El-Tod ( , from , ,
History
The history of the site can be traced to the Old Kingdom period of Egyptian history. A granite pillar of the Fifth dynasty pharaoh,
Userkaf, is the oldest object found at El-Tod.
It was this same pharaoh who ordered that the temple to Montu be enlarged.
Evidence of Eleventh dynasty building is shown in the discovery of blocks bearing the names of
Mentuhotep II and
Mentuhotep III. Under
Senwosret I, these buildings were replaced with a new temple.
Further additions to this temple were made under Ptolemy VIII.
Culture
Aside from Montu, to whom a temple was dedicated, the Egyptian goddess
Iunit was of local importance.
According to
Flinders Petrie, the god of Tuphium was
Hemen.
As part of the
Thebaid, the area also saw the worship of Sebak (
Sobek), the Egyptian crocodile god.
Remains
Tod Treasure
In 1936, archaeologists discovered in the support structures under the ruined temple building a number of metallic and lapis lazuli artifacts. Most of the metallic objects were made of silver. They were earmarked for some authorities of unknown origin and epoch, who are believed to have been of non-Egyptian origin. Nevertheless, the style of the objects resemble artifacts that were excavated in
Knossos, which date to c. 1900–1700 BC.
[According to P-B Geneviève of the Louvre] Yet, at Knossos such objects were made of clay, possibly imitating metal.
The initial discovery of four chests (inscribed with the name of Pharaoh
Amenemhat II) made of copper and containing the objects had been made by F. Bisson de la Roque.
[Pierrat-Bonnefois Geneviève, Louvre Museum website. Musée du Louvre, Multimedia Division, Cultural Production, Department 75058, Paris, Cedex 01, France Retrieved. Also see at the Louvre Museum website] Some sources posit that the treasure is of Asiatic origin and that some of it, in fact, was manufactured in Iran (the latter as claimed by
Roger Moorey).
[ cf. E. Porada, (1982) "Remarks on the Tod Treasure in Egypt",] Some gold artifacts are also part of the Treasure, and they may have originated from
Anatolia. A similar conclusion is drawn on the origin of the silverware based on evidence obtained from relative analysis of the metallic constituents.
[Paul T. Nicholson, Ian Shaw books.google.co.uk Ancient Egyptian materials and technology (702 pages) Cambridge University Press, 2000 ,Retrieved][K.R.Maxwell-Hyslop ( citing Edith Porada) JSTOR A Note on the Anatolian Connections of the Tôd Treasure Anatolian Studies Vol. 45, (1995), pp. 243-250 (article consists of 8 pages) Published by: British Institute at Ankara Retrieved]
Objects that were found as part of the Treasure seem to have originated from various parts of the world, indicating trade contacts between the Ancient Egyptians and other early civilizations.
The total weight of all gold items was 6.98 kg, and of the silver items 8.87 kg.
See also
-
List of ancient Egyptian towns and cities
Further reading
External links
