Egyptian Monuments: El-Hiba

El-Hiba

El-Hiba in Description

el-Hiba (alt. el-Hibeh; Arabic الحيبة) is the modern name of the ancient Egyptian city of Tayu-djayet (t3yw-ḏ3yt), an ancient nickname meaning "their walls" in reference to the massive enclosure walls built on the site. In Coptic it was known as Teudjo, and during the Graeco-Roman Period, it was called Ankyronpolis. In antiquity, the city was located in the 18th Upper Egyptian nome, and today it is found in the Bani Suwayf governorate.

From the late 20th Dynasty to the 22nd Dynasty, al-Hibah was a frontier town, marking the division of the country between the High Priests of Amun at Thebes and the kings of Egypt at Tanis. A massive enclosure wall was built at the site, with bricks stamped with the names of the High Priests Pinedjem I and Menkheperre. Earlier, the High Priest Herihor also lived and operated from al-Hibah. During the 22nd Dynasty, king Shoshenq I built a temple dedicated to "Amun-Great-of-Roarings" at the site, complete with a topographical list of cities captured during his "First Campaign of Victory" in Palestine; the temple is also decorated by his son, Osorkon I.

Near the modern village of el-Hiba, on the east bank of the Nile about 32km south of Beni Suef, is the site of ancient Tuedjoi. Now thought to have been founded at least as early as the New Kingdom, the town was an important frontier fortress on the northern limits of the Theban region during late 20th Dynasty to 22rd Dynasty and a temple was built here at that time, probably by Shoshenq I. Although there was continued habitation through the following centuries, the town regained its military importance under the name of Ankyrononpolis during the Graeco-Roman Period. The mudbrick ruins of the town now sprawl up the hillside from where there is a magnificent view over the surrounding plain to the River Nile.

The site was surveyed under the auspices of the Egypt Exploration Fund by B Grenfell and A Hunt, who published their findings of many important Greek and demotic papyri texts from el-Hiba in 1906. More recently the American archaeologist Robert Wenke conducted a survey of Ankyrononpolis in 1980 which included test excavations.

Of the structures found at el-Hiba, there are remains of large mudbrick enclosure walls where a number of bricks were found to be stamped with the names of Pinudjem I and Menkeperre who were high-priests of Amun-Re at Thebes around the beginning of 21st Dynasty. It is thought that they established a residence here. The small temple of Amun at the base of the hill now appears to be interrupted by the modern road. It is thought that the temple was constructed by Shoshenq I Hedjkeperre Setepenre of 22rd Dynasty, a military leader and Libyan chieftain who is credited with ending the power of the Theban Priest-Kings and is traditionally identified as the 'Shishak' of Biblical fame. A fragment of relief from el-Hiba depicts the king making offerings. The temple was dedicated to 'Amun of the Crag' or 'Amun Great of Roarings'.

The temple is now largely ruined, but standing on the hill above you can still make out the shape of the low stone walls emerging from the sand, scrubby grass growing around it. Within the enclosure walls, the stone-built temple measured about 36m by 18m and contained an entrance hall with two rows of four papyrus columns - one of the earliest pronaoi - and a four-pillared hall. There was a small offering hall and a barque shrine with four small side-chambers as well as a crypt.

El-Hiba is also a vast necropolis and it was in the tombs where the majority of papyri were found, as well as many sarcophagi.

Sources:

Egyptian Monuments - El-Hiba, Graeco-Roman town site of Ankyrononpolis and remains of Temple of Shoshenq I

The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100-650 BC), 2nd edition by Kitchen, Ken. (Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips Ltd., 1986, ISBN: 0856682985)

Archaeological Investigations at el-Hibeh 1980: Preliminary Report by Wenke, Robert J. 1984 (American Research Center in Egypt Reports)

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