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One hundred years ago, on January 01st 1907, Hungarian Egyptologists began field work in Egypt. This is a date well worth celebrating.
Hungarian excavations and theoretical research brought important new results to understanding and appreciation of Egyptian temple architecture. Egypt’s temples were constructed with a view to eternity. Accordingly, Pharaohs who built them named them as “the houses of millions of years”.
To mark this extremely important occasion, Dr. Gyozo Voros, MA PhD, who worked with the Hungarian excavations mission in Egypt for 10 years, and who belongs to the 4th generation of Hungarian Egyptologists, published an interesting book entitled: “Egyptian Temple Architecture: 100 years of Hungarian Excavations in Egypt, 1907-2007”.
The Budapest Museum of Fine Arts celebrated its centenary in 2006. The greatest treasures of its Egyptian Collection are the temple stones decorated with reliefs found by the Hungarian mission at the turn of the 20th Century. There is also a large number of artefacts that were discovered in Hungary. Let us not forget that Transdanubia shared a common capital, army and legal order with Egypt, not just under the Ottoman Empire, but long before under the Roman Empire.
Hungarian excavations and surveys in Egypt have mostly concerned monuments, chiefly the ancient relics of temple architecture, which generated a strong response worldwide, and undoubtedly contributed to the high reputation of Hungarian research into antiquity.
Very few nations involved in the study of Egypt can claim such an unbroken tradition of scholarly dedication as the Hungarians. It extended over many generations and followed in the footsteps of the great Hungarian astronomer-Egyptologist, Professor Ede Mahler (1857-1945). Laszlo Kakosy (1932-2004) pursued his work at Lorand Eotvos University of Budapest (ELTE) and was overseen by Vilmos Wessetzky (1909-1997) and Aladar Dobrovits (1909-1970). Both were, in turn, students of Ede Mahler.
Dates, locations of excavations, & institutions’ directors:
1907-1909 Sharuna-Gamhud, concession of Fulop Back (Tadeusz Smolenski)
1926-1950 Gilf Kebir (Laszlo Almasy)
1956-1963 Savaria, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS) (Tihamer Szentleleky)
1964- Abdallah Nirqi, HAS-UNESCO (Laszlo Castiglione)
1983- Thebes – Cemetery of the Nobles, ELTE (Laszlo Kakosy)
1985-1987 Oxyrhynchus-Bahnasa, KAFAS (Geza Fehervari),
Thebes – Thoth Hill, ELTE
Taposiris Magna, Peter Pazmany University of Budapest (PPKE)
2004- Nea Paphos, PPKE-UNESCO
Division of temple digs by Hungarian excavations according to period:
Neolithic period: Cave shrine, or Cave of Swimmers (Libyan Desert, Gilf Kebir)
Archaic period: Cultic temple of goddess Horus (Thoth Hill, Thebes)
Middle Kingdom: Mortuary temple of King Montuhotep III (Thoth Hill, Thebes)
New Kingdom: Mortuary monument of Djehutymes (TT 32, Thebes)
Ptolemaic Empire: Stone blocks of Ptolemy I Soter I (Kom el-Ahmar, Sharuna) Acropolis of goddess Isis (Taposiris Magna, Alexandria)
Acropolis of goddess Aphrodite-Isis (Nea Paphos, Paphos)
Roman Empire: Podium temple of goddess Isis (Savaria)
Byzantine Empire: Cave chapel of Pantocrator (Thoth Hill, Thebes
Basilica (Taposiris Magna, Alexandria)
Arab Empire: Mosque of Hassan ibn Salih (Bahnasa)
Christian church (Abdallah Nirqi)
This shows that Hungarian Experts have excavated almost all periods of Egyptian culture.
Division of Hungarian excavations in according to geographical locations
Savaria (Pannonia)
Nea Paphos (Cyprus)
Taposiris Magna (Lower Egypt)
Sharuna (Middle Egypt)
Bahnasa (Middle Egypt)
Thebes (Upper Egypt)
Gilf Kebir (Western Desert)
Abdallah Nirqi (Lower Nubia)
This shows that Hungarian Experts’ work covered excavations in almost all important geographical locations of Egypt.
The following is a list of temples excavated by Hungarian Experts:
1. Neolithic cave shrine of Gilf Kebir, the so-called Cave of Swimmers (c. 6000 bc)
2. Archaic temple of Thoth Hill (the earliest stone temple in Egypt) (c. 3000 bc)
3. Middle Kingdom temple of Thoth Hill (with correction to Sirius) (2000 bc)
4. New Kingdom temples in mortuary architecture: tomb of Djehutymes (13th C. bc)
5. Stones of the temple of Pharaoh Ptolemy I (are partly in Budapest) (4th-3rd C. bc)
6. Acropolis of Taposiris Magna, with a Doric peripheral sanctuary (3rd C. bc)
7. Acropolis of Nea Paphos: a wholly Greek, Corinthian peripter (3rd-1st C. bc)
8. Roman podium sanctuary: Corinthian Iseum of Savaria (ad 1st and 2nd-3rd C.)
9. Basilica of Taposiris Magna (ad 4th-5th C.)
10. Chapel of Pantocrator on Thoth Hill (ad 5th-6th C.)
11. Mosque of Hassan ibn Salih (Coptic Church reconstruction, ad 5th-10th centuries)
12. Central Church of Abdallah Nirqi (Coptic Church, ad 5th-8th centuries)
There has been a thorough analysis of Egyptian temple architecture through elucidation of the results of Hungarian field research. In the distinctly technocratic turn of phrase of Vitruvius, the term ‘venustas’ refers to the grace and appearance of a building. Some, however, apply present-day architectural keywords like ‘building structure’ and ‘functional requirements’ to Egyptian temple architecture. Others consider construction technology to be of primary importance. Riegl, for example, regards Egyptian temples as buildings that are essentially statues.
If the relationship between buildings or groups of buildings, and the issue of spatial form or spatial connections, is examined in the light of these twelve temples, we should endeavour not to limit ourselves to the changes and development of ground-plan structures and individual building elements, that is, to the two-dimensional vision, but also to make an attempt at presenting spatial development and providing explanations for these changes.
Naturally, the temple architecture of Egypt can be presented through the concept of temples other than those excavated by the Hungarian missions to Egypt. The body of knowledge on Egyptian temple architecture would be all the poorer indeed without the results of the Hungarian excavations. In their absence some key questions would remain entirely unanswered.
This deeply rooted century old Egyptian Hungarian friendship is good reason for celebration. The successes and achievements of four generations of Hungarian Egyptologists deserve our respect and continued support.
Budapest, 27th October 2007
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