Trench BE15 – 112
Excavations of the first large trenches in the temple area in began early 20151. In the so-called forecourt we excavated most of the southern part, leaving the west wall, possibly still with fragile reliefs, untouched. After removing a thick layer of windblown sand, a large block of stone, 3.15 meters in length and with an estimated weight of 3500 kilograms emerged. Fragments of at least two more of these large roof blocks were excavated here among a layer of large stone debris fragments. Purdy halted excavations at this level, which is evident from a salt layer the border of which stands out sharply on the debris.
It seems the decoration of the temple was never finished, as the exposed wall faces inside the hall are all undecorated. If 19th century research of the rest of the building was exhaustive, reliefs and inscriptions are only to be found on the outside of the entrance to the building, the west inner wall of the hall, and in rooms 1 and 2.
It is now clear that the forecourt was, in fact, a hall roofed with large stone slabs, about 4.5 meters in length, each with a weight of over 4500 kilograms. The collapse of the roof of this hall was probably due to a combination of the bad quality of some of the stone of the walls and the considerable weight of the roof. Some time after the collapse, the temple was put in to use again. A low wall was built on top of the debris in the entrance, most likely because of risen floor levels outside the temple. Pottery sherds provide a date of late 4th to early 5th century AD for the fill behind the low wall, which means the roof collapsed in the early 5th century the latest.
The roof debris layer in BE15-112 rest on a layer of sand, less than 20 centimeters thick. This indicates that before the collapse of the roof, the temple had already been abandoned for some time. Excavations in Berenike have shown that the town was, at best, sparsely populated from the 3rd until the mid 4th century AD. It is probable that the temple complex in this period underwent little maintenance. Not only did this lead to the formation of a layer of windblown sand in the hall, but the lack of maintenance also meant that protective plaster layers on the temple walls were not repaired. With the stone exposed to wind and moisture, some of the stones weakened and the roof collapsed on top of the sand covered floor.
The top of the fill against the low wall in the entrance contained a group of small cowry shells. Pottery in the fill provided a 5th century date. These cowry shells are found at the entrances of several sanctuaries of Late Roman Berenike. This implies that the temple was still some sort of sanctuary in the 5th century AD. Also between the remains of the roof was the lower part a Roman period stela, and a small fragment of a bronze statue.
1The 2015 excavations of the Berenike Temple Project, a sub-project of the Berenike Project, were conducted by a Dutch-Swedish team, directed by Silva Kluitenberg and Martin Hense.
Trench BE15-111
In 2015 a second trench was excavated directly east of the temple, exposing the area directly in front of the building. The upper layers of the trench contained debris thrown out of the hall during the Purdy excavations of 1873. In addition to the architectural fragments this layer also contained artifacts lost by the 19th century expeditions, most likely those of Purdy. Among the objects were a fragment of porcelain, the neck of a bottle with the cork still in place, and some copper buttons.
Excavations of the temple facade documented parts of reliefs directly left and right of the entrance. On the southern part of the door frame are traces of a relief depicting a king, probably facing one or two gods. Behind the king is part of a large hieroglyph. Directly under this relief a band of papyrus plants and lotus flowers indicates the base of the wall. On the northern side of the entrance is a goddess figure, probably Isis or Hathor (Fig.6). Nearby a fragment of marble revetment was found still attached to the wall. Numerous fragments of these quality polished marble slabs found near the facade indicate that the temple during the early Roman period was quite richly decorated.
Directly south of the entrance, and close to the wall, excavations recorded a large inscription block. It was still in its original location, resting on a pedestal. This monument was dedicated in the year 9 of the emperor Claudius (AD 49) to Isis, and its production ordered by Eirenaos, a Greek secretary of the Receiver’s Department. Isis is addressed in this inscription as “the greatest nurse goddess”. This is a reference to Isis nursing her son Horus-Harpocrates. Most likely, the inscription was a base of a statue or relief (possibly in a miniature shrine) depicting Isis.
A similar inscription block, also still in situ and over 70 centimeters in height and dated to the year 15 of Trajan (AD 112/113), was excavated at the northern side of the courtyard in front of the temple. This monument was set up by Gaius Julius Eucharistos, secretary of the aromatics magazine, in honor of Gaius Julius Faustinus, “receiver of Berenike”. The inscription also seems to indicate that this block was the base of a statue.
Excavations in 2000, in a large house close to the temple, documented another inscription of a secretary. This monument was dedicated to Isis by an interpreter and secretary during the reign of Trajan. The same courtyard also produced two inscriptions dedicated to Zeus, from the reign of Nero. Several other stones, probably also originating from the temple, were found in this courtyard. It seems that the courtyard of the temple, and possibly the collapsed hall, acted as a stone quarry in the late 5th or 6th century. However, the debris in front of the temple still produced a considerable number of inscription fragments.
Also in the debris, and evidence that at least some of the stones were part of a wall of the temple or the courtyard wall, were several wooden dovetail clamps. These clamps made of acacia can also be seen in the walls of the facade of the temple.
The heap of debris in the courtyard produced fragments of several other types of objects. A complete large offering basin comprised three fragments found dispersed through the debris. A relief depicting a cobra, partly shattered by the weight of the stones on top of it, must have been part of a much larger relief depicting at least cartouches of a king. Near the northern baulk of the trench excavations recorded a stela, probably of Ptolemaic origin. This stela depicts, Isis, Osiris and Harpocarates in front of Min. This was another monument that had been originally placed in the courtyard, before the collapse of the hall.
These finds are evidence that the temple was an important sanctuary during the 1st and 2nd century and also into the early third century with inscriptions to Septimius Severus and Caracalla. During this period statues, shrines, stelai and other monuments lined the walls of the courtyard in front of the temple building. Although called a Serapis temple since the early 19th century, the finds now suggest that the temple was mainly dedicated to Isis.