Gebel Silsila

Gebel Silsila is the name given to a rocky gorge

between Kom Ombo and Edfu where the River Nile
narrows and high sandstone cliffs come right down
to the waters edge. here was !robably a series
of ra!ids here in ancient times" dangerous to
navigate" which naturally formed a frontier
between the regions of Ele!hantine #$swan% and
Edfu. &n 'haraonic times the river here was known
as Khennui" the (!lace of rowing. On the )est
bank there is a tall column of rock which has been
dubbed (he *a!stan because of a local legend
which claims there was once a chain #Silsila in
$rabic% which ran from the East to the )est +anks.
$rthur )eigall in his ($nti,uities of Egy!t
states that the name Silsileh" is a Roman
corru!tion of the original Egy!tian name for the
town" Khol-Khol" meaning a barrier or frontier .
Gebel Silsila )est
&t is hardly sur!rising that by .ynasty /0&&&"
travellers had develo!ed the custom of carving
small shrines into the cliffs here" dedicating
them to a variety of Nile gods and to the river
itself. Smaller shrines were cut by uthmose &"
1atshe!sut and uthmose &&&" before 1oremheb
constructed his rock-cut tem!le here" then many of
the .ynasty /&/ or later kings left their mark in
some way. Gebel Silsila became an im!ortant cult
centre and each year at the beginning of the
season of inundation offerings and sacrifices were
made to the gods associated with the Nile to
ensure the countrys wellbeing for the coming
year .
Rock shrine at Gebel Silsila
On both banks of the Nile the massive ,uarries
!roduced the sandstone needed for the !rolific
construction of monuments during .ynasty /0&&&" at
first in small ,uantities and as the skills of the
workmen grew" the stone was more e2tensively
,uarried to build great monuments such as the
colonnade of $menhote! &&& at 3u2or" the Karnak
em!le of $menhote! &0" the Ramesseum and 4edinet
1abu" to name but a few. +y 'tolemaic times most
of the 5!!er Egy!tian tem!les contained monuments
built from Gebel Silsila sandstone. +ecause of the
sanctity of the site" the sandstone was considered
to have an e2tra holiness .
Gebel Silsila )est
he stee! sandstone cliffs of the )est +ank are
cluttered with grafitti" shrines and stelae"
including 66 rock cha!els. .ynasty /0&&& saw the
construction of shrines by uthmose &" 1atshe!sut"
uthmose &&& and 1oremheb and in .ynasty /&/"
Rameses &&" 4eren!tah" Si!tah" Seti &&" Rameses
&&& and Rameses 0 had elaborate stelae carved on
the rocks. Seti & left an inscribed 1ymn to the
Nile and inaugurated two festivals" which were
continued to be endowed by Rameses && and
4eren!tah .
Stelae of Rameses &&& and Sheshon,
he most !rominent deity de!icted here a!!ears to
be Sobek the crocodile god" (3ord of Khennui" who
with 1aroeris #1orus the Elder% is one of the twin
gods of Kom Ombo. 1a!i as god of the Nile also
received a large share of offerings. he sites
!ro2imity to $swan meant that the riad of
Ele!hantine" Khnum" Satet and $nuket were
worshi!!ed here. auret the hi!!o!otamus goddess
is also featured at Gebel Silsila" es!ecially in
the S!eos of 1oremheb .
7uarry
owards the southern end of the west bank of the
river" three shrines were constructed by
4eren!tah" Rameses && and Seti & #from north to
south%" with a ,uay in front of them" but Setis
shrine and the ,uay were destroyed by an
earth,uake. hese shrines are now most easily
accessible by boat. o the north" sheer ,uarried
rock faces that look like sliced blocks of cheese"
contain masons marks" artisans drawings and
other evidence of ancient workings. $ rock-cut
staircase leads ho!efully u! one side of these
cliffs" only to vanish at the to! leaving you
almost stranded. here is" however a rough rocky
!ath that leads !ast (he *a!stan and on to the
royal shrines .
