WATANI International
5 December 2010
Archeological finds in Medinet Madi
The Arabs called it Medinet Madi, “the city of the past”, and this is the name that still identifies the archaeological site today.
Medinet Madi came into being during ancient Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (2052 – 1786BC) as an agricultural village called Dja. Its ruins today hold the remains of the only temple of the Middle Kingdom still remaining in Egypt, complete with texts and engraved scenes. The temple was constructed during the reigns of Amenemhet III (1842 – 1794 BC) and Amenemhet IV (1798 – 1785 BC), and was dedicated to the cobra goddess, Renenutet, and the crocodile god Sobek of Scedet, patron of the entire region and the capital.
The ruins of Medinet Madi, which include a considerable number of monuments besides the temple and the Roman additions that go back to the fourth to fifth centuries, were discovered by Achille Vogliano in 1935.
Archaeological park
The site came into recent focus at a conference held in Cairo by Italy’s Embassy in Cairo, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and the Italian Cooperation Office. “Medinet Madi—The Past, the Present and the Future—Shedding Light on the Scientific Work in the Archaeological Site of Medinet Madi”.
The conference was organised in line with the Egyptian-Italian project (Institutional Support to Supreme Council of Antiquities for Environmental Monitoring and Management of the Cultural Heritage Sites (ISSEMM). Opening speeches were presented by Claudio Pacifico, the Italian ambassador; Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the SCA and a vice-minister of culture; and Galal al-Said, governor of Fayoum.
The ISSEMM project aims to improve the management of archaeological sites in Egypt and its efforts have been applied in the North Saqqara Necropolis and Fayoum Oasis. This conference focused on the project’s efforts at the site of Medinet Madi in Fayoum Oasis.
Activities at the Medinet Madi archaeological site have focused on opening the site to the public and have consisted of sand removal, an archaeological survey, consolidation and restoration of monuments, tourist walkways, and plans for a visitor centre and eco-lodge.
More than 180 people from local communities worked at the sand removal project, while 90 restorers from the SCA worked for a year on the ISSEMM project to create the Medinet Madi Archaeological Park.
Crocodile eggs
During the Ptolemaic period Dja became known as Narmouthis, a Greek name meaning “the city of Renenutet-Hermouthis”. The temple flourished and more monuments were built north and south of the Twelfth-Dynasty temple.
Medinet Madi saw intense settlement during the Coptic period, and life continued in the site into the ninth century.
The University of Pisa has carried out exploration work at Medinet Madi since 1978. They focused on the southern or Coptic area, and to date have identified ten churches dating from the fifth to seventh centuries. These finds have been extremely important in understanding the history of Fayoum’s ecclesiastical architecture. Thanks to a contribution from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2004, the Pisa mission was able to rescue blocks containing four Greek hymns to Isis. These were fully restored and are now on display at the Karanis Museum in Fayoum.
Archaeological expeditions conducted between 1997 and 2004 in collaboration with the University of Messina uncovered a new Ptolemaic temple (Temple C) dedicated to the worship of two crocodile deities. A unique feature of the temple is a barrel-vaulted structure adjoining the temple, which was used for the incubation of crocodile eggs.
Chronological stratification
In recent years a methodical topographical survey, photographic interpretation of the site and geophysical exploration have contributed to an understanding of the urban tissue of the ancient village. These surveys created a chronological stratification of the site from the Middle Kingdom to the Late Byzantine Period. The primary focus of the ISSEMM Project in Fayoum is to create the first archaeological park. This park will connect the sites of Medinet Madi with Wadi Rayan along a 27-km track. This route will be unpaved so as to respect the landscape in the area, and the route will provide the best panoramic views of the site. Work on the archaeological park will also allow for appropriate conservation and site management of both areas.
The ISSEMM project is entirely funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Directorate-General for the Development Cooperation, which allotted 3,500,000 Euros to the budget. The project is directed on the Egyptian side by Zahi Hawass and on the Italian side by Claudio Pacifico through the director of the Development Cooperation Office in Cairo. The Scientific Committee is chaired by Professor Edda Bresciani of the Accademica dei Lincei and Professor Ali Radwan.
The University of Pisa has been appointed with the task of giving technical and scientific assistance to the SCA, which is the Implementing Agency of the project. Administrative support for the programme is provided by UNDP.
The ISSEMM project began in 2005 and expanded in January 2009 to include training courses and onsite administration. Medinet Madi represents the integration of an archaeological site within the nearby Wadi Rayan National Park. Italian Cooperation is active in Egyptian national parks, in particular in Gabal Elba, Wadi Rayan, the White Desert, the Gilf Kebir and Siwa Oasis.
Saqqara risk map
From 2000 to 2002 ISSEMM performed a risk management assessment of north Saqqara. This assessment resulted in the creation of the Risk Map of North Saqqara (RMNS), with which the ISSEMM project planned the second phase of its work focusing on monitoring the environmental conditions in 15 tombs. The installation of these monitoring systems provided training opportunities for SCA personnel between 2005 and 2006. The monitoring system recorded variations in temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide levels. These environmental factors will play an important role in developing a conservation strategy to save the fragile wall paintings in the tombs.