page18
17
Doors
Both Raven and Schneider believe the temple once had doors within the entrance. Raven believes
the doorways in the facade still preserve evidence of the hinging and locking of the wooden doors.
This is based on the architectural features interpreted as door-jambs of 31 cm deep, which abut
against the two columns flanking the entrance. The walls recede 14 cm on each side at this point.
The walls that formed the broken entablature of the doorway extended an extra 27 cm inwards.
They formed two hook-shaped projections into which the upper pivots of double doors could be
placed.
Two square sockets of 15 x 15 cm are still visible behind the re-entering angles of the jambs. Raven
believes these sockets were meant to hold wooden blocks provided with perforations into which
the two cylindrical pivots could be placed (Raven 1996, 49).
The doorjambs show that double doors could have possibly been part of this temple. Doors in
traditional Egyptian temples were usually located deeper into the temple. They protected the
sacred inner areas and acted as symbolic thresholds which were necessary in ritual processions.
They were like gateways and represented the threshold as well as barriers. They could signify
transition as well as protection. The door-leaves usually turned on pivots set into sockets in the
threshold and lintel of the doorway. They were usually made of wood and frequently plated with
metal and decorated with texts and inscriptions matching those on the adjacent walls. Materials
used to decorate the doors could have been copper, bronze, electrum or gold. False doors held the
same significance as thresholds to the divine. It would not be strange for doors to be placed here,
even though they were usually located within a temple, as this temple only has one room. It would
hide the sacred area of this temple, possibly containing a statue or depiction of a god or goddess,
from view (Wilkinson 2007, 67-68).
columns
Some columns in traditional temple building in Egypt were made from one monolithic block of
stone, especially in earlier periods. Most however were build up in sections. They were shaped and
smoothed from the top down. The finished surface resembled one single pillar, especially when
painted. It was common in Egyptian temples for columns supporting the roof of the temple to
represent enormous plants, such as lotus, papyrus or palm trees. Shafts of columns were most