Elephantine

Elephantine ( ; ; ; Elephantíne; , ) is an island on the Nile, forming part of the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. The archaeological digs on the island became a World Heritage Site in 1979, along with other examples of Upper Egyptian architecture, as part of the "Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae" (despite Elephantine being neither Nubian, nor between Abu Simbel and Philae).

The island has been studied through excavation sites. Aramaic papyri and ostraca have been collected to study what life was like on Elephantine during the time of Ancient Egypt. There have been studies about the Elephantine Triad and the Jewish presence that formulated on the island.

The standard reference collection of the Aramaic documents of the Elephantine Papyri and Ostraca is the Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt. They document (among other things) a mercenary community with its own Yahweh temple that coexisted and conflicted with local Egyptian religion, culminating in the temple's destruction in 410 BC.

Etymology

The island was known to the ancient Egyptians as (ꜣbw), meaning an elephant. Through Middle Egyptian to Medio-Late Egyptian to Coptic (Ⲉ)ⲓⲏⲃ .

Geography

thumb|View south (upstream) of Elephantine Island and Nile, from a hotel tower.

Elephantine, or what Ancient Egyptians called Yebu or Abu, is located at the uppermost part of the Nile river that is a part of Aswan. With the length of and width of at its widest point, Elephantine was located in the first nome. The layout of this and other nearby islands in Aswan can be seen from west bank hillsides along the Nile. The island is located just downstream of the First Cataract, at the southern border of Upper Egypt with Lower Nubia. This region above is called Upper Egypt because it is further up the Nile.

The island may have received its name after its shape, which in aerial views is similar to that of an elephant tusk, or from the rounded rocks along the banks resembling elephants.

Ancient Egypt

The island stood at the border between Egypt and Nubia; so, its location made it a natural cargo transfer point for river trade. Trade routes would stop on Elephantine to deliver ivory, a precious good in Ancient Egypt. It was an excellent defensive site: A fort had been erected c. 3000 BC on the island during the First Dynasty, though the island had been occupied earlier. This border is near the Tropic of Cancer.

Historical texts from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt mention the mother of Amenemhat I, founder of the Twelfth Dynasty, being from the Elephantine Egyptian nome Ta-Seti. Many scholars have argued that Amenemhat I's mother was of Nubian origin.

Archaeological sites

Between 1893 and 1910, Aramaic papyri, consisting of Jewish archives, were found and collected on Elephantine. There has been a large presence of German excavation with a vast amount of discoveries or papyri and ostraca. The documents have led to discoveries about Jewish presence and significance in Elephantine. French teams also set out to Elephantine where they discovered several hundred ostraca but very few have been published thus far. The major findings from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century are found in these museums; Berlin, Brooklyn, Cairo, London, Munich, and Paris, with the largest collection being in Berlin.

Ongoing excavations by the German Archaeological Institute at the town have uncovered many findings, on display in the Aswan Museum located on the island, including a mummified ram of Khnum. Artifacts dating back to prehistoric Egypt have been found on Elephantine. A rare calendar, known as the Elephantine Calendar of Things, which dates to the reign of Thutmose III during the Eighteenth Dynasty, was found in fragments on the island.

Important technological evidence from the German excavations was recently published, datable to the Middle Kingdom. An intentional production of arsenical bronze, evidence of the cementation alloying process of copper with speiss inside ceramic crucibles, and a piece of speiss, were published from the Elephantine archaeological contexts.

In ancient times the island was also a vital stone quarry, providing granite for monuments and buildings all over Egypt.

Temples

Prior to 1822, there were temples to Thutmose III and Amenhotep III on the island. In 1822, they were destroyed during the campaign of Muhammad Ali, who had taken power in Egypt, to conquer Sudan. Both temples were relatively intact prior to the deliberate demolition.

right|thumb|Small Kalabsha Temple Reconstruction, south of the island.

The main two temples of the island were for the Goddess Satet and the God Khnum.

Elephantine triad

The Elephantine Triad is between Khnum, Satis, and Anuket. It is debated whether Anuket is the daughter of Khnum and Satis, or the sister of Satis. Elephantine was the dwelling place of Khnum, the ram-headed god of the cataracts, who guarded and controlled the waters of the Nile from caves beneath the island. These papyri document the presence of a community of Judean mercenaries and their families on Elephantine, starting in the seventh century BC. The mercenaries guarded the frontier between Egypt and Nubia to the south. Following the 587 BC destruction of Jerusalem, some Judean refugees traveled south and, in what may be called an "exodus in reverse", settled on Elephantine. They maintained their own temple (the House of Yahweh), in which sacrifices were offered, evincing polytheistic beliefs, which functioned alongside that of Khnum. It is not clear when or why the Jewish community settled in Elephantine.

The earliest recount of the Jewish temple is from 525 BC. In 410 BC, the Jewish temple, the House of Yahweh, was burned down by a Persian military commander due to bribery from Khnum priests.

Other features

The Aswan Museum is located at the southern end of the island. Ongoing excavations by the German Archaeological Institute at the island's ancient town site have uncovered many findings that are now on display in the museum, including a mummified ram of Khnum. A sizable population of Nubians live in three villages in the island's middle section. A large luxury hotel is at the island's northern end.

The Aswan Botanical Garden is adjacent to the west on el Nabatat Island.

Primary Scholarly Documents

Arthur Ungnad, Aramäische Papyrus aus Elephantine
Eduard Sachau, 1908, Drei aramäische papyrusurkunden aus Elephantine
Eduard Sachau, 1911, Aramäische Papyrus und Ostraka aus einer jüdischen Militär-Kolonie zu Elephantine

Naos votivo di Kasa 1 0147115g.tif|Votive naos with sledge and pronaos supported by hathoric columns, dedicated by the artisan Kasa to the Elephantine Triad. Museo Egizio, Turin.

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Gallery

Nubian village Elephantine Island.JPG|Nubian houses on central Elephantine Island

View 071, Verdant Euphantine Island, opposite Assuan, Egypt, 1908.jpg|Verdant Elephantine Island, opposite Assuan, Egypt", 1908. Lantern slide. Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn Museum - Island of Elephantine (Egypt) - Edwin Howland Blashfield - overall.jpg|Island of Elephantine, by Edwin Howland Blashfield. Brooklyn Museum

Ruins on Elephantine Island, Aswan, Egypt.jpg|Ruins on Elephantine Island in 2000