The Dendur Temple in New York: The Gallus Connection

Abstract

The Dendur Temple in New York: The Gallus Connection R. J. SCHORK It's a safe betthatfewofthethousandsofvisitorsto theEgyptian templein theglasswingofNew York's Metropolitan Museumrealizethatthismonument was originallybuiltat theouterfrontier ofhisdomainbyorderofthe first Roman Emperor, AugustusCaesar.The sandstonegateway and centralshrinewere erectedsometimebetween20 and 10 bc on thewestbankoftheNile atDendur,aboutfifty milessouthoftheriver's first cataractat Aswan.Carvedinto thetemple's outerand innerwallsareimagesoftheguardian godsofUpperEgyptand LowerNubia. Specialhonoris also givento a pair of deifiedlocal princes, who drownedin the river, Pedesi("GivenbyIsis") and Pihor("Belongingto Horus "). Theirfather is Kuper;hisnameappearsintheinscriptions ,buthe is notdepictedin thewall-carvings. Numerous traditional sceneson thestonepanels also featurethenew Romanpatron-ruler, Augustus, offering gifts to thegodsand goddesses of the area and commemorating the sanctified youthsto whomthetempleis dedicated.1 Intheeyesofa casual observer, everything abouttheshrine appears to be purelyand authentically Egyptian:the barechestedEmperorwears a typicallinenkilt;on his head are variousceremonialcrownswornby Pharaohsforovertwo and a halfmillennia; sharphieroglyphs (notrowsofLatinor Greek)spellout theinscriptions. Butappearancescan be, if not totallydeceiving, at least dynastically misleading. After Augustus defeated Cleopatraand MarkAntony in 30 bc, the Two Lands lost its independence; a Roman fleetsailed off Alexandriaand legionspatrolledtherichprovincealongthe ARION 18.3 WINTER 20II 94 THEDENDUR TEMPLE INNEW YORK Nile as farsouthas thesatellite-territory of Lower Nubia. New York'stransplanted templeofDenduris one oftheearliestrelicsofthenew Augustanorderin Egypt.Followinga briefexplanationof how thisancientmonument wound up inManhattan,myessayreviews a complexskeinofevidence, esotericto theextreme, thatplaces thetempleat thepivotpointofa minorbutsignificant episodeofearlyRoman imperial history.The exploration involves artifactsfrom collectionsnow located on threecontinents, and libraryarchaeology digsintosourcesfrom halfa dozenlanguages. Today,none of the templesthatAugustusorderedbuilt along theNile in Lower Nubia survives on itsoriginalsite. Whenfloodwaters backedup behindthenew High Dam in thelate 1960s and early'70s, itbecamenecessary to save all thesemonuments fromtherapidexpansionofLake Nasser. The mostspectacular oftherescueoperations was themultinational cooperation requiredto repositionRameses II's colossal twintemplesat Abu Simbelup fromriverside into thefront of an artificial hill,a dome of metalgirders faced with locally-quarriedstone, high above the water's old course. A number of other monumentshave also been movedto inlandplateausor safelocationsdownstream. In gratitude fortheoverseasfinancial aid and engineering know-howthatsupportedtheentiresalvageproject,Egyptian authorities permitted severalsmallertemplesto be dismantledand transported far fromthe banks of the Nile between thefirst and secondcataracts. A resurrected gateway fromKalabsha now standsin Berlin;Madrid is theadoptive homeofa shrine to Amunand Isis.The removalofthetemple of DendurfromtheNubian Desertand itsre-assembly, understeeland glassinNew York,required intense planning and precisedocumentation. The entireprocesstook fifteen years.In 1963, thesandstoneblocksweredismantled insitu , each recorded, photographed, and incisedwithan identificationnumber ;severalyearslater, at Elephantine Islandacross fromAswan, the individualblocks were packaged in 642 wooden crates;aftertransshipment down the Nile to the R. J.Schork 95 Mediterranean, the 8oo-ton cargo was loaded aboard the ConcordiaStar , whichdockedat Brooklyn in August1968; then,foranothersix yearswhilework on thenew Sackler Wingdraggedpastdeadlines, thestonessatunderan inflated storage"bubble" in the Museum's parkinglot; finally, the meticulous, course-by-course recreation of thegatewayand shrinewas completedfortheofficial dedicationofthestunningly contemporary complexin 1978.2 CyrilAldred'sclearlywrittenand beautifully illustrated The Templeof Dendur appearedas thecentralpiece in the Summer1978 issueoftheMuseum'sBulletinto commemoratethegrandopeningofthegallery . Forprofessional Egyptologists - and perhaps,for a few savvy subscribers - the greatestsurprise,it seems,in these sixtypages is the expandedidentification ofKuper,thefather ofthetwo sanctifiedprincelings . Aldredis usuallycitedas thefirst scholarto claim that Kuper (whose name frequently appears beside thoseofPetesiand Pihorin thetemplehieroglyphs) had alreadymade a briefbutsignificant appearancein thescanty recordsoftheinitialimpactoftheRomans on Egypt.That is,in28 bc thefirst imperial governor-general ofEgypt, CorneliusGallus , recordedtheappointment of a local Nubian chieftain as overseerof the Triakontaschoinos , a zone extending about ninety milessouthofAswan fromthefirst to thesecondcataract.(I discussthisepisodein Roman-Egyptian -Nubian relationsand its trilingualdocumentationin greater detaillaterinthenextfewparagraphs.)In thetextof thestoneplaque on whichGallus announcedhisdecisionto appointa puppet-official, no nameis cited.In thetextofthe commemorative issue of the Bulletin , Aldred includesno footnotes or references to supporthisassertionthatthepaternalKuper was in factthatofficial, and so had Roman connectionsof explosivepotential.On theotherhand,Aldred was an experiencedand respectedscholar (long-time Keeperof Artand Archaeologyat the Royal ScottishMuseumand authorofmultiple books),who keptup withpublicationsintheburgeoning fieldofscientific Egyptology. Itis 96 THEDENDUR TEMPLE INNEW YORK highlyunlikelythat his identification of Kuper - however unique - would lack critical foundation. Gaius CorneliusGallus was a distinguished poet-general. Vergildedicateshisfinaleclogueto hisliterary comradeand calls on thepatronsofelegiacverseto grievewithhimover thelove-agoniesforan errant mistress thatare crushing the poet.3 In the land campaignafterthe naval victoryat Actium ,Gallus commandedthewesternwing of the Roman forcesin the final pincer-assaulton Cleopatra's capital. Then, followingtheconquestof theTwo Lands in 30 bc, Augustusrecognizedhis serviceand loyaltybyplacinghim inchargeofthenewprovinceas "first Prefect ofAlexandria and Egypt."Whena numberofdistricts in UpperEgyptrebelledagainstchokingtaxes ,Gallushimself led a contingent of legionary troopsupriverin lightning retaliation. A large stelaoftough,rust-red granite summarizes theresults ofthis campaign:"withinfifteen days,intwoencounters, fivecities...