Such Basta

Such Basta is the Arab name of the ancient city of Per Bast (and) (as an Egyptian) that the Greeks will name Bubastis (or Boubastis). The current town of Zagazig is just in the North-West of the site of Such Basta .

The city

Located in the Delta of the Nile, to 80 km in the North-East of the Cairo, the current capital of the Egypt, it is known to have accommodated a sanctuary of the goddess Bastet (today in ruin). One found a great quantity of momifiés cats there, testimony of the worship dedicated to this animal in this place.

It was the capital of the 18th names Egypt ( the higher royal child ). Its name, which comes from the Egyptian antique Per Bastet (or Per Bast ), means “the house of Bastet”.

Bastet was represented in the shape of a sitted goddess or upright with head of lioness. It was comparable with various major goddesses of Egypt like Sekhmet or Hathor both representative, in addition, two aspects different from the same divinity, the girl of Re. Thus it was closely associated with solar mythology and appears in the late texts as being brought back alleviated by the god Thot to his father in the shape of a she-cat (see the myth of the eye of Re).

The ruins of Bubastis extend on a surface of almost 80 hectares. Unfortunately only a small portion of the kom raised at the 19th century is accessible today to the excavations, the remainder of the vestiges having been absorbed under the cultures or covered by continuous rise with the town of Zagazig.

The site however goes back to times predynastic. A necropolis of this period was updated at the north of the temple of Bastet not far from the necropolis of the Ancient Empire. At that time the city was during sanctuary of Hathor of Dendérah which one also indicated under the name of Per-Bast of the South. The city seems to have been particularly clearing at the end of this period. Indeed Téti and Pépi {{Ier}}, Pharaons of, founded there temples of the Ka, examples single which reached us of the extension of the royal worship apart from the area memphite. Bastet then seemed the leonine aspect of the girl of Re.

Besides the city had a temple of Atoum, which one found the vestiges in the south of the current kom, and thus formed with those of Bastet and Mahès the seat of a divine triad particularly honoured throughout the Egyptian history.

With the Roman conquest then the end of antiquity the site fell into the lapse of memory gradually and really taken again a central role only as from the 19th century with modernization from the country and the land utilization rich from the delta in an economy which was to then absorb a fast population growth which, in addition, did not cease since. That explains why the vestiges are disseminated in the middle of the modern city a little like certain districts of the Cairo or sometimes of the Alexandria of today at the time of a building site or a restoration let escape from the whole pieces of the history of the city. It is then the race against the time which begins and generally only excavations of rescue make it possible to study one moment this archaeological resurgence of a deep past on which the modern city can stop only one moment.

When the excavations began at the end of the 19th century, the ruins of Bubastis then presented the aspect of a gigantic Tel. which recovered its vestiges and it is precisely at the time of one of these openings dependant on the agricultural development of the area that the necropolis of the crowned cats of Bastet was updated at the north of the site. The discovery was then new and one found in addition to an significant amount of mummy of cat-like, bronzes representing the goddess in his shape of she-cat which decorate today the collections of Egyptology of the majority of the museums. It is undoubtedly one of these " cachettes" arranged by the priests who regularly were to evacuate the enclosure of the temple of the innumerable ex-votos that the faithful ones lodged with their goddess. Several of these discoveries took place since on other sites most famous being that done with Karnak in a court of the temple of Amon-Re. For Bubastis hidings of these " encombrantes" offerings took place regularly the temple being the subject of a devotion particular especially at the end of the Pharaonic history of the country.

Necropoles

To the south of the cemetery of the cats, several koms indicates the site of the necropoles of the city, which were established to with it as of the predynastic period. Recent excavations carried out by the university of Zagazig made it possible to study the levels of the Ancient Empire releasing several mastabas whose important dimensions reflect the importance of the city of the first times, but also of the humbler burials, very often intact, delivering a poor but instructive funerary furniture on the funerary habits of then. The bodies were buried in contracted position the head directed in the west and one placed around them of the offerings generally contained in simple ceramics containers. This practice is attested besides until the end of the Ancient Empire even with beyond thanks to the inscriptions discovered in these tombs.

