Mendes

Welcome to Mendes, known in antiquity as Djedet and today as Tell el-Rub'a. Located in the heart of the eastern Nile Delta, this sprawling archaeological site was once the capital of the 16th Nome of Lower Egypt and briefly the…

We begin at the heart of the religious precinct: the great temple of Banebdjedet. Banebdjedet was a complex deity, representing the 'ba' (spirit) of four other great gods—Osiris, Re, Shu, and Geb—making him a powerful and…

To the west of the main temple area lies one of the most unique archaeological features of Mendes: the cemetery of the sacred rams. Like the Apis bulls of Memphis, the rams of Mendes were treated as living incarnations of the god…

While Banebdjedet was the primary god, his consort Hatmehit held a special place in the hearts of the Mendesian people. She was a fish-goddess, often depicted with a schilbe fish on her head or sometimes as the fish itself. …

For a brief period in the 4th century BCE, Mendes reached its political zenith as the capital of the 29th Dynasty. Pharaohs like Nepherites I and Hakor ruled Egypt from this city, projecting their power from the heart of the…

One cannot speak of Mendes without mentioning its most famous export: Mendesian perfume. Known in the ancient world as the 'Chanel No. …

As our tour of Mendes comes to an end, take a moment to look across the vast mounds of the tell. This is a site that embodies the challenges and the rewards of Delta archaeology. …

Our visit to ancient Mendes has concluded. We have walked the sacred grounds of Banebdjedet, marveled at the massive granite shrines of Amasis, and explored the industrial remains of the ancient perfume trade. …