|
|
|
Ancient Egypt Magazine Volume 5 issue 6 June/July 2005 NETFISHING TEMPLES – ON THE NET Whilst the pyramids of ancient Egypt may be its most enigmatic monuments, it is the surviving temples that serve as one of the main draws for the modern tourist today. Sacred sites, which were once seen as the very "home of the gods" with their courtyards and columned halls, pylons and secret chambers now hold a fascination for the modern traveller, and rooms that were once the sole preserve of the priesthood now echo to the footsteps of a thousand tourists. This month NETFISHING looks at what the Internet has to say about the surviving religious monuments of this ancient land. While surfing the web, to find sites which would be of interested to the AE reader, I was surprised by the amount of misinformation that can be found on something as basic as "Egyptian temples". Several hours spent searching the Internet resulted in very few sites that were both informative and accurate – and so this is my pick of the best. If you know of a more informative site then do get in touch – via the Editor. AN INTRODUCTION. Most of the sites that one finds on the Internet are rather general and serve as only the briefest introduction to the subject of the Egyptian temple. One site which one would certainly want to try is the British Museum’s site at http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/ which has a section on temples. Unfortunately this seems entirely aimed at younger children and so whilst the graphics are good, it is very basic and even older children will soon find it of little use in doing a school project. A far better site, for the adult reader, is the "Tour Egypt" site provided by the Egyptian Tourist Board to be found at www.touregypt.net/featurestories/temples.htm. This site gives a good introduction, with excellent photographs, and then leads you on to a list of related topics, which provide a more detailed discussion of temples, architecture and religious beliefs. A surprisingly large list of surviving temples is also included – each of which has a full web-page devoted to that specific temple, and so this is a most useful site in gathering background knowledge prior to a trip to Egypt. The only criticism is to be found in their mention of "lotus" columns and "palmiform" columns on their web-page entitled "Columns of ancient Egypt" which is to be found at: www.touregypt.net/featurestories/columns.htm. Clearly the author has not read the book The Columns of Egypt * by J. Peter Phillips (our own AE Assistant Editor) which makes it clear that "lotus" columns are actually quite a rare architectural feature in Egyptian temples and that true "palmiform" columns do not come into use until the end of Pharaonic history. (The earlier forms of this type may have represented ostrich feathers rather than palm tree fronds.) Another useful site for background information to the temples of Egypt can be found at: whilst the Odyssey "Adventures in Archaeology" site is also informative at: http://www.odysseyadventures.ca/articles/egyptian_temples/egyptian_temples-text.htm A useful glossary of terms, relating to temples, can also be found at: www.egyptologyonline.com/temple_glossary.htm FURTHER STUDIES. One of the most important aspects of the how the Egyptian temple functioned was the way in which the offerings were made to the gods. This "daily ritual" is covered, in some detail, by the University College London web-site at: www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/religion/dailycult.html Temple architecture is also looked at by University College site: www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/art/temple.html whilst the orientation of a temple, and the artwork which decorated its walls, is considered, in some depth, at: http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/temple/reading.html The conservation work undertaken on Luxor Temple by the Chicago House team is also discussed at: SPECIFIC TEMPLES. Many specific temples are discussed and photographed on a number of web-sites (with varying degrees of success) – a few of the better examples are given below: * The Columns of Egypt was published in 2002 by Peartree Publishing and is available cost £23.80 Hardback, £17.80 Paperback – contact the AE Editor for further details. Victor Blunden Back to Ancient Egypt Magazine - Volume 5 Issue 6 contents
|
|
Return to Home
with questions or comments about Ancient Egypt Magazine. or for sales, subscriptions, back numbers and advertising |
e-
mail to: