Description : The major sanctuary was begun in July 54 BC, during the reign of Ptolemy XII (80-58 and 55-51 BC). Its program was never fully completed - as was the case with the Temple of Horus at Edfu - since it lacks the architectural devices preceding the most sacred spaces of a great sanctuary of this period, namely a pylon and a court. These elements remained in a state of construction at the level of the foundations, with the exception of the rear part of the peribolic wall which was dismantled in a secondary period, the other components - naos (in the heart of which the deity resided) and pronaos - are almost intact. They house the arrangement of more than fifty rooms on several levels. Some archaeological sources show that the city was already a regional capital under Cheops in Dynasty IV (ca. 2575-2450 BC). In the heart of a region known for its predynastic settlements, between Nagada and Abydos, the agglomeration existed since the origin of the pharaohs. Test pits to the south and west of the main temple have revealed an occupation dating to the Nagada II period (3400-3200 BC). Human occupation of the site is attested to much earlier periods since the oldest human skeleton in the Nile Valley, dating back to the Middle Paleolithic (more than 50,000 years ago), was found 2 km from the main sanctuary (Taramsa Hill). Dendara as a territorial centrality lasted well beyond the time of the pharaonic gods, until the medieval period. Thus, the visitor can observe important remains of a church with a basilica plan which, according to a first analysis, dates from the 6th century. The site thus offers the opportunity to study more than five millennia of development of a territorial metropolis, its population and its environment.
See on map ยป