The tombs of the high society bubastite much more elaborate, taking the aspect of Mastaba traditional, were of course built out of believed bricks, and whose caveaux ones were often vaults. These tombs us revealed the names and the titles of several dignitaries of, and the S, up to now unknown, and which, within sight of their monuments, had been distinguished by Pharaon for their devotion with Bastet. Thus a director of the priests of the temple, Ânkh-haef, contemporary of Pépi {{II}}, was made arrange faced funerary painted limestone apartments and registered voters of prayers to Osiris and Anubis, first witnesses of the funerary texts which will be gathered later in various corpora that one indicates by the usual term of Livre of Dead the. A little more in the south is the necropolis of the Nouvel Empire whose dimensions there still make the demonstration that Bubastis was then one of the principal metropolises of the area. Indeed with the Average Empire, the city and its temples were also privileged by the sovereigns of. A complex palatial, perhaps ritual, are always built in the vicinity of the necropoles of the previous periods, in the north of the temple which, is the subject to him of a monumental architectural program within sight of the vestiges which were found there even if it is difficult to restore the aspect of then as well the sanctuary were altered at the following periods or to make sure of it as these vestiges come well from Bubastis, the blocks and columns having been able to be " importés" at the following times since of other forsaken sites as it was the case for certain major cities of the delta (see low).

The palate of the Average Empire

The Palate in question which one hesitated a time to identify like a temple, is of a rather complex plan and a vast scale for a city which altogether was then not the royal residence. The vestiges put at the day preserved us his plan partially and remain on the first sitted ones of raw bricks which composed it. The unit discovered covers a vast surface of 4800 m ², which, let us recall it, is not that part of the initial palate the remainder being under the current modern city. This imposing complex was composed mainly of before court giving on what could have been a pylon or a gate opening on a court peristyle of reception followed by a hypostyle room comprising at least six columns and that it is tempting to imagine vaster and as being the throne room.

Of share and others of this public space various buildings enclosed in a rather thick enclosure were to then be devoted to the various functions palatiales and administrative necessary to very complex royal.

One of the elements characteristic of the Palais of the time was clear separation between the profane and royal world, including within the palate, ensured by walls isolating the various parts from/to each other. That indicates an administrative organization and functional hierarchical and whose access was undoubtedly severely controlled by a single entry arranged in each wall which girded each unit. The part most isolated and restricted in term of access being probably that relating to the private apartments of the royal family, but unfortunately this part could not be released.

If one follows the traditional diagram of the operation of the palate proposed by Stephen Quirke to indicate these various parts, for those preserved in Bubastis we let us then have business, " seulement" , with the ruins of the external palate (khenty), part of the courtroom (ouakhy), as well as part of the attics or stores (schena) which ensured the supply of the Large House and could also store the incomes resulting from the trade or the tributes poured by the vassal ones of Pharaon.

This unit is a rare example of the palatiaux complexes built with the Moyen Empire by the sovereigns who were to thus move with the court in the major cities of the country, thus expressing an energy and a royal activity which tallies well with the will posted to reform the State starting from second half of.

One of the reasons of this interest and the development of Bubastis is without any doubt the intensive exploitation of the mines of the peninsula of the the Sinai as well as legendary Pays of Pount whose forwardings maritime or terrestrial could sometimes comprise more than 5000 men. It was necessary thus an administration effective and close to the ground of the operations in order to ensure their supply and Bubastis was ideally placed like base camp of these essential missions to the economy of the country. According to the material found on the site, this palate seems to go up indeed at least with Amenemhat {{III}} and to have been in activity until the second intermediate period indicating an increasing interest of the royal administration for this part of the country which already at the time underwent deep changes with the regular arrival then the sedentarisation of populations coming from Palestine. It was then necessary probably if is not to block, to more control this migratory flux in the Eastern delta which one knows that they began at the beginning from the Moyen Empire. At that time the areas bordering were for the remainder under the influence of Egypt and these shifts in population were not to then represent a real danger.

However several royal foundations of are attested in the area in particular on the site of the future capital of the Hyksôs, Avaris. The last sovereigns of can be already conscious of the risk that this " invasion" progressive represented and which weighed already on the balance of the involved forces, undoubtedly sought to more sit their authority through this complex palatial, delaying a time the expiry and the rupture which besides will be consumed only nearly two centuries later time that the authority of the capacity disaggregates gradually under. Bubastis will fall then under the influence from these " princes of the countries étrangers" (Heka-khasout) which under and will reign it on whole or part of the Double Country.

