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Abu Gurob
MIROSLAV BARTA

Abu Gurob is an Old Kingdom site lying about

20 km south of Cairo with two 5th Dynasty
sun temples. The site is located immediately to
the north of the Abusir pyramid field, the
burial place of four kings of the 5th Dynasty.
Except for some Early Dynastic cemeteries,
Abu Gurob now features only two significant
monuments: the so-called sun temples of kings
Userkaf and Niuserre. According to contemporary written sources preserved on papyri
and seals, and in the tombs of high officials,
however, this was originally the site of six
5th Dynasty sun temples: Userkaf s Stronghold
of Re, Sahuras The Field of Re, Neferirkares
Res Pleasure, Raneferef s Offering Table of Re,
Niuserres Delight of Re, and Menkauhors
Horizon of Re.
Each of the sun temples consisted of three
principal components that resembled a royal
burial monument of the Old Kingdom: valley
temple, causeway, and an upper temple. The
upper temples in sun temples consisted of a
large open courtyard with a huge central altar,
many smaller altars, and a large rectangular
podium to the west of the court, upon which
stood a truncated OBELISK, which replaced
the original wooden pole in the reign of
Neferirkare. This indicates that the concept
of the sun temple changed and developed
over the course of the 5th Dynasty, although
throughout they maintained their close connection with the cult of the sun god Re, whose
principal cult place was located in Heliopolis,
on the Niles east bank. Scholars have speculated that a visual connection existed between
the Abu Gurob temples and that of Heliopolis,
but this is ruled out by the curvature of
the earth.
The first king to initiate the building of
sun temples was Userkaf, founder of the
5th Dynasty. According to the Palermo stone,
he established a daily offering for Re consisting of two oxen and two geese. The Abusir

archives, found in the mortuary temples of

Neferirkare and Raneferef at Abusir, show
that most of the offerings for celebrating the
daily cult of the Abusir kings were sent through
the sun temples in Abu Gurob, where they were
solarized and subsequently forwarded to
the mortuary temples in Abusir. The Palermo
stone also makes it clear that the cult of Re
peaked during the 5th Dynasty, as attested
by rich donations made by several kings of
that period.
Niuserres sun temple is the best-preserved
example of that genre. In addition to the main
upper temple, excavations revealed a mud
brick model boat to the west, probably a
symbolic means of transportation for the sun
god in the sky. Niuserres upper temple comprises a huge travertine altar lined at all four
cardinal points with blocks shaped to imitate
the sign of hetep, symbolizing an offering plate.
Many smaller altars were also placed within the
court. The limestone platform surmounted by
an obelisk stood to the west of this principal
altar. The top of the platform was accessible
by means of a corridor starting in the south.
The corridor, also known as the Room of the
Seasons, or Weltkammer, was decorated with
scenes relating to the principal agricultural
activities during the three seasons of the Egyptian year. The corridor also contained heb-sed
scenes, showing the celebration of the kings
thirty years of rule and his ritual renewal. It is
these scenes that attest to the principal significance of the sun temples for the Egyptian
world and the maintenance of kingship the
sun god Re was the god that created this world
and kept it in operation. The king was to
maintain his cult (similar to his own) and
also acted as his deputy on earth. This is also
supported by the fact that in the sun temple of
Niuserre (seal imprint Berlin 20386) the triad
of Re, Hathor, and the king was venerated,
emphasizing the dependence of the king on
his mythological father.
The tradition of building the sun temples
disappears with King Djedkare, who did not
continue the tradition. This may be interpreted

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,
and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 79.
2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah15008

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as a major shift in the political and religious
milieu of the time and the vanishing importance of the Abusir royal necropolis, and was
perhaps also a consequence of the rising cult of
Osiris during his reign.
SEE ALSO:

Heliopolis, Ain Shams/Matariya;

Obelisk.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Bissing, F. W. von, ed. (1905) Das Re-Heiligtum
des Konigs Ne-user-re, vol. 1: Der Bau.
Leipzig.

Edel, E. and Wenig, S. (1974) Die Jahreszeitenreliefs

aus dem Sonnenheiligtum des Konigs Ne-user-re.
Berlin.
Kaiser, W. (1956) Zu den Sonnenheiligtumern
der 5. Dynastie. Mitteilungen des Deutschen
Archaologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo 14:
10416.
Quirke, S. (2001) The cult of Ra: sun-worship in
ancient Egypt. London.
Ricke, H. (19659) Das Sonnenheiligtum des Konigs
Userkaf, vol. 1: Der Bau; vol. 2: Die Funde. Cairo.
Verner, M. (2002) Abusir: realm of Osiris. Cairo.
Winter, E. (1957) Zur Deutung der
Sonnenheiligtumern der 5. Dynastie. Wiener
Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes 54:
22233.