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location in relation to the course of the Nile in antiquity. Many temples in later periods had their
own Nilometres even when in proximity to those of other temples. Before that there were central
places where the Nile was measured, such as at Aswan (Wilkinson 2007, 73; Schneider 1979, 12;
92; 103).
To me this door does not seem to show any clear evidence of being a true Nilometre, except it
being positioned towards the Nile in the East. It is possible that this small door led to a well-like
gauge, but nothing of the sort was ever described to have been found therefore we cannot say
with certainty that this functioned as a Nilometre.
What is also a problem is the date it was built at. It was described to have been added later to the
temple and is therefore not part of the original design. As I do not have the means to check this
myself I cannot assume that the door was part of the original construction of the temple.
Therefore this door cannot provide us with any certifiable knowledge on the function the temple
had when it was built and it will therefore not be discussed any further.
The back wall
In the back wall of the temple something resembling the shape of a doorway can be found. It is
decorated on the top. This decoration exists of a circle with wings attached on the left and right
side. This decoration was probably added during the reconstruction according to Schneider and at
least cannot be said to have been part of the original temple with certainty, which is why I will not
discus it in this thesis. It was interpreted by Raven and Schneider as a niche. Another possibility is
for it to have functioned as a false door. False doors were found in a number of new kingdom and
later temples.
They can also be found in pyramid temples and private tombs of the old kingdom. According to
Egyptian religion these were fully functioning portals by which the spirit of the deceased or a god
might leave or enter the inner tomb to receive offerings.
In new kingdom mortuary temples the false door was usually placed at the very back of the
sanctuary, allowing the spirit of the king to enter the temple from his burial site, which was in this
period, located elsewhere. Divine temples had false doors to give special access for those without
the right to enter to the deity of that temple (Schneider 1979, 94; Raven 1996, 40).