The apogee of Bubastis

To the New Empire, Bubastis returns ahead of of the scene with the worship of Bastet which was expressed through the cat which was then the alive hypostasis of the goddess whose popularity does not cease growing through all the country. One even came from there to inaugurate a new pertaining to worship center then new a necropolis devoted to cat-like to Saqqarah not far from the old funerary complex of Téti. This hill called since by the Egyptologists hill of Bubastéïon became a necropolis in which large kingdom are made arrange the hypogean ones which was redécouverts recently by the archeologists. Bubastis is also one of the crucial steps of the rites of the Festival-Sed, which sanction the trentes first years of reign of the sovereign. Thus under Amenhotep {{III}} it appears among the large cities which the king will visit during his jubilee. On this occasion it will make build a vault to celebrate the event and will install, distinguished honor, of the statues of its senior officials in the sanctuaries of the city, of which in particular two of sound vizier Amenhotep says Houy represented in sitted scribe as a tailor, and of Khérouef, the Grand intendant of his royal wife Tiyi.

By its proximity with pi-Ramsès with, Bubastis is particularly honoured by Ramsès {{II}} which will embellish or rebuild the temple of the goddess (see low). The city enjoys then a great reputation and its notable progresses little by little in the hierarchy ramesside at the point to control the principal stations of them. Indeed, it seems within sight of the number of personalities resulting from Bubastis which surround Sethnakht then Ramsès {{III}}, that it is of Bubastis that the soldiers come who will ensure the last start of the Nouvel Empire with. The royal family would be itself probably native of this area as formerly that of Ramsès {{Ier}} would be originating in another well-known locality Avaris.

But it is especially from the {{intermediate IIIe}} period that Bubastis becomes famous, and like sites number of the delta, such Tanis or Mendès, benefitted from the final installation of the royalty in Low-Egypt.

It was indeed the cradle of founded by Sheshonq {{Ier}}, which probably marks the advent of Pharaons of origins Berbères, between -945 and -817. This dynasty of Pharaon S that the Egyptologist S qualify “Libyens”, because resulting from the tribes coming from Libya which settled in the Delta of the Nile at the end of the period ramesside, carried the title of “Big bosses of Mâ”. They controlled the armed forces which guaranteed the safety of the kingdom of the Pharaons of Tanis with. At the time of the advent of Sheshonq the first of the name, the royalty was weakened between the controlled spiritual power with Thèbes by the priests of Amon and the royal capacity based with Tanis, the “Thèbes of North”. Sheshonq reconstituted under its reign the unit of the kingdom. With this new dynasty the temples were restored, even increased, as it attests the gantries known as of Bubastides with Karnak, between the first and the second pylon of the large temple of Amon.

The Pharaons of then showed a considerable energy in their architectural program. Not only they restored or made rebuild the temple of Bastet, réapropriant buildings, or all at least their elements, going back to the Moyen Empire, but in more one finds their intervention, generally in a masterly way, in the principal temples of the country such Karnak or Tanis.

Bubastis which was then the principal city of the chefferies of Mâ became new the center of the capacity, although the necropolis royal of was found with Tanis. Indeed in addition to the caveaux ones of Osorkon {{II}}, of found Sheshonq {{II}} and {{III}} plundered at the sides of the tombs of, Sheshonq was reinstalled in the anteroom of the vault of Psousennès {{Ier}}, undoubtedly following the first plundering, and was found by the mission of Pierre Montet in 1939, in its solid silver sarcophagus with head of falcon. The mummy carried a mask of solid gold deprived however of the traditional royal attributes (false Barbe and Uræus), witness undoubtedly of the anarchy which began then. The skin of the king however was covered with prophylactic jewels of a large smoothness attesting the control of arts and the goldsmithery of the royal workshops of.

With the Low Time, the sanctuaries of Bubastis accepted the homages of each Pharaon having managed to push back the foreign threats becoming thus the seat of a powerful nationalist current in reaction to the threats of the Assyrian dominations then Persian. The development of the worships of hypostases at that time represented this reaction of the Egyptian people which then concentrated his devotion on the alive demonstrations their gods to defend the country against the permanent danger of an invasion.

