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Fig. 33 Door in second room to the sanctuary (www.metmuseum.org, accessed on 27-3-2019)
Aldred mentions that the second chamber in a typical Egyptian temple would be the vestibule.
According to Aldred this was probably used for storing offerings, vessels and other furniture used
in the cult (Aldred 1978, 52).
The storage areas of temples were used to store supplies of items produced by the workforce of
the temple, as well as gifts, payments and offerings. In the Egyptian mind these areas were
integrated to some extend into the sacred realm of the divine estate. There are scenes in new
kingdom tombs that show offerings being made to gods in these areas. It is therefore possible the
room functioned as both a vestibule, like Aldred described, and an offering hall. There is however
no evidence for storage of any kinds of items in this room. Therefore in my opinion it is better to
interpret it as an offering hall in this case (Wilkinson 2007, 75).
The third room
Aldred interprets the third room as the sanctuary. In Egyptian temples this is the place in which
religious processions took place. The room has an elevated floor. According to Aldred this is meant
to form the symbolic primeval mound. The ceiling is lowered, according to Aldred to represent the
simple reed shelter of the ‘First Time’. Aldred argues that the daily cult would present food
offerings to the god(dess) of this temple. The only decoration in this room is the carving on the
back wall of the sanctuary, on the stela, where Pihor is depicted worshipping Isis and below it, in a
scene that is partly destroyed, Pedesi worshipping Osiris (Aldred 1978, 52; www.metmuseum.org,
accessed on 27-3-2019).