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The temple of Shenhur had four columns in the pronaos (which is called the hypostyle hall by de
Meyer and Minas-Nerpel) and 18 in the hypostyle hall (referred to as the pronaos by de Meyer and
Minas-Nerpel) (Schneider 1979, 92-98; 103-104;
Wilkinson 2007, 66-67; Aldred 1978, 50, de
Meyer and Minas-Nerpel 2012, 3-4).
Another difference is that the temple of Dendur has decoration on the columns representing
certain traditional scenes such as the pharaoh making offerings to gods. The columns in the Taffeh
temple are not decorated (Aldred 1978, 50).
What is also interesting is that Schneider described the columns in the Taffeh temple to have been
made of one monolithic block of sandstone. This is unusual in Egyptian temples of this period.
Aldred does not provide any information on the columns of Dendur on this matter (Schneider
1979, 95; Wilkinson 2007, 43).
False doors
All three temples seem to have a false door or a possible false door, in case of the Taffeh temple.
The false door of the temple of Shenhur is located on the back of the outside of the temple. The
false door/niche in the Taffeh temple is located in the back on the inside of the temple. In the
temple of Dendur the false door is also located in the back on the inside of the temple, but does
look different compared to the example in the Taffeh temple. This is likely be related to their
purpose.
The door in Taffeh probably functioned as a way for the god to present themselves to the people in
which case the temple itself functioned as a place for people who were not allowed inside the
temple to talk to the god (Schneider 1979, 94; Raven 1996, 40).
The false door in Dendur was a stela and functioned as a doorway for the dead to be able to enter
the temple and receive offerings made in the sanctuary. It was not meant for common people as
most people were not allowed inside the sanctuary. The false door in this temple was a stela. It
was decorated with scenes of Pedesi and Pihor accompanied by Isis and Osiris. The false door
functioned as a way for the deceased to enter the sanctuary and receive offerings (Aldred 1978,
57-61).