Taharqo Edifice and Nilometer

Taharqo constructed a rectangular cult building near the sacred lake. Blocks inscribed for the 25th Dynasty king Shabaqo were used in the building’s construction; there may therefore have been an earlier version of the structure on the same site.

The exterior north and south walls of the edifice were decorated with sunk relief scenes of the king and various gods. The king moved east to west, while the gods faced eastward (towards the building’s entrance). The first scene depicted the king leaving his palace, while the following scenes portrayed him greeting the gods and making sacrifices to them in order to enter the temple. Interior rooms contained “litanies of the sun” and scenes associated with the “decade festival.”

The Taharqo edifice was used for rituals concerning the return of Amun-Ra from the west bank and the god’s union with the creative powers of the primeval waters (Nun). It was also a place where the celebration of the union of the gods Osiris and Amun took place.

Nilometers typically functioned as places where the level of the Nile could be measured; here, however, it seems to have instead served a ritual purpose. The deep well connected the temple to the primeval waters. All these rituals helped the king reaffirm his power.

Construction materials: sandstone