Native name: جزيرة فيلة (Ⲉ)ⲓⲏⲃ 𓍋𓃀𓅱𓃰 | |
|---|---|
 West bank of Elephantine Island on theNile | |
  Elephantine Location in theNile atAswan, Upper Egypt | |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 24°05′N32°53′E / 24.09°N 32.89°E /24.09; 32.89 |
| Adjacent to | Nile |
| Length | 1,200 m (3900 ft) |
| Width | 400 m (1300 ft) |
| Administration | |
Egypt | |
Elephantine (/ˌɛlɪfænˈtaɪniː,-ˈtiː-/EL-if-an-TY-nee, -TEE-;[1]: 351 Ancient Egyptian:𓍋𓃀𓅱𓃰,romanized: ꜣbw;Egyptian Arabic:جزيرة الفنتين;Greek:ἘλεφαντίνηElephantíne;Coptic:(Ⲉ)ⲓⲏⲃtransl. cop – transl. (e)iēb,Coptic pronunciation:[jæb]) is anisland on theNile[1]: 351 , forming part of the city ofAswan inUpper Egypt. Thearchaeological digs on the island became aWorld Heritage Site in 1979, along with other examples of Upper Egyptian architecture, as part of the "Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae" (despite Elephantine being neither Nubian, nor between Abu Simbel and Philae).[2]
The island has been studied through excavation sites. Aramaic papyri and ostraca have been collected to study what life was like on Elephantine during the time of Ancient Egypt. There have been studies about the Elephantine Triad and the Jewish presence that formulated on the island.[3]
The standard reference collection of the Aramaic documents of theElephantine Papyri and Ostraca is theTextbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt.[4] They document (among other things) amercenary community with its ownYahweh temple that coexisted and conflicted with local Egyptian religion, culminating in the temple's destruction in 410 BCE.
The island was known to theancient Egyptians as𓍋𓃀𓅱𓃰 (ꜣbw), meaning an elephant[5]. ThroughMiddle Egyptian/ˈʀuːbaw/ to Medio-Late Egyptian/ˈjuːbəʔ/ to Coptic (Ⲉ)ⲓⲏⲃ/ˈjeβ/.
Elephantine, or what Ancient Egyptians called Yebu or Abu, is located at the uppermost part of the Nile river that is a part of Aswan.[6][1]: 351 With the length of 1.6 km (0.99 mi) and width of 450 m (1,480 ft) at its widest point, Elephantine was located in the firstnome.[3][7] The layout of this and other nearby islands in Aswan can be seen from west bank hillsides along the Nile. The island is located just downstream of theFirst Cataract[1]: 351 , at the southern border ofUpper Egypt withLower Nubia. This region above is called Upper Egypt because it is further up the Nile.[3]
The island may have received its name after its shape, which in aerial views is similar to that of anelephant tusk, or from the rounded rocks along the banks resembling elephants.[8]
The island stood at the border between Egypt and Nubia; so, its location made it a natural cargo transfer point for river trade. Trade routes would stop on Elephantine to deliver ivory, a precious good in Ancient Egypt.[3] It was an excellent defensive site: A fort had been erected c. 3000 BC on the island during theFirst Dynasty[9]: 64 , though the island had been occupied earlier[9]: 64 . This border is near theTropic of Cancer.
Historical texts from theMiddle Kingdom of Egypt mention the mother ofAmenemhat I, founder of theTwelfth Dynasty, being from[10] the Elephantine Egyptian nome Ta-Seti.[11][12][13] Many scholars have argued that Amenemhat I's mother was of Nubian origin.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
Between 1893 and 1910, Aramaic papyri, consisting of Jewish archives, were found and collected on Elephantine. There has been a large presence of German excavation with a vast amount of discoveries or papyri and ostraca.[22] The documents have led to discoveries about Jewish presence and significance in Elephantine.[8][23] French teams also set out to Elephantine where they discovered several hundred ostraca but very few have been published thus far.[22][24] The major findings from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century are found in these museums; Berlin, Brooklyn, Cairo, London, Munich, and Paris, with the largest collection being in Berlin.[25]
Ongoing excavations by theGerman Archaeological Institute at the town have uncovered many findings, on display in the Aswan Museum located on the island, including amummified ram of Khnum.Artifacts dating back toprehistoric Egypt have been found on Elephantine. A rarecalendar, known as theElephantine Calendar of Things, which dates to the reign ofThutmose III during theEighteenth Dynasty, was found in fragments on the island.
Important technological evidence from the German excavations was recently published, datable to theMiddle Kingdom. An intentional production ofarsenical bronze, evidence of the cementation alloying process of copper with speiss inside ceramic crucibles, and a piece of speiss, were published from the Elephantine archaeological contexts.[26]
In ancient times the island was also a vitalstone quarry, providinggranite for monuments and buildings all over Egypt.
