The Egyptian Temple as a Place to House Collections (from the Old Kingdom to the Late Period)

Abstract

As did Greek and Roman temples, Egyptian temples preserved collections of valuable objects or nouophores, i.e. ‘bearers of meaning’ (I). Two main types of nouophores can be distinguished in Egyptian temples (II): statues displayed in the temple (III), and ritual objects of costly materials stored in special chambers (IV). An examination of these collections suggests that the Egyptian temple functioned as an institution to collect and preserve the cultural heritage of ancient Egypt (V).