Antaeopolis (Qaw el-Kebir Temple Town)
Antaeopolis · Tjebu · Qaw el-Kebir · Antaeus City
Old Kingdom to Late Antique (2700 BCE–7th c. CE)·Egyptian (nome capital)·🇪🇬 Sohag Governorate, Qaw el-Kebir (Antaeopolis/Tjebu) east bank opposite Sohag, 10 km south of Sohag, Egypt
About
About Antaeopolis (Qaw el-Kebir Temple Town)
Nome capital of the 10th Upper Egyptian nome (Wadjit), Antaeopolis (Egyptian Tjebu) preserves a Ptolemaic temple of Ptolemy IV Philopator (pronaos 18 columns, ped imported granite), destroyed 19th c. by Muhammad Ali factory. Village on 12 m tell with Old Kingdom mastaba field (Wahkai). Boundary stelae to Antaeus. Causeway to Nile landing.
Why it mattersLost Ptolemaic temple case study (19th c destruction) and Old Kingdom nome capital tell superposition.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Temple reuse of earlier shrine
- 02Antaeus myth origin
Theories
- 01Petrie Qaw
- 02Gauthier Tjebu
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Old Kingdom tell 2500 BCE; nome capital Old Kingdom; temple Ptolemy IV 221–204 BCE
- Period
- Old Kingdom to Late Antique (2700 BCE–7th c. CE)
- Culture
- Egyptian (nome capital)
- Builders
- Egyptian (nomarchs) / Ptolemaic
- Purpose
- Upper Egyptian nome capital and contested temple of contested Antaeus myth
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
2500 BCE
Mastaba field of nomarchs
221 BCE
Ptolemy IV temple pronaos
1820 CE
Factory dismantling temple
On the ground
Structures & features
26.9180° N · 31.4980° E · 62 m · 2 mapped features
Pronaos of Ptolemy IV
temple18 Hathor columns, architrave blocks with cartouche, destroyed but bases
26.9190° N · 31.4990° EMastaba Field of Wakhai
mastabaOld Kingdom shafts 12 m deep with false doors and serdab
26.9170° N · 31.4970° E
Gallery