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Context of the temples
The Taffeh temple overlooked the Taffeh valley in which buildings of Roman soldiers and priests
were located. It was also part of a Nubian construction program. It was not a temple specifically
built for this region, but part of a larger series of religious structures. This means the location of
the temple could be related more to the location of the other constructions of the Nubian
construction program rather than the Taffeh valley being important on its own (Schneider 1979,
12).
The temple of Dendur was built for one specific Blemmey lord as a reward for his loyalty. Therefore
the location was very likely related to the residence of the lord himself and/or the place where his
sons, to whom this temple was dedicated, had passed away (Aldred 1978, 30-32).
The temple of Shenhur was located at a popular trade route in a region that received a lot of
attention in the Roman period due to their mining activities that took place and the trading
activities that occurred in locations that could be reached by travelling through wadi’s over these
eastern desert roads. This can be supported by the fact that the raising of the pole scene was
depicted on this temple. This only occurred in three temples built during the Roman period. This
shows Shenhur was an important location to people worshipping this god. As Min is the protector
of the eastern dessert routes it is not strange to find this depiction in Shenhur. As Shenhur was also
extended over time it is not strange to assume the temple remained popular throughout the
Roman period (de Meyer and Minas-Nerpel 2012, 4; Shaw 2014, 140).
Reason for being built
The reasons for building the three temples differ. The Taffeh temple was part of the Nubian
construction program, a larger project of temples and fortresses started by the Greeks and finished
by the Romans. The temple was a political move, meant as propaganda showing the power and
wealth of the Romans (Schneider 1979, 11; 94).
The temple of Dendur was also built in a style based on the temples of the new kingdom. It had
been a gift of the Roman emperor to a Blemmey lord who’s sons had drowned in the Nile. The
drowning of Pihor and Pedesi was probably the initiative to build the temple (Aldred 1978, 30-32).