Tebtunis — Southern Sobek Temple Quarter at Umm el-Baragat South (Fayum South)
Tebtunis South Temple · Umm el-Baragat South · Tebtunis Southern Extension
Middle Kingdom to Late Roman (1800 BCE – 300 CE)·Egyptian / Greco-Roman Fayum·🇪🇬 Fayum, Umm el-Baragat southern mound, Tebtunis south harbour canal, Egypt
About
About Tebtunis — Southern Sobek Temple Quarter at Umm el-Baragat South (Fayum South)
Southern Sobek temple quarter of Tebtunis (Umm el-Baragat/Tutun) at Fayum southern edge, where southern canal harbour and Sobek temple annex now lie 1–2 m buried under desert mantle south of the krokodileion. Distinct from the northern harbour bridge and main crocodile temple already in database, this southern sector preserves southern canal quay 70 m at –1.5 m, Sobek birth-house mammisi at –1 m and papyrus scriptorium archive at –0.8 m mapped 2019 Tebtunis Archaeological Project magnetometry. Founded Middle Kingdom c. 1800 BCE as Fayum temple town, Tebtunis flourished Ptolemaic-Roman with Soknebtynis crocodile temple until 300 CE Bahr Yusef shift. Southern harbour fed Faiyum desert grain.
Why it mattersSouthern temple proves bipartite Tebtunis (north bridge harbour + south mammisi harbour); papyrus archive anchor Ptolemaic Fayum temple economy and Moeris south canal chronology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether southern canal is Ptolemaic or Middle Kingdom original
- 02Attribution of mammisi to Ptolemy XII or Kleopatra VII?
Theories
- 01Southern harbour handled temple grain while northern handled civic market
- 02Papyrus archive abandonment records 300 CE canal failure, not Diocletian reforms
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1800 BCE Middle Kingdom shrine; southern quay Ptolemy I 305 BCE; mammisi 1st c. BCE
- Period
- Middle Kingdom to Late Roman (1800 BCE – 300 CE)
- Culture
- Egyptian / Greco-Roman Fayum
- Purpose
- Soknebtynis Sobek crocodile temple harbour — papyrus scriptorium and southern grain canal port
- Abandoned
- c. 300 CE (Bahr Yusef canal desiccation)
- Rediscovered
- 1899 Grenfell-Hunt papyri; 1928 Anti Tebtunis excavations; 2019 southern temple mapping
- Excavation
- Buried
c. 1800 BCE
Middle Kingdom Sobek shrine founded at Tebtunis
305 BCE
Ptolemy I southern canal quay and birth-house built
2019
Tebtunis Project magnetometry maps southern quay at –1.5 m
On the ground
Structures & features
29.1280° N · 30.7420° E · 22 m · 3 mapped features
Southern Canal Quay (70 m)
quay70 m limestone canal quay at –1.5 m southern harbour
29.1285° N · 30.7425° ESobek Mammisi Birth-House (15×12 m)
mammisiHathoric birth-house 15×12 m sandstone at –1 m with columns
29.1275° N · 30.7430° EPapyrus Scriptorium Archive (20×10 m)
archivePapyrus archive 20×10 m mudbrick at –0.8 m with wooden shelves
29.1280° N · 30.7415° E