Sedeinga

Sedeinga is located 13 kilometres north of Soleb, on the west bank of the Nile. Its main monument is a temple built by the New Kingdom Pharao Amenhotep III (c. 1390–1350 BC). The temple is dedicated to Queen Tiye as a manifestation of the Eye of Ra. It was the counterpart of the temple of Amun-Ra and the deified king Amenhotep III at Soleb, and both deities were also worshipped in Sedeinga.

The only element of the temple at Sedeinga which is still standing is a column with a capital in the shape of a Hathor head. It rises from a mass of scattered blocks which constitute the collapsed remains of the temple's front part. Their investigation and recording led to the recovery of many beautifully carved relief blocks, among them the famous lintel depicting Queen Tiye as a female sphinx with a tall conical crown, similar to that worn by Queen Nefertiti. This block has been known for more than a century and is a vital element in the discussion of the changing role of Egyptian queens in New Kingdom royal ideology. Recently, numerous decorated blocks were removed to an accessible open air storage close by.

To date, no reliable plan of the temple has been produced, but it is known to have comprised a colonnade, a courtyard and a hypostyle hall. Though much of its history is still in the dark, it seems to have been (re)used in Napatan times, possibly until it was destroyed by a significant flood.

Neither a New Kingdom necropolis nor a town site have so far been located at Sedeinga. The vast cemetery area, which extends west of the temple, contains extensive Napatan, Meroitic and medieval occupation phases. Many of the Napatan and Meroitic graves feature small pyramidal superstructures of mudbrick and black schist slabs.

Sedeinga also includes a Neolithic burial ground and a medieval settlement with the remains of a church.