Bastet then became the crowned cat which with the prow of the boat of the god Re pushed back the threat of the snake Apophis guaranteeing thus the return of the god sun each morning.

Pharaon, wire of Re, by marking its devotion with the goddess took part in the re-establishment of the world each day and guaranteed the integrity of the kingdom. The Nectanébo, although originating in Sébennytos, fully seem to have fulfilled this function by devoting a new sanctuary in the middle very temple of the goddess.

Temples of Bubastis

The temple of Bastet

The principal sanctuary of the city was a temple dedicated to the goddess Bastet who was girds of a large raw brick enclosure and of which Hérodote with - left a seizing description.

Traditional phenomenon in the evolution of the ancient cities, the successive generations built their habitat over that their ancestors raising little by little the level of the ground of the city. Only the divine sanctuary remained thus at the level of origin inserting it little by little in the middle of the city (a similar phenomenon is still remarkable with Esna in the south of Louxor). This is why the Greek author could make the turn of it and a plunging description, leaving us invaluable information on the temple and his surroundings.

He then describes a temple surrounded on three on his sides by a broad water part which one can restore as being a lake in the shape of crescent of the moon such that of the temple of Must in Karnak and which the Egyptians named Ishérou.

The temple was directed East-West and offers today the vestiges of a hypostyle room to the bases and imposing capitals of columns. The unit is tiny room to first sat and presents a vast chaotic field of there abandoned blocks finely carved by the carriers of the later times. Many capitals known as “hathoric”, because with the image of the head of the goddess, which formerly decorated the large hall of the sanctuary, were found and dispersed in various museums of the world. The main part of the vestiges dates from the Low Time.

Measuring nearly 200 m length, the temple consisted of at least large a pylon of fifty meters broad, giving access to one or two courses successive (2nd pylon?) opening on the large hall with the hathoric columns built by Osorkon {{II}} of.

It in the first court of the temple that one found two blocks registered with the names of Khéops and Khéphren of, is used in re-employment in foundations. These two witnesses attest seniority of the sanctuary thus.

They are first course also that the large columns monoliths come from palmiform style whose slim capitals crown smooth barrels which received the mark of Ramsès {{II}}. These columns are probably re-employments of the Ancient Empire so much their style is comparable with those which remain still visible with Abousir or with Saqqarah. Indeed the kings of and S made some come from the whole loadings of the granite careers of Assouan in order to decorate their sanctuaries and the presence of monuments of these sovereigns with Bubastis is attested. These columns reached the already sizeable height for a sanctuary of this importance of ten meters and were to confer on these courses ceremonial a harmonious and majestic aspect.

Recently in what one regards as the first court, a colossal statue there was released, crashed to pieces in several pieces, in the middle of other pieces of the palmiform columns also discovered on the occasion and which it has of breaking in its fall. This statue measuring nearly ten meters height could be allotted to Isisnofret second wife of Ramsès {{II}}, or Meritamon his/her daughter whom he also married. This discovery shows the importance of the site to the Nouvel Empire

It is in what should be the second court that was the large hall of Osorkon {{II}}. On the spot still remainders of these famous capitals, works are which one dates from the Moyen Empire and which were re-used by Osorkon for its monument jubilaire. Imposing monoliths carved on their Western and Eastern faces of the face of the goddess framed by a heavy wig whose plaits are rolled up at the base, they supported each one a surmounted cornice of a plank of uræus while on each side of the face two Uræus carrying the red crown of Low-Egypt is drawn up proudly. Several specimens in good state joined the principal Egyptological collections of the world (Cairo, British Museum, Louvre, the Museum off Fine Arts of Boston, etc)

These capitals which one has at least eight specimens dispersed between Bubastis and these collections thus supported the ceiling of the large hall that Osorkon {{II}} built in the honor of its festival '' Heb Sed '', and that it is trying to compare with large the pronaos temple of Hathor to Denderah, even if almost nine centuries separate the two monuments. Following the example capitals, the reliefs of this room are partly preserved in the Egyptological collections (in particular with the Louvre and the British Museum) and are of a great quality.

