Kom el-Nana
Encyclopedia
Kom el-Nana is an archaeological site near the ancient Egypt
ian city of Akhet-Aten. It lies south of the city and east of the modern village of el-Hagg Quandil. For a long time its ruins were thought to be those of a Roman military camp, but between 1988 and 2000 Barry Kemp excavated remains of an Amarna period stone temple with garden and subsidiary buildings including a bakery and a brewery. Neither the original name nor the owner of the compex has been identified. It is likely to have been a sun temple and is very similar to Maru-Aten
. It consists of a brick enclosure with an area of 228×213 m; it is divided into two unequal parts by an east-west wall. It is likely that pylon
gates opened on all four outer walls. Since it stood at a very prominent place – at the southern end of the so-called Royal Road, the main street of Akhet-Aten – it's possibly identical with the sunshade temple of Nefertiti
mentioned on the boundary stelae
.
In the northern part of the enclosure brick ovens were found, findings suggest a bakery and brewery. Traces of a building (the "northern shrine") were also found. Most of the northern part was overbuilt by a 5th-6th century Christian monastery that reused the original walls, so the southern part, which was not overbuilt, is better preserved; the follosing buildings were excavated:
In the southeast corner of the southern enclosure stood a group of houses in two sets, with garden plots.
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian city of Akhet-Aten. It lies south of the city and east of the modern village of el-Hagg Quandil. For a long time its ruins were thought to be those of a Roman military camp, but between 1988 and 2000 Barry Kemp excavated remains of an Amarna period stone temple with garden and subsidiary buildings including a bakery and a brewery. Neither the original name nor the owner of the compex has been identified. It is likely to have been a sun temple and is very similar to Maru-Aten
Maru-Aten
Located 3 km to the south of the central city area of the city of Akhetaten , the Maru-Aten, short for Pa-maru-en-pa-aten , is a palace or sun-temple originally thought to have been constructed for Akhenaten's queen Kiya, but on her death her name and images were altered to those of Meritaten, his...
. It consists of a brick enclosure with an area of 228×213 m; it is divided into two unequal parts by an east-west wall. It is likely that pylon
Pylon (architecture)
Pylon is the Greek term for a monumental gateway of an Egyptian temple It consists of two tapering towers, each surmounted by a cornice, joined by a less elevated section which enclosed the entrance between them. The entrance was generally about half the height of the towers...
gates opened on all four outer walls. Since it stood at a very prominent place – at the southern end of the so-called Royal Road, the main street of Akhet-Aten – it's possibly identical with the sunshade temple of Nefertiti
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...
mentioned on the boundary stelae
Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten
The Boundary Stelae at the city of Amarna were constructed between Year 5 and Year 8 in the reign of Akhenaten.-Naming:There have been fifteen stelae found at this site, each of which has been labeled with a letter. Of the fifteen, three are located on the western side of the Nile. These have been...
.
In the northern part of the enclosure brick ovens were found, findings suggest a bakery and brewery. Traces of a building (the "northern shrine") were also found. Most of the northern part was overbuilt by a 5th-6th century Christian monastery that reused the original walls, so the southern part, which was not overbuilt, is better preserved; the follosing buildings were excavated:
- A stone-floored pylon
- The rectangular Southern Pavilion, surrounded by sunken gardens;
- A central platform with a building including a columned hall and other rooms
- The Southern Shrine, consisting of rooms and a western portico.
In the southeast corner of the southern enclosure stood a group of houses in two sets, with garden plots.