 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 November 1999 Issue No. 455 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 November 1999 Issue No. 455
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Books Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters "Thoth is burning"
By Zahi Hawass
It is called Tuna Al-Gebel and it is the ancient cemetery of the city of Hermopolis, "town of the god Hermes," messenger of the gods of ancient Greece. Hermes' Egyptian counterpart was Thoth, god of wisdom, represented as an ibis or a baboon. The site is located to the west of Hermopolis Magna, present-day Al-Ashmunein, and the ruins are extremely interesting. I excavated part of the site and found the remains of a church and Roman mud-brick walls.
As fascinating as the discoveries of ancient sites are, the stories connected with them are equally remarkable. The ancient cemetery for residents of Al-Ashmunein is said to have been connected with Tuna Al-Gebel by a tunnel, and myths, like the tragic story of Isidora, have also evolved over time.
Tuna Al-Gebel has three major landmarks: the Graeco-Roman cemetery to the south, the sacred catacombs of Thoth and the ruins of a city dating from the second to the sixth centuries AD. The most interesting part of the site is the northern settlement, known as Nazlet Tuna. This town is mentioned in an administrative papyri dating between the second and the seventh centuries AD. Walking through the site, one sees thousands of artifacts scattered on the ground. A mud-brick structure, identified as an ancient church, was uncovered during a recent excavation by the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation. An enormous water-wheel and well-shaft, plummeting to a depth of more than 30m, lend to the site's peculiarity. The guides and antiquities inspectors at the site maintain that the water-wheel served to supply water at the resting place for the sacred monkeys. Also on the necropolis is the tomb of Isidora, whose tale is one of the most romantic of ancient times.
The story goes as follows: There was once a beautiful young woman named Isidora, who lived in the town of Al-Ashmunein. She was very much loved by her father and renowned for her beauty, kindness, and modesty. Indeed, she captured the hearts of all who knew her.
As fate had it, Isidora fell in love with a young man from Antinopolis (present-day Sheikh Abada), located on the east bank of the Nile across the river from Al-Ashmunein. The young man came to visit Isidora's father and ask for her hand in marriage. To the young couple's delight, the family agreed to an engagement. Unfortunately, while sailing to visit her fiancé, Isidora's boat overturned in mid-stream and the young woman drowned.
Isidora's father built a special tomb at Tuna Al-Gebel in her memory, comprised of a room for visitors and a burial chamber. Inside the burial chamber lies a bed of stone, on top of which rests the granite sarcophagus that contained Isidora's mummified body. The tomb wall is inscribed with a touching poem written by Isidora's father, saying that she was kind and pure, and that in her afterlife she would dwell eternally in paradise. It is said that her fiancé often lit lamps inside the tomb in memory of his lost love.
BABOON IN A PALM GROVE: Thoth, the god of wisdom, was frequently represented as a baboon. The centre of Thoth's cult was located near present day Al-Ashmunein. The name is derived from the Pharaonic khmunw, meaning "city of eight."
A temple portico dating back to 370 BC once formed the facade of a great shrine to Thoth and has stood the test of time. The largest statue of the god stands in a neighbouring palm grove.
The ruins of the Roman town were partly excavated by a German archaeological expedition in 1982 and two major streets mentioned in Greek papyri, Antinoe Street and the Dromos of Hermes (associated with Thoth) were discovered. The site bears a special relation to Tuna Al-Gebel, subject of the story on this page entitled "Thoth is burning".
In 1960, Taha Hussein, one of Egypt's great philosophers and writers, built a rest house just a few metres away from Isidora's tomb. He was then minister of education and when he stayed at the rest house, he would walk to her tomb every day and light a lamp for Isidora.
Underground tunnels, catacombs really, which served as the burial place for baboon and ibis mummies, are situated close by. The galleries contain thousands of mummified animals and are the most popular tourist destination at Tuna Al-Gebel today.
These animals led to a rather interesting episode when I lived at the site as an inspector. In September of 1969, at 3 am, I heard the guards knocking at the window of my room. I stuck my head out the window and asked what was going on. They told me that the galleries were burning and that there was smoke pouring from the tunnels.
I jumped out of bed and tried to call the police station or fire department, but the phones were not very efficient in those days. I asked one guard to get on his bicycle and ride to the police station as fast as he could. The next day, the fire department of Minia, the police department, the antiquities authorities, and the district attorney arrived. The fire department poured water into the tunnels for three consecutive days but they could not stop the blaze. The security police and the district attorney investigated the case in an effort to establish the cause of the fire. Gamal Mokhtar, among the greatest Egyptologists of our time and one of the few consultants for UNESCO, came to help, but even he could not figure out how to stop the fire.
Finally Mamdouh Yacoub, an architect of the antiquities department, suggested that we construct a wall at the end of the galleries to contain the fire. After building the wall, we simply waited for the fire to run its course, occasionally placing a hand on the wall to see if it had cooled. It took a whole month for the fire to burn out. Subsequent investigations pointed to the probability that one of the guards leading a tourist through the catacombs had carelessly discarded a cigarette that ignited the blaze.
The terrible event was widely publicised and was one of the most trying and perplexing experiences of my life.
The words of one bold headline will be forever etched in my memory: "Thoth is Burning!"
