Elephantine’s Architectural Heritage Revisited: An Architectural Tale of a Town Reshaped in the Center of a Sacred Landscape
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
Fall 10-26-2024
Abstract
Located at the border between Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, Elephantine Island has a rich historical legacy. It has the characteristic quality of being a melting pot of various cultures, ethnic groups, and faiths. Since the predynastic history, Elephantine was considered a sacred Egyptian center, holding the mythical tie with the cosmic cycle of the Nile, and a significant ontological value to the mixed inhabitants of the region. Elephantine housed various religious constructions, such as temples for the First Cataract deities, Nilometers, a pyramid, and even an assumption of a demolished Jewish temple. By Late Antiquity, came the Christianizing of the island, establishing a full-scale Christian pilgrimage center in Elephantine. Over time, the island reached complete abandonment in the tenth century AD. For establishing an extended comprehensive study of Elephantine’s heritage, and understanding its development, this paper aims at bringing its cultural heritage back to life. Providing an interpreted vision that would serve forming a visualization of such complex cultural heritage, and what this can offer. The study is done through a survey of related research and projects and analyzing how the history of Elephantine was approached, using hermeneutics as a methodology, for providing an interpretive frame of the ontological and spiritual position of Elephantine Island through history. According to the various mythological and theological perceptions, the paper will thematically analyze the collected data from different resources such as ethnographic descriptions, iconographic representations, archaeoastronomical studies, archaeological records, and spatial information, for concluding a resurrection of Elephantine into the present day.
Recommended Citation
Said Abd El-Lateef, R. (2025). Elephantine’s Architectural Heritage Revisited: An Architectural Tale of a Town Reshaped in the Center of a Sacred Landscape. In: Castanho, R., Hayder, G., Ahmed, S. (eds) Urban Identity Explored: Architecture and Arts in Cities. CITAA 2023. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60641-0_17
Comments
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60641-0_17