Royal Shrines at Gebel el-Silsila )est
he first monument here is a large rock stele at
right-angles to the river" built by Rameses &&&
and dated to 8ear 0& of his reign. he first of
the royal shines was built in the first year of
4eren!tah and like the other two was recessed dee!
into the rock behind two columns and a cornice.
he king is seen worshi!!ing a variety of gods and
the inscri!tion de!icts a 1ymn to the Nile. o the
south is a small stele of 4eren!tah on which the
king offers a figure of 4aat to $mun-re. +ehind
him stands the 0i9ier 'anahesy and another
official. Sadly in :une ;<=;" the lower !art of
this stele has been badly damaged by thieves
attem!ting to remove it from the rock .
$menhote! & #left% > Stele of 4eren!tah #right #
he second shrine belongs to the early reign of
Rameses && and also shows the king worshi!!ing
several deities. 7ueen Nefertari is seen before a
figure of the hi!!o!otamus goddess auret who is
dressed in a very unusual robe. o the south of
the Rameses shrine is another small stele to
4eren!tah on which the King is ?oined by the 1igh
'riest of $mun" Roy. $ small figure of King
$menhote! & stands beside this stele .
7ueen Nefertari before the goddess auret
he third shrine and the earliest in the grou! was
mostly destroyed by an earth,uake. &t was built
for Seti & and seems to have been in a similar
style to the other two royal shrines
.
Rock Shrines
@urther north" the visitor can see the ma?ority of
rock-shrines" some with elaborate cha!els
containing statues of the owners and with
beautiful decorated ceilings. 4any of these
shrines have been damaged by ,uarrying or
earth,uakes and are now o!en to the elements" but
they can be seen from the wide !ath that runs
along the river bank. he shrines belong to high
officials" !riests" royal scribes and nobles of
the time. here is also a .ynasty /0&&& tomb
belonging to Sennefer" a libation !riest from
hebes who was buried here with his wife
1atshe!sut. he tomb is now o!en to the sky" and
the remains of five seated statues as well as
hierogly!hic inscri!tions can be seen" close to
the waters edge .
omb of Sennefer
$t the northern e2tent of the ,uarries there are
three large rock-stelae carved for Rameses 0"
Shoshen, & and Rameses &&& #from north to south%.
he stele of Rameses 0" one of his largest known
monuments" contains an inscri!tion dedicated to
$mun-Re" 4ut" Khons and Sobek-Re of Khennui.
Shoshen,s stela tells of how the king ,uarried
here for his building works at Karnak in year ;=
of his reign. On the stele of Rameses &&&" the
king is seen offering a statue of maat to $mun-
Re" 4ut and Khons .
he S!eos of 1oremheb
1oremheb was the last king of .ynasty /0&&& and he
carved a much larger rock-cha!el" or s!eos" out of
the hillside at the northern end of the site. he
cha!el was dedicated to $mun-Re as well as other
deities that were connected to the River Nile .
S!eos of 1oremheb
he monument consists of a faAade of five doorways
se!arated by !illars of differing widths" behind
which is a long transverse hall with vaulted roof
and a smaller oblong chamber" the sanctuary" to
the rear. $ll the walls are covered in reliefs and
inscri!tions" in some !laces ,uite damaged" but in
others there are some very fine high ,uality
reliefs. 1oremheb himself never finished the
s!eos" and the decoration was later com!leted by
subse,uent kings and nobles who carved their own
stelae and inscri!tions on the walls .
Sanctuary and 0aulted 1all
he deities de!icted on the walls" besides $mun-
re" are Sobek in the form of a crocodile" the ram-
headed god Khnum of the @irst *ataract" Satet of
Ele!hantine" $nuket" goddess of Sehel" auret as a
hi!!o!otamus and 1a!i" god of the Nile. $s well as
those of 1oremheb" cartouches of Rameses &&"
4eren!tah" $menemesse" Seti &&" Si!tah and Rameses
&&& a!!ear in the reliefs .
Khnum" auret" 1oremheb" $mun-Re > Sobek
On the southern end wall" the benevolent goddess
auret is seen in rare human form" suckling the
young King 1oremheb. +ehind her is a damaged
figure of Khnum and to her left" $mun-Re and Sobek
of Kennui .
1oremhebBs 0ictory over Nubia
he western wall de!icts one of the most noted
reliefs of 1oremheb" the kings (rium!hal
'rocession after his victory in Nubia. 1oremheb
is shown seated on a !ortable lion-chair which is
carried by twelve soldiers wearing !lumes of
feathers. $t the front and back of the king are
his fan-bearers" !rotecting 'haraoh from the sun.
