The Sun Temple of Nyuserre was excavated by Egyptologists Ludwig Borchardt and Friedrich Willhelm von Bissing sometime between 1898 and 1901 on behalf of the Berlin Museum. The sun temple is near Memphis and is closely linked with the Abusir necropolis, both geographically and functionally.
Location of the Sun Temple of Nyuserre
The Sun Temple of Nyuserre is located in Abu Ghurob, north of Abusir.
History of the Sun Temple of Nyuserre
Nyuserre was the penultimate Egyptian pharaoh to build a sun temple. In doing so, he was following a tradition established by Userkaf that reflects the paramount importance of the cult of Ra during the Fifth Dynasty. Sun temples built during this period were meant to play for Ra the same role that the pyramid played for the king: they were funerary temples for the sun god, where his renewal and rejuvenation were necessary to maintain the world’s order could take place. Cults performed in the temple were thus primarily concerned with Ra’s creator function and his role as the king’s father. During his lifetime, the king would appoint his closest officials to the running of the temple, allowing them to benefit from the temple’s income and thus ensuring their loyalty. After the pharaoh’s death, the sun temple’s income would be associated with the pyramid complex, supporting Nyuserre’s funerary cult.
Nyuserre’s sun temple is the largest and best-preserved, leading some Egyptologists such as von Beckerath to see Nyuserre’s reign as the peak of the solar cult, an assertion which, according to Grimal, is exaggerated. The temple was known as the Shesepibre by the Ancient Egyptians, which has been variously translated as “Joy of the heart of Re”, “Re’s Favorite Place”, “Delight of Ra”, or “Place agreeable to Ra”. Curiously, Nyuserre’s sun temple was first built in mudbrick, only later to be reconstructed entirely in stone. It is the only such structure to receive this treatment, thanks to which many of the architectural elements and reliefs have survived. While this renewal remains unclear, Lehner has proposed that it may be related to Nyuserre’s Sed festival or some evolution in sun temples’ ideology.
Layout
The temple was constructed on the orders of Nyuserre Ini, sixth king of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. The exact dates of his reign are unknown, but it is estimated that he came to the throne early in the second half of the 25th century BCE. Nyuserre also built a pyramid complex in what was then the royal necropolis, 1 km (0.62 mi) to the south of Abu Gorab in Abusir. The temple was probably constructed late during Nyuserre’s reign. It was built in honour of the Egyptian Sun god Ra and named (Ssp-ib-R’), meaning “Re’s Favorite Place” or “Joy of Re.”
The temple consists of a rectangular walled enclosure, 100 by 76 meters, with an entrance situated on the eastern face. The complex is primarily built out of mudbrick covered with limestone and is located on the shores of the ancient Abusir lake bed.[6] The main temple was built on a natural hill that had been enhanced. Artificial terraces on this hill were created, serving as the foundation for the temple. Entrance to the temple is gained through a small structure called the Valley Temple, on the eastern edge of the complex. It is partially submerged and has suffered extensive damage. It is known that an entrance corridor ran from the portico through the building and led to a causeway on the opposite side.
Inside the temple is a large, open courtyard. At the western end of the courtyard lie the ruins of a colossal stone obelisk. The obelisk had a pedestal red-granite base, sloping sides, and a square top. However, the obelisk was constructed out of irregularly shaped limestone blocks. Estimates of the combined height of the obelisk and base vary, although the obelisk was most likely between thirty-five and fifty meters tall. An altar is located in the centre of the courtyard, near the eastern face of the obelisk. It was constructed from five large blocks of alabaster, which are arranged to form a symbol that has been translated as “May Ra be satisfied”. Records from Userkaf’s sun temple suggest that two oxen and two geese were sacrificed each day. On the Northside of the courtyard are the remains of several storerooms, which may have been where the sacrificial animals were slaughtered.
Along the east wall of the courtyard are a set of nine circular alabaster basins. It has been theorised that there were initially ten basins. Some scholars believe these basins were used to collect blood from animal sacrifice. To support this hypothesis, they point to evidence of grooves cut into the stone floor of the courtyard that may have been used to drain away from the blood. Other researchers, however, think that the basins were probably only symbolic or decorative since no knives or other equipment related to sacrifice have been discovered in the area. It has been hypothesised that these basins were used as levelling devices for large areas, linked together and filled with water to provide a common reference point. Further examination, however, is required to determine the exact role of the alabaster bins.
A large, 30 x 10 m brick built sun barque buried in a mud-brick chamber was excavated to the south of the temple.
In the covered corridor, on the east and southern edges of the temple, there were carved reliefs along the interior walls. The passageway was decorated with relief scenes depicting the sed-festival, an essential Ancient Egyptian ritual of renewal. These carvings highlight Re’s benevolent attitude towards Nyuserre’s reign through episodes of the sed-festival. Such depictions represent the most detailed display of this theme from the Old Kingdom. Similar sed-festival scenes also appear in the chapel towards the southern edge of the chapel.
Additionally, in the short passageway connecting to the obelisk platform from the south, known as the Room of the Seasons, are detailed painted reliefs in limestone depicting two of the three Egyptian seasons, akhet (inundation) and shemu (harvest). The reliefs from the Room of the Seasons illustrate the sun’s life-giving and sustaining role in nature, particularly during the spring and summer. These seasonal scenes depict seasonal activities (i.e. netting fish, trapping birds, making papyrus boats, and phases of the agricultural cycle). The vast graphics of animal and plant life and human engagement with nature maybe reflect some of the earliest extensive corpora of such scenes. King Nyuserre himself likely commissioned the artwork. Although the reliefs do not reflect typical royal funerary decoration scenes during The Old Kingdom, and although skilfully designed, they are not as carefully executed as similar carvings from the 4th and early fifth dynasties. The image to the right shows a fragmented relief from the temple. The carving portrays Egyptians trapping birds in a clap net. The clap net itself is missing, but six men are shown in the lower register holding the rope that will pull the net shut. In the upper right register, two figures are shown caging two birds that have already been caught, while in the upper left corner, a cow and her calf make up the remnants of a much larger animal husbandry scene. Nearly all reliefs at the site were removed, primarily to German collections, and many perished during World War II. Unfortunately, as a result, today, almost all reliefs have been either destroyed or severely fragmented.
