Elephantine

Éléphantine , located on the the Nile vis-a-vis Assouan was the capital of the first names High-Egypt.

Its Egyptian name Abou comes from Ab which means at the same time the elephant and the ivory; “abou” means “gathering place of the elephants” or “place of collection of the ivory”. Its old name was Yeb .

As of the Ancient Empire, military forwardings towards Nubie started from Elephantine.

Excavations of these last decades one allowed to release the ruins of the city of the Ancient Empire, which was sheltered behind an imposing raw brick wall. In addition to the districts of dwelling, the city included/understood a residential district for the governor of the area, the attics and a rupestral sanctuary devoted to Satis of which the oldest state goes back to. One also released there a structure in masonry which one thinks of being small a Pyramide with degrees and which would belong to a series of monument of this style built with by Snéfrou or can be its predecessor Houni (). These structures built in regular and reserved bases are architecturalement very close to the pyramidal buildings of the beginnings of the Ancient Empire, comprising at least three degrees and would symbolize the royal capacity in this remote province.

The vestiges of sculptures and inscriptions of and S are the testimony of monumental constructions of the Moyen Empire.

With the Nouvel Empire of many temples will be built on the island of Elephantine, from of which a temple dedicated to Khnoum, a peripteral temple going back to Hatchepsout and Thoutmosis {{III}} dedicated to Anouket and a of the same kiosk style going back to Amenhotep {{III}}. With time, the city grows bigger and extended on Eastern bank from the Nile opposite Elephantine, becoming Syène of last times of Pharaonic Egypt.

Nectanébo rebuilt the temple devoted to Khnoum, the principal god, lord of the cataract, guard of the sources of the the Nile like to its parèdres Anouket (or Anoukis) and Satet (or Satis).

The city continued to develop at the time of the Ptolémées, in the island and on Eastern bank, with the site of Aswan. From this time, there remains a temple devoted to Isis, the fragment of quay preserved on southern bank of the island as well as the nilometer.

At the 19th century, one could still see temples of Thoutmôsis {{III}} and of Amenhotep {{III}} which, thereafter, were completely destroyed for the needs for the emergent industry from modern Egypt.

Excavations of the beginning of the 20th century had as a result to update papyruses araméens of the Persian time, which testify to the existence in this place, since the VI E, of a Jewish colony which had its own temple devoted to Yahveh.

As of the first dynasties, Éléphantine was with the capacity of princes (the Nomarque S) of which burials, since the Ancient Empire () until the Moyen Empire () are dug in the hillside which borders Western bank of the river.

They are rupestral tombs, the hypogean ones, sometimes composed of vast rooms supported by pillars and columns reserved in the rock like the double tomb of Sabni and Mekhou of. The vast tomb of Sarenpout 1st, of, is particularly remarkable: it is completely comparable, in its fitting, with the rupestral tombs of Beni Hassan.

The tombs are numbered: Sarenpout 1st (n° 36), Pepynakht (Hekayib) (n° 35), Herkhouf, Khunes, Sarenpout (n° 31), Sibni (n° 25), Mekhu (n° 26). Since the bank of the Nile, slopes lead to these tombs where some low-reliefs are preserved. The night they are illuminated and can clearly be seen of Aswan.

At the top of the plate, in the west of the tombs of nomarques, two kilometers of the Nile, there is the Monastère of Saint-Siméon (Deir Amba Samaan), who is one of the most important monuments of the Christian time. It is a strengthened construction, surrounded by a powerful wall, high from six to seven meters, out of stone in its lower part and brick in her upper part. This building, founded at the 8th century, is one of the largest monasteries of Egypt. Inside the enclosure, the monastery is composed of three irregular terraces. On the lower terrace the church with three naves is; the other bodies of buildings comprise cells. The other rooms consist of kitchens, stores, stables, press with olives and other domestic facilities. The monastery was probably abandoned at the 12th century.

See too

Given archaeological on the Jewish community of Elephantine

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