Medamud, from the Ancient Egyptian Madu, also spelt Al Madamum, was a settlement in ancient Egypt. Its present-day territory is located east-north of Luxor.
Location of Medamud Village
Medamud is located on the Nile‘s east bank, 5 km north of the Karnak temple, about 8 km east-north of Luxor town, Luxor governorate.
History of Medamud Village
Early excavations revealed the remains of an irregular enclosed space dating from the First Intermediate Period and erected around two oval structures considered to be the primaeval mounds.
The site became increasingly important during the Middle Kingdom when Senwosret III built a new temple dedicated to the falcon-god Montu, protected by a large enclosure. Archaeologists discovered several inscribed and decorated doorways from this period. They show the king either officiating in front of the god or celebrating his Heb-Sed.
Although only partially, Thutmose III was the first king from the New Kingdom to transform the temple. Other pharaohs followed his example later by enlarging the main building. During the Ramesside Period, interest in the place started to decline.
Interest was rekindled in the Ptolemaic era, with a new building program instituted at the site. A small temple was built close to the main one, and then, spurred on by Ptolemy V Epiphanes, a more impressive one was erected on the axis of the old sanctuary. A portico, a monumental gate, and three kiosks were added later. In the Roman era, the emperor Augustus finally initiated the construction of a large wall to protect the sacred area. His successor, Tiberius, completed this construction and added a large gate to mark the entrance, the last monumental edifice erected in Pharaonic style at Medamud.
The Temple of Montu stood in Medamud. It was excavated by Fernand Bisson de la Roque in 1925, who identified several structures dedicated to the war-god Montu.
Temple of Montu
A simple Temple of Montu existed in medamud already towards the end of the Old Kingdom or during the First Intermediate Period. A wall surrounded it. It now lies below the present temple.
There were two pylons, one behind the other and beyond them, there was a double cave sanctuary, the underground chambers marked with mounds on the surface. These mounds of the earth probably functioned as ‘primaeval mounds’.
During the Middle Kingdom’s 12th Dynasty, the old temple was rebuilt entirely on a bigger scale.
Further building and renovation continued well into the time of the Roman Empire.
