Location: 12 km North of Al- Minya, Minya Governorate Map
Akoris Archaeological Site is ancient archeological site situated 12 km North of Al- Minya in Minya Governorate in Egypt. This ancient Egyptian site of Akoris was inhabited since the Old Kingdom around the 22nd century BC. Limestone cliffs were used by first people that dug a whole town underneath the surface. Fraser Tombs as they became known were increased by subsequent generations up to period of the Roman Empire. Most of the free standing structures that are visible today in Akoris date back to the New Kingdom as well as Greek and Roman period of the Egyptian history.
The area of the village and the area in its south
was already since ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom populated. The
village was named after several names (Ancient Egypt Mer-nefer (et)
("Beautiful Canal", Old and Middle Kingdom), Per-Imen-Ma't-chent (j)
("The House of Amun, the foremost lion", New Kingdom) , TA-dehenet
("the mountain peak", from the 26th Dynasty), Greek Ἄκωρις (Akoris,
Latin Acoris) and Τῆνις (Tēnis)).
The ancient Egyptian
settlement was at all times an important administrative city in the
south of the 17th Upper-Egyptian Gaus . She also had a port.
Archaeological evidence has only been available since the New
Kingdom with the Temple of Amun . The present settlement remains
south of the village date back to Roman-Coptic times. Perhaps
because of its strategic location since Persian times, there was
also a fortress, but archaeologically this can not be proven.
The gods had a strong local reference to the rocks or wadis. The
deity worshiped here in the early days is unknown, perhaps it was a
lion deity. From the 18th dynasty Amun , the foremost lion, is
worshiped here. As of the 26th dynasty, Sobek , Lord of Beẖ (et)
(Lord of the mouth of the Desert) also joined here and became the
chief deity. Other deities worshiped here were Thoth , Isis and / or
Mut , Osiris , Horus and Chons .
Tombs have been buried in
the rocks since the middle of the 4th Dynasty. These are in part
large chamber graves of wealthy administrative officials; the most
famous are the Fraser Tombs . In the 21st and 22nd Dynasty burials
of the priests of the local temple are also buried here. Beginning
with the New Kingdom, some of the early tombs are being rededicated
in chapels for Amun and later for Sobek. But the graves were all
looted.