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The Open-Air Museum of Memphis:
The Open Air
Museum at Memphis is one of the “must see” sites in Egypt! The trip from
Cairo only takes 45 minutes, it is only 20Km to the south.
Founded in the 1st Dynasty (3100 B.C) by King Narmar, Memphis was the
capital of Ancient Egypt, and the first capital city founded after the
unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. It remained as the capital of
Ancient Egypt throughout the Old Kingdom. Because of the many
necropolises associated with Memphis, many Egyptologists believe that it
was once an extremely large city, though no archaeological evidence
proves this, at present!
The
name of Memphis is derived from the Ancient Egyptian name called Min-Nefer,
which the Greeks later called Memphis. Today it is the location of a
local village called Mit Rahina. Excavation, of the site of Memphis, has
continued for the last 200 years.
The
local God of Memphis was called Ptah, who was the God of creation and
workmen, and he was worshiped with his wife, the Goddess Sekhmet and
their son, the God Nefer-Tom.
Nothing much remains from ancient Memphis, except some monuments from
the New Kingdom and later periods. Nearby Sakkara (as well as Dashur and
others) was associated with Memphis, as it was the site of one its many
necropolises.
Today,
in Memphis, you will see an open air Museum, which amongst other
artefacts exhibits a limestone colossus of King Ramses II
(an
enormous statue carved in limestone, which is about 10m (33.8 ft) long,
even though it has no feet!) and a giant alabaster Sphinx, weighting
more than 80 tons, which once stood outside the massive temple of the
God Ptah. There are also remains of granite statues, of Ramses II, and
granite coffins and commemorative tablets from later periods.
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