis Dautais, Romain decoration is very well preserved, and no cross k nowledge of this per iod at K ar nak . David, Antonin Durand, Ahmed Mohamed Sayed Photo: B. Durand / CNRS-CFEETK or any other Christian symbols were added. Unfortunately, this may well have been the only Elna s se h , Kev in G uad ag nini , A ma nd ine There is evidence for restoration around that oppor tunity to do so. Indeed, due to the Madelpèche, Paul Megard, Florie Pirou, Rim Saleh, Cultic continuity in the Karnak temple complex date, but it only indicates that the temple had mentioned destruction of the archaeological Émilie Saubestre. He would like to thank Barbora A block dating to the Janulikova for her precious help to improve the reign of Ptolemy III can be assumed for the time before the rise of been reused – possibly for storage or context, very little remains of this period. This English writing. The archaeological project of the Euergetes (246–222 Christianity during the 4th century. However, administrative functions. bestows even greater significance on the Ptah temple operates under the auspices of the BC), reused in a it has so far been impossible to define a terminus The lack of textual evidence makes it almost evidence gathered in the Roman neighbourhood Byzantine structure. CNRS, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the post quem for its abandonment. Like most impossible to understand the nature of the of the Ptah temple as it is a rare witness to the MoA and the University of Montpellier 3-Labex Egyptian temples, it may have been during the settlement. Nevertheless, archaeological traces lives the first Christians in the changing world Archimede IA-ANR-II-LABX-0032-01. Website: second half of the 3rd century that the naoi of and the known activities in the Karnak temple of Late Antiquity. www.cfeetk.cnrs.fr/ the gods worshipped here were closed for the complex at that time allow us to make some last time. The discovery of objects bearing suggestions: for example, we do have some Christian symbols around the Ptah temple, such evidence for a stone workshop. The presence as crosses or fish (image below), suggests that of large granite monoliths used as architectural this precinct was in reuse at least since the end elements in the temple was certainly exploited of the 4th century. Pottery found in the to produce all kinds of millstones. Some of excavated houses suggests an even earlier date, these were found as far as the Fayoum, and we assume that the settlement developed some decades before, maybe around the mid- 4th century. A number of coins from the reign Right: fragment of a jar stand with a Christian cross and a sun disc with uraei. Far right: coin from the reign of Constantine I (AD 306–337), obverse (top) and reverse (bottom). Photo: E. Saubestre/CNRS.CFEETK Photo: A. Nubi / CNRS 12 EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY ISSUE NO 54 SPRING 2019 13