However, by visiting the site it is always possible to still on the spot find blocks which show these long theories of priests and divine signs who advance towards the royal platform under which the king equipped in the so singular costume with the Festival-Sed receives the homage of all the country in the honor of his jubilee, judicious to sanction the first thirty years of its reign (the known latest date for Osorkon {{II}} is however the year 22…)

Following this before-temple the ruins of the hypostyle big room are. This one could date in its last state from, as it suggest architraves with the names of Ramsès {{II}} although it is proven that the majority of its elements in particular its columns go back to the Moyen Empire and could then come from the temple that the sovereigns of this period ostentation for the country did not fail to build in Bubastis.

It is reduced to scattered blocks rectified and aligned with the sites of origins of the monolithic granite columns. Of style papyriforme closed, they lie crashed to pieces on the ground of the room, of still imposing pieces. The diameter of the barrels exceeds one meter fifty while the capitals, them, exceeded the three meters height. Each column was to thus carry the architraves in the name of the large Pharaon to nearly fifteen meters height and the room was to comprise it more than one about thirty within sight of the vestiges still on the spot (a third of one of the columns of this room, capital included/understood, is preserved at the Museum off Fine Arts of Boston).

All around the ruins and various remains still carry the illustrated tables which were to decorate the walls of the room as well as the ceilings. One also discovered there many vestiges of statues and colossi often broken in the name of Ramsès {{II}} of which a dyad the representative at the side of a goddess lioness who could be Bastet or Sekhmet.

Another hypostyle room followed then which gave access to the zone of the sanctuary (levelled today) which dates in its last state from Nectanebo {{II}} from. Hérodote describes us this sanctuary like a vast space with open sky including/understanding seven naoï, the whole being locked up of a high wall and being surrounded thickets of crowned trees. The temple was surrounded by a sandstone enclosure going back from the time to Osorkon {{II}}, on a level comparable with the temple of Horus with Edfou, forming a long corridor girdling the various parts of the temple.

In the vicinity, in the North-West of the temple of Bastet another temple was in which one saw the temple of Mahès, another cat-like divinity, that Hérodote saw but of which description tallies badly with the found vestiges. Indeed, built in the principal enclosure and within sight of its site perpendicular to the temple of the goddess this building had rather like a Mammisi and thus made integral part of the temple of Bastet, while the monument quoted by the Greek historian was according to him in the east of that of the goddess… This description of the temple made by Hérodote would correspond then more to the temple of Atoum released in the south-east of the temple of Bastet.

The city contained other sanctuaries and monuments:

• a temple of the Ka of Pépi {{Ier}} of;

• a temple of Ka of Téti of;
• a district palatial of the Average Empire;
• a temple of Atoum was discovered a little more in south-west of the Tel., which could be the secondary temple that with considering Hérodote.

Archaeological excavations and principal discoveries

• 1887 - 1889: identification of the Tel. and excavations of scales carried out by Edouard Naville of the Egypt Exploration Fund;

• 1906 : Chance discovery of two masks containing of the objects and gold jewels; the first discovered one was distributed between the Egyptian museum of Berlin and the Metropolitan Museum off Art of New York. The second discovered one, containing pertaining to worship crockery in particular, parts of goldsmitheries as two bracelets with the names of Ramsès {{II}} is exposed since with the Egyptian Musée of Cairo;
• 1957 : discovered in the north of the Tel. by L. Habachi of a vast raw brick complex of the Average Empire;
• 1962 - 1964: excavations and identification of the découvete of Habachi as being a palate of Amenemhat {{III}};
• 1980 - 1981: second excavation campaign of the palate of the Average Empire;
• 1984 - 1985: excavations of the mastaba of Ancient Empire and the necropolis princely of the Average Empire;
• 1985 - 1986: discovered and excavates of a palate of not far from the temple of the Ka of Pépi {{Ier}};
• 1992 : discovered during the cleaning of the colonnade of Ramsès {{II}} of a new hiding place: two bowls contained earthenware and gold statuettes;
• 1996 : discovered vestiges of a door of Ancient Empire near the temple of Bastet;
• 1997 : discovered statue known as of the " Nourrice" representing an avoided lady of its atours carrying several children in its arms. The exceptional part is dated from the Nouvel Empire and is exposed since with the Musée of Cairo;
• 2002 - 2003: discovered of a colossal statue of time ramesside representing a large royal wife;
• 2004 : discovered of a trilingual stele of the type Pierre de Rosette carrying a decree of Ptolémée {{III}} reforming the Egyptian calendar.

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