Saft el-Henna is a village located in the eastern Delta of Egypt, about 7 Km south-east Zagazig (modern village established on the remains of ancient Bubastis). During the Late Period (664-332 a.C.), Saft el-Henna was one the most important centers of the Delta, called Pi-Soped -“the house of Sopdu”-. Unfortunately, the archaeological remains that can provide information on the topography and the architecture of Pi-Soped are scarce. The aim of this article is to propose an updated topographical reconstruction of the temple district of Saft el-Henna, reuniting together both the archaeological evidence, resulting from the excavations carried out in this area since the Nineteenth century, and the textual information coming from the inscriptions of a naos belonging to the 30th Dynasty (380-343 a. C.) found at el-Arish. The naos was commissioned by Nekhtnebef I for the temple of Saft el-Henna together with three other naoi, (Decades naos, Sopdu naos and Tefnut naos), in order to set a symbolic defense from Persian threat. New hypothesis on the topography of Pi-Soped have been proposed here thanks to a reassessment of el-Arish naos (particular attention was given to the lines 6-23 and 35-37 of the right side), and a comparison with the text of Decades naos. Although the core of the text is mainly religious and mythological, nevertheless it can refer to a concrete historical topography. Probably, the priests in charge of conceive the theological system inscribed in the naoi of Saft el-Henna, built the myth on historical evidence. In addition, new archaeological researches carried out with non-invasive methods and the study of unpublished material found in the necropolis of Pi-Sopdu , could provide useful new data for the topography of Saft el-Henna.
Una ricostruzione topografica del distretto templare di Saft el-Henna tra filologia e archeologia
Tiribilli E
2012-01-01
Abstract
Saft el-Henna is a village located in the eastern Delta of Egypt, about 7 Km south-east Zagazig (modern village established on the remains of ancient Bubastis). During the Late Period (664-332 a.C.), Saft el-Henna was one the most important centers of the Delta, called Pi-Soped -“the house of Sopdu”-. Unfortunately, the archaeological remains that can provide information on the topography and the architecture of Pi-Soped are scarce. The aim of this article is to propose an updated topographical reconstruction of the temple district of Saft el-Henna, reuniting together both the archaeological evidence, resulting from the excavations carried out in this area since the Nineteenth century, and the textual information coming from the inscriptions of a naos belonging to the 30th Dynasty (380-343 a. C.) found at el-Arish. The naos was commissioned by Nekhtnebef I for the temple of Saft el-Henna together with three other naoi, (Decades naos, Sopdu naos and Tefnut naos), in order to set a symbolic defense from Persian threat. New hypothesis on the topography of Pi-Soped have been proposed here thanks to a reassessment of el-Arish naos (particular attention was given to the lines 6-23 and 35-37 of the right side), and a comparison with the text of Decades naos. Although the core of the text is mainly religious and mythological, nevertheless it can refer to a concrete historical topography. Probably, the priests in charge of conceive the theological system inscribed in the naoi of Saft el-Henna, built the myth on historical evidence. In addition, new archaeological researches carried out with non-invasive methods and the study of unpublished material found in the necropolis of Pi-Sopdu , could provide useful new data for the topography of Saft el-Henna.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
