Tell el-Yahudiyeh
| Ney-ta-hut | |
 Shown within Egypt
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| Alternate name | Tell el Yehudiye (mound of the Jews) |
|---|---|
| Location | Kafr Ash Shubak, Heliopolite nome |
| Region | Lower Egypt |
| Coordinates | 30°29′33″N 31°33′16″E / 30.49250°N 31.55444°ECoordinates: 30°29′33″N 31°33′16″E / 30.49250°N 31.55444°E |
| Type | Ancient location |
| Site notes | |
| Website | Tell el-Yahudiya |
| Ney-ta-hut: 'The Delta site of Tell el-Yahudiya (Mound of the Jews) probably (..) dates to at least as early as the Middle Kingdom and seems to have been occupied right up to the Roman Period. Tell el-Yahudiya was first excavated and published by Naville in 1890, Petrie in 1906 and later investigated by du Buisson for the French Archaeological Institute.' | |
Leontopolis (Egyptian: Ney-ta-hut) is the Greek name for the modern area of Tell el Yehudiye or Tell el-Yahudiya (Egyptian Arabic: Mound of the Jews). It was an ancient city of Egypt in the 13th nome of Lower Egypt (the Heliopolite Nome), on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile.
This site is known for its distinctive pottery known as Tell el-Yahudiyeh Ware.
The site was identified in 1825 by Linant, and earlier was identified by Niebuhr in the late 18th century.
The site includes some massive rectangular earthwork enclosures of the late Middle Kingdom or Second Intermediate Period. They measure around 515m by 490m, and their purpose is probably defensive.
These earthen walls were sloping and plastered on the outer face, and almost vertical on the inner face. Egyptian parallels for such a structure are lacking. This enclosure is often interpreted as a fortification built by the Hyksos; it is generally known as the "Hyksos Camp".
There are also cemeteries from the Middle Kingdom and later.
A temple and palace of Ramesses II has also been excavated.
Also, there was a palace of Ramesses III with some fine decorations.
In the reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor (180–145 BC) a temple, modelled after that of Jerusalem, was founded by the exiled Jewish priest Onias IV. The Hebrew colony, which was attracted by the establishment of their national worship at Leontopolis, and which was increased by the refugees from the oppressions of the Seleucid kings in Judea, flourished there for more than three centuries afterwards. After the outbreak of the Jewish War, the Leontopolite temple was closed in the first century CE, amid the general backlash against Judaism.
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Wikipedia