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Cross section of the temple
The temple of Dendur had a gate and a temple with three rooms, identified by Aldred as the
pronaos/hypostyle hall, the vestibule or offering hall and the sanctuary. The rooms were
connected in length with two doors. Behind the sanctuary was another hidden room that had to
be accessed from the outside at the back wall of the temple. Aldred interpreted this as the burial
room of Pedesi and possibly Pihor. Another room was located behind the temple in the rocks.
Aldred interpreted this as the original burial room of the brothers, from which they were moved to
the room behind the temple. The temple was built on a platform in its original location. On Figure
5 the cross section of the temple can be seen (Aldred 1978, 40-43).
Aldred mentions that certain features that can be found in traditional Egyptian temples are missing
in Dendur. He gives as a possible explanation for this that much more time was spend on building
the great temples of Egypt, which took centuries to complete, while the temple of Dendur was
built in a much shorter time span. The missing features include sphinxes watching the entrance, or
scenes of warfare of the pharaoh defeating his foes. Also features such as gardens, stockyards, and
workshops, which can be found in a great temple, are missing in the temple of Dendur (Aldred
1978, 40).
Aldred never mentions a reason for the temple of Dendur to have been built in a shorter time
span. The fact that he mentions it must mean that he is of the opinion that these features are
considered important in Egyptian temples and when possible would always be added to a temple.
The fact that the temple of Dendur was built in a shorter time span could be related to the temple
being a gift to the father of Pedesi and Pihor, therefore having to be finished within his lifetime. It
could also be that in ancient Egypt these features were important, but as the temples became less
powerful and came under firmer control by the Roman authorities building elaborate temples like
that was deemed unnecessary or could provide the priests with more power, endangering the
authority of the Roman rulers themselves. It is also possible that such features were never used in
smaller temples to begin with.