- Temple of Debod
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Temple of Debod 
Location: Madrid, Spain Spanish Property of Cultural Interest Official name: Templo de Debod Type: Non-movable Criteria: Monument Designated: 2008[1] Reference #: RI-51-0012074 
The Temple of Debod at night
Templo de Debod in Egypt before relocation to Spain.The Templo de Debod or Temple of Debod is an ancient Egyptian temple which was rebuilt in Madrid, Spain.
The temple was built originally 15 km south of Aswan[2] in southern Egypt very close to the first cataract of the Nile and to the great religious center dedicated to the goddess Isis, in Philae. In the early 2nd century BC, Adikhalamani (Tabriqo), the Kushite king of Meroë, started its construction by building a small single room chapel dedicated to the god Amun.[2] It was built and decorated on a similar design to the later Meroitic chapel on which the Temple of Dakka is based.[2] Later, during the reigns of Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy VIII and Ptolemy XII of the Ptolemaic dynasty, it was extended on all four sides to form a small temple, 12 X 15 m, which was dedicated to Isis of Philae. The Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius completed its decorations.[3]
From the quay there is a long processional way leads to the stone-built enclosure wall, through three stone pylon gateways and finally to the temple itself.[2] The pronaos, which had four columns with composite capitals collapsed in 1868, and is now lost.[2] Behind it lay the original sanctuary of Amun, the offering table room and a later sanctuary with several side-rooms and stairs to the roof.[2]
In 1960, due to the construction of the Great Dam of Aswan and the consequent threat posed to several monuments and archeological sites, UNESCO made an international call to save this rich historical legacy. As a sign of gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the temples of Abu Simbel, the Egyptian state donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968.
The temple was rebuilt in one of Madrid's parks, the Parque del Oeste, near the Royal Palace of Madrid, and opened to the public in 1972.[4] The reassembled gateways appear to have been placed in a different order than when originally erected. Compared to a photo of the original site, the gateway topped by a serpent flanked sun appears not to have been the closest gateway to the temple proper.[1] It constitutes one of the few works of ancient Egyptian architecture which can be seen outside Egypt and the only one of its kind in Spain.
See also
- Temple of Dendur
- Temple of Taffeh
- Temple of Ellesyia
References
- ^ Database of protected buildings (movable and non-movable) of the Ministry of Culture of Spain
- ^ a b c d e f Dieter Arnold, Nigel Strudwick & Sabine Gardiner, The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, I.B. Tauris Publishers, 2003. p.64
- ^ Dieter Arnold, Temples of the Last Pharaohs, Oxford University Press, 1999. p.193
- ^ Arnold, Temples of the Last Pharaohs, p.193
External links
- Ayuntamiento de Madrid |Templo de Debod (Spanish)
- 19th century travellers' descriptions and prints of the Debod temple [2]
Coordinates: 40°25′26.59″N 3°43′04″W / 40.4240528°N 3.71778°W
Categories:- 1972 establishments
- Museums in Madrid
- Buildings and structures in Madrid
- Archaeological sites in Egypt
- Egyptian temples
- Relocated ancient Egyptian monuments
- Bien de Interés Cultural buildings
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