1is entourage include rows of !riests" soldiers" a
trum!eter and several grou!s of ca!tured
!risoners" all de!icted in a very natural style"
almost echoing some of the $marna 'eriod reliefs.
he inscri!tion above the king e2tols his victory
over the !eo!le of Kush .
Stelae of 4eren!tah and Rameses &&
$nother im!ortant relief here de!icts a list of
four 1eb-sed festivals of Rameses && in the 6<th"
6Cth" 6Dth and C<th years of his reign" which were
su!ervised by his eldest son" 'rince Khaemwaset.
his !rince" renowned for his !riestly wisdom as
well as his restoration works" a!!ears in several
!laces in the cha!el" along with his mother 7ueen
$setnefert and 'rincess +entanta" as well as other
favoured officials of the reign. Khaemwaset
!resumably died before the C;nd ?ubilee of Rameses
&& was celebrated at Gebel Silsila as this was
conducted by the 0i9ier Khay" who also has a
!resence in the s!eos. 4eren!tah" the son and
successor of Rameses && is de!icted on a stele
with his wife $setnefert and his 0i9ier 'anehesy
adoring $mun-Re and 4ut .
Statues of 0i9ier 'anehesyBs @amily
On the northern end wall there is a niche with si2
figures cut in high relief" de!icting #from west
to east% the 0i9ier 'anehesy" the goddess 4aat" a
male relation $mennakht" a female relation
(Songstress of 1athor" the god 'tah and finally
Ray" a female relation with the title (Songstress
of Re. his is a rare relief where a !rivate
family is seen in the !resence of the gods. 4any
other stelae and reliefs line the walls of the
hall" giving the names of .ynasty /&/ kings and
their officials .
@igures in the Sanctuary
he sanctuary to the rear of the vaulted hall
contains seven very damaged figures which are said
to de!ict Sobek" auret" 4ut" $men-Re" Khons"
1oremheb and hoth. he side walls show a wide
variety of gods and demi-gods" while the walls
inside the doorway have reliefs of the Ele!hantine
riad" Khnum" Satet and $nuket as well as Osiris
and the scor!ion goddess Selkhet. auret !resides
over a symbolical re!resentation of the union of
5!!er and 3ower Egy!t .
Gebel Silsila East
he east bank of the Nile contains the more
s!ectacular ,uarries of Gebel Silsila which were
most e2!loited during the New Kingdom"
!articularly under Rameses &&" who em!loyed three
thousand workers to cut stone for the construction
of the Ramesseum on the west bank at hebes. 4any
shrines and stelae were cut into the rock here too
and the names of kings who worked the ,uarries are
attested by their officials who gave detailed
accounts of their work .
Gebel Silsila East
he inscri!tion on a large stele of $menhote! &&&
records the trans!ort of stone for the
construction of a tem!le of 'tah. 1is son
$menhote! &0" who later became $khenaten" also has
a stele here on which he worshi!s $mun and records
that he ,uarried stone for an obelisk to be
erected in his em!le of the Sun at Karnak. Stelae
of Seti & and King $!ries can also be seen. $mong
the grottos and shelves of ,uarried sandstone"
several unfinished s!hin2es remain" of both the
ram and human-headed variety" forever rooted to
the bedrock. $t the foot of the hills" there are a
number of small rock-cut tombs. Rameses && built a
tem!le at Gebel Silsila East" but this has now
been destroyed .
Rock Stele at Gebel Silsila East
5nfortunately" the east bank ,uarries are now
officially closed to visitors without s!ecial
!ermission .
1ow to get there
Gebel Silsila )est can be reached by road from
Edfu" following the river south for about C<km. $
series of villages amble through green
agricultural fields gradually giving way to
desert. $fter the last small village" the track
climbs stee!ly into the sandstone ,uarries.
$lternately" it may be !ossible to hire a felucca
from Edfu or $swan which can sail on the river and
moor at the bank for a visit to the monuments. $
modern but rather neglected visitor centre has
been built at Gebel Silsila )est and tickets are
sold for ;E 3E. $ guard will escort visitors
around the monuments .