398 Tell el-HabuaIntermediate Period (1640–1550 B.C.E.) and settled as
early as the Thirteenth Dynasty by the Asiatics. Hyksos-
style residences, tombs, and statues have been found at
Tell el-Dab’a, along with hundreds of artifacts from the
period of Hyksos domination.
Tell el-Habua It was a fortified site in the eastern
Delta, east of TELL EL-DAB’A. The area was populated and
given defensive structures during the Middle Kingdom
Period (2040–1640 B.C.E.), possibly serving as a compo-
nent of the fortifications called the WALL OF THE PRINCE.
Tell el-Mugdam See LEONTOPOLIS.
Tell el-Rub’a It was site northwest of modern El-Sim-
belawein in the Delta. The Egyptians called the area Per-
banebdjedet, “the Domains of the Ram Lord.” It was
historically listed as MENDES.
Tell el-Yahudiyeh It was a site in the eastern Delta,
north of el-LISHT. The HYKSOSoccupied the territory dur-
ing the Second Intermediate Period (1640–1550 B.C.E.).
Pottery from Palestine, Syria, and Crete were discovered
there. The Hyksos traded extensively and did not main-
tain eastern borders during their period of occupation of
the Delta.
Tell Ibrahim Awad It was a site in the eastern Nile
Delta containing five temples that date to the Predynastic
Period (c. 3000 B.C.E.). These temples held some 1,000
ritual objects, but little is known of the titular deities
worshiped there. A ceramic baboon found on the site
links the area to the god THOTH, but no documentation
confirms this. The five temples were uncovered under a
Middle Kingdom Period (2040–1640 B.C.E.) shrine. A
tomb dating to the First Dynasty (2920–2770 B.C.E.) and
containing funerary objects was also constructed on the
site. An adjacent settlement, also Predynastic, has been
unearthed as well in the area.
Tem (1) He was a solar deity of Egypt, the offspring of
NUN, primeval chaos. He was also called Ré-tem and was
associated with the cult of RÉ, depicting the setting sun.
His name probably translated as “to be complete.”
Tem (2)(fl. 21st century B.C.E.) Royal woman of the
Eleventh Dynasty
She was the ranking consort of MONTUHOTEP II (r.
2061–2010 B.C.E.). The mother of MONTUHOTEP III,Tem
died young or retired and was replaced by NEFERU(1).
Tem’s tomb at DEIR EL-BAHRI, on the western shore of
THEBES, is large and beautiful. Alabaster slabs form her
resting place, positioned on a sandstone base.
Temeh It was a region in NUBIA(modern Sudan) cited
in the inscriptions of HARKHUFat ABYDOS. Harkhuf served
PEPI II(r. 2246–2152 B.C.E.) as an expedition leader. He
was made famous when he brought a dancing DWARFto
Pepi II, who was quite young at the time.temple models They were miniature stone shrines
serving as cultic insignias of the gods. One such model
was discovered at TELL-EL YAHUDIYEH, dating to the reign
of SETI I(1306–1290 B.C.E.) of the Nineteenth Dynasty.
Temple models were fashioned with PYLONS, statues, halls,
and even OBELISKS, and were placed in shrines as tributes
to the deities. The models were inscribed with the name
of the donor and were called the “holy of holies.” Others
were blocks built out of stone, with holes that were fash-
ioned to allow the devotees to insert obelisks, walls,
pylons, statues, and other traditional temple adornments.temple rituals They were the cultic ceremonies con-
ducted at ancient Egyptian shrines and temples over the
centuries. Normally the rites began with the offering of
incense at the noon hour, although in some eras the rites
began early in the morning, especially if attended by the
king personally. The INCENSEoffered in the morning was
myrrh when that substance was available. At night the
incense was of a type called kyphi.The censer used in the
ceremony was a bronze pan, which contained pellets
burning in a heated dish or bowl.A temple kiosk at Philae in the Ptolemaic Period
Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.).(Courtesy Steve Beikirch.)