Prior to 1822, there were temples toThutmose III andAmenhotep III[27] on the island. In 1822, they were destroyed during the campaign ofMuhammad Ali, who had taken power in Egypt, toconquer Sudan. Both temples were relatively intact prior to the deliberate demolition.[citation needed]
The main two temples of the island were for the Goddess Satet and the God Khnum.[24] The first temple was theTemple of Satet, founded around 3000 BC and enlarged and renovated over the next 3,000 years. There are records of anEgyptian temple to Khnum on the island as early as theThird Dynasty. This temple was completely rebuilt in the Late Period, during theThirtieth Dynasty of Egypt, just before the foreign rule that followed in the Graeco-Roman Period. The Greeks formed thePtolemaic dynasty during their three-hundred-year rule over Egypt (305–30 BC) and maintained the ancient religious customs and traditions, while often associating the Egyptian deities with their own.
Most of the present day southern tip of the island is taken up by the ruins of the Temple of Khnum. These, the oldest ruins still standing on the island, are composed of a granitestep pyramid from the Third Dynasty and a small temple built for the localSixth Dynastynomarch,Heqaib. In the Middle Kingdom, many officials, such as the local governorsSarenput I orHeqaib III, dedicated statues and shrines into the temple.
Anilometer was a structure for measuring the Nile River's clarity and the water level during the annual flood season. There are two nilometers at Elephantine Island.[3] The more famous is a corridor nilometer associated with the Temple of Satis, with a stone staircase that descends the corridor.[3] It is one of the oldest nilometers in Egypt, last reconstructed inRoman times and still in use as late as the nineteenth century AD. Ninety steps that lead down to the river are marked withArabic,Roman, andhieroglyphic numerals. Visible at the water's edge are inscriptions carved deeply into the rock during theSeventeenth Dynasty.
The other nilometer is a rectangular basin located at the island's southern tip, near the Temple of Khnum and opposite the Old Cataract Hotel. It is probably the older of the two. One of the nilometers, though it is not certain which, is mentioned by the Greek historianStrabo.
Many sources claim that the fabled "Well of Eratosthenes", famous in connection withEratosthenes' presumed calculation of theEarth's circumference, was located on the island.Strabo mentions a well that was used to observe that Aswan lies on theTropic of Cancer, but the reference is to a well atAswan, not at Elephantine. Neither nilometer at Elephantine is suitable for the purpose, while the well at Aswan is apparently lost.[28]
The Elephantine Triad is between Khnum,Satis, andAnuket, it is debated if Anuket is the daughter of the two or the sister of Satis.[3][29] Elephantine was the dwelling place ofKhnum, the ram-headed god of the cataracts, who guarded and controlled the waters of the Nile from caves beneath the island.[3]
Satis was worshipped from very early times as awar goddess and protector of this strategic region of Egypt. When seen as afertility goddess, she personified the bountiful annual flooding of the Nile. The cult of Satis originated in the ancient city ofAswan. Later, when the triad was formed, Khnum became identified as her consort and, thereby, was thought of as the father of Anuket. His role in myths later changed; another deity was ascribed duties with the river. At that time his role as a potter enabled him to be assigned a duty in the creation of human bodies.
Anuket was the Goddess of the first cataract and is referred to as the personification of the Nile.[3] A cult is formed on the Island for Anuket.[29]
TheElephantine papyri and ostraca are caches of legal documents and letters written inImperial Aramaic dating to sometime in the fifth century BC.[30][31] These papyri document the presence of a community of Judean mercenaries and their families on Elephantine, starting in the seventh century BCE. The mercenaries guarded the frontier between Egypt andNubia to the south.[32][33] Following the587 BCE destruction of Jerusalem, someJudean refugees traveled south and, in what may be called an "exodus in reverse", settled on Elephantine. They maintained their own temple (theHouse of Yahweh), in whichsacrifices were offered, evincingpolytheistic beliefs, which functioned alongside that ofKhnum.[34] It is not clear when or why the Jewish community settled in Elephantine.[6]
The temple may have been built in reaction toManasseh's reinstitution of pagan worship or simply to serve the needs of the Jewish community.[30]
There is bias that surrounds the Jewish and Egyptian interactions that occurred on Elephantine but the findings show that there was often culture interchange.[6] Conflict began due to a stone that was originally the Egyptian's but turned up in the hands of the Jews.[35]
The earliest recount of the Jewish temple is from 525 BC.[36] In 410 BC, the Jewish temple, theHouse of Yahweh, was burned down by a Persian military commander due to bribery from Khnum priests.[3][25][8] While no explicit reasoning has been given for this lash out, it has been suspected that the priests did this because of the Jewish rituals of sacrificing of sheep, especially during Passover.[8] Papyri records that have been collected from this time show Jewish letters askingBagoas for help rebuilding the temple.[8]
The standard reference collection of the Aramaic documents of theElephantine Papyri and Ostraca is theTextbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt.[37]
TheAswan Museum is located at the southern end of the island. Ongoing excavations by theGerman Archaeological Institute at the island's ancient town site have uncovered many findings that are now on display in the museum, including amummified ram of Khnum. A sizable population ofNubians live in three villages in the island's middle section. A large luxury hotel is at the island's northern end.
The Aswan Botanical Garden is adjacent to the west onel Nabatat Island.
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