Tell el-Maschuta
Archaeological site in Egypt / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tell el-Maschuta (Arabic تل المسخوطة Tell el-Mashūta, ) - the ancient Egyptian Per Tem/Pi-Tem - is located in the Wadi Tumilat region in the eastern Nile Delta about 16 kilometers west of Ismailia and about 18 kilometers east of Tell er-Retaba.
Tell el-Maschuta in hieroglyphs | |||||
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Per Tem Pr Tm House of Atum (Tem) [1] | |||||
Necropolis „Ero“ | |||||
Tell el-Maschuta Hill of the Monument Hill of the Damned / Idols | |||||
Greek | Heroonpolis | ||||
Tem (Atum) |
The use of the site was subject to constant change. Originally founded in the 16th century BC as a settlement of around two to three hectares, Tell el-Maschuta was re-founded at the end of the 7th century BC as a trading center and place of worship of the deity Atum (Tem), which was associated with the naming of Per Tem (Atum) in Tjeku under the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Necho II. Herodotus mentioned the "Arab city of Patumos" located in this region in connection with the canal construction begun by Necho II.[2] In Hellenistic times, Per Tem probably bore the name Heroonpolis; however, this is not certain. The name Ero, which originated in Roman times, is the short form of Heroonpolis.
Earlier results of archaeological research initially led to the assumption that Tell el-Maschuta was the biblical Pithom. For example, Per Tem was also mentioned on the recovered statue of Ankhkherednefer,[3] from which numerous historians inferred a connection to the cult of the deity Atum in Heliopolis, the biblical On. The Pithom stele from the Ptolemaic period shows that the old name Per Tem was still in use as a place name for Tell el-Maschuta several centuries after Necho II.[4]
At the beginning of the 2nd century AD, the function of Tell el-Maschuta changed again and it now served as a Roman cemetery. Since the beginning of the 5th century AD, Tell el-Maschuta has only been a mound of ruins. From 1977 onwards, it was archaeologically examined several times during excavation campaigns.