<< Our Photo Pages >> Serabit el-Khadem Temple of Hathor - Ancient Temple in Egypt in Lower Egypt (North)
Submitted by AlexHunger on Thursday, 29 September 2011 Page Views: 22797
Roman, Greek and ClassicalSite Name: Serabit el-Khadem Temple of HathorCountry: Egypt Region: Lower Egypt (North) Type: Ancient Temple
Nearest Town: Ras Abu Rudeis
Latitude: 29.036879N Longitude: 33.459261E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Hathor is not originally an Egyptian Goddess. She is widely believed to be of Semitic origin, starting of as Ishtar in Mesopotamia, evolving into Ashtarte in Assyria, becoming Ashtoreth on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean (Israel/Phoenicia/Philistines). She even migrated to Cyprus and beyond as Aphrodite and Venus, while the Egyptians adopted her as Hathor some time after the Old Kingdom. The peak of her career in the Egyptian Pantheon came as nursemaid and wife of the God Horus.
The Egyptians largely preferred to keep their own gods, but Hathor stuck after the prolonged mining expedition to the Sinai and Negev starting from the reign of Sneferu in the Old Kingdom. The mining expeditions resumed during the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom when Egyptian political stability allowed it.
Flinders Petrie wrote in his 1906 Researches In The Sinai that the Egyptians believed foreign gods had power on respective territory and were to be respected. Hathor was primarily a fertility Goddess, as suggested by the cow horns. She was also called the “Lady of the Turquoise” and the goddess of way farers. This made her the patron goddess of miners as Turquoise and Copper was the primary ore sought in these expeditions.
The Egyptian largely depended on inspiration to find gems and metals as there was little technology. This came from dreams in “Sleep Chambers” at the temples on the Sinai. The expedition leaders and foremen would pray for signs and wait for a dream to tell them where to dig next. As the revenues from the Sinai mines were considerable, the cult of Hathor quickly spread to the banks of the Nile upon the triumphant return of the miners.
British colonials damaged many hieroglyphics while attempting to revive the mines. Flinders Petrie started excavating the site in 1904, as discussed in his book "Researches in the Sinai." It is said Petrie moved many of the stelles around while other were taken away.
The Site is relatively inaccessible as one needs to rent a sturdy off-road vehicle to get to the foot of the mountain and then rent a camel to get up part of the rest and walk the remainder on foot.
It has been surmised that this temple and mountain is the site of the Biblical mount Sinai as described in the Book of Moses.
Old Israel datum coordinates: 21520E, 829980N.
Note: Forgotten archaeological gems: The ancient turquoise mines of South Sinai
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