page84
83
The false door in Shenhur functioned similarly to the one in Taffeh. It is located on the outside of
the temple, possibly having been located in some sort of back chapel, functioning as a place for
people not allowed to enter the temple to commune with the god. The reason it was located at the
back of the temple was because this was the closest to the sanctuary, which means the god could
use the door to enter the chapel through the sanctuary (de Meyer and Minas-Nerpel 2012, 2).
Doors
Both the Taffeh temple and the temple of Dendur show evidence of having had doors in the
entrance of the temple. This is interesting, because doors were usually located further into the
temple. The temple of Shenhur does not show any evidence of this and probably did not have
doors. The doors in Taffeh and Dendur were likely build to protect the sanctuary from the ‘chaotic’
world outside. The fact that they were built at the front instead of further into the temple is
because of the small size of both temples (Raven 1996, 49;Aldred 1978, 52-57).
It is hard to make an interpretation on the function of the doors or if they had actually been part of
the temples in the first place, as I do not have the expertise required to make such interpretations.
It is however very possible as it did occur in traditional new kingdom temples. This did usually
occur further into the temple, but it is possible these cases are an exception as the temples are
small. The doors could have been a way to protect the sacred spaces from the outside forces.
Especially in Taffeh, where it was a one room structure, this could have been important
symbolically (Wilkinson 2007, 67-68).
Materials
Both the Taffeh temple and the temple of Dendur were built with sandstone. This was the most
popular material to use for temples. Another was limestone, which was used for the temple of
Shenhur. The materials used are very likely related to the location of the temples. Sandstone was
used in the northern Tura regions, in the south at Gebel Silsila and in Aswan and further south.
Limestone was also found in the areas of Tura in the north, and also at Gebelein near Thebes and
at a few locations along the Nile in between these points. Sandstone was preferred as it was
believed to be more impervious to flooding than limestone. In the case of Shenhur sandstone was