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Decoration
All surviving decorations on the temple date to the Roman period, which is why researchers dated
it to this period. There are however some indications that an older, pre-Roman structure may have
been present at the site. The eastern and western exterior walls were decorated during the reign
of Claudius (41-54 AD) (de Meyer and Minas-Nerpel 2012, 1-2).
West exterior wall
The decoration on the western exterior wall is a depiction of Claudius executing the ritual of raising
the pole for the god Min. The god Min was associated with fertility. His main responsibility was
sexual procreativity, which was emphasized by his black skin and his erect penis. He, together with
Hathor, was also the god to watch over the desert routes. Min was associated with the eastern
routes, Hathor with the western routes. Min is also normally depicted with one of his arms raised
as a threatening gesture. This showed his power to protect (Shaw 2014, 13-140).
Fig. 40 Sketch of western wall raising of the pole scene (de Meyer and Minas-Nerpel 2013, TAFEL XXI)