This volume is a revised version of B.’s dissertation, submitted in 2017 to Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen. The subject matter is the treasure vault of Graeco-Roman temples in Egypt.

Part A of Volume 1 serves as an introduction, in which some general remarks are expressed. The treasure vaults can be seen as transregional elements of the Egyptian temple architecture (p. 1). In Part B, treasure houses und treasure vaults of the pre-Ptolemaic time are tackled. Since predynastic times the state treasure house ‘pr-ḥḏ’ was intended for the supply of the king and queen (p. 7). The attachment of treasure houses to temples can be documented since the Old Kingdom (p. 8). The room name ‘treasure vault’ goes back to the New Kingdom (p. 15). In Part C temple treasure vaults of the Graeco-Roman period are treated. In this period five terms ‘pr-ḥḏ’, ‘ś.t-nfr.t’, ‘wḏꜣ’, ‘ꜥbꜣ-ḏfꜣw’ and ‘ḥw.t-ḏfꜣw’ were used for the temple treasure vaults (p. 37). The description of the temple treasure vaults includes the Repit temple from Athribis, Hathor temple from Dendara, Horus temple from Edfu, Double temple from Kom Ombo, Isis temple of Philae, Isis temple of El-Qala, Opet temple of Karnak, temple of Debod and Month temple of Armant (pp. 47–66). In the Graeco-Roman period two treasure vaults were erected for the first time, one before the hall in front of the sanctuary and the other next to the hypostyle (p. 66). In Part D, the room decoration is investigated. The door inscriptions of the Graeco-Roman temples consisted very often of hymnic texts (p. 74). The order of the single elements in the bandeaux inscriptions follows a fixed scheme (p. 155). The soubassements of the treasure houses are decorated with niches, papyrus thicket and processions with or without captions (p. 177). The mountain gods can be pictured either standing or walking, holding chests or tablets with gifts in their hands (p. 181). The only forerunner of the later mine processions can be found in the Great Court of the Luxor temple (p. 268). In D 3-1/1, the mine regions are treated with information about writing and localisation (pp. 273–382). The toponym ‘tfrr’ originally appeared in all inscriptions of the mine processions in the soubassements (p. 376). In D 3-1/2 the minerals are examined, which are introduced with information about writings, identifications and geological appearances (pp. 383–488).

In D 3-2 structure and content of mine processions and mineral lists are dealt with. The number of the mine personifications can vary very strongly in each attestation (p. 490). The sacrificers are classified as anthropomorphic genies with dangling breasts and the mountain hieroglyph on their heads (p. 492). The minerals are associated mainly with light and protection (p. 494). The terms in the mine processions are not interested in the high fidelity of real political relationships and trade deals (p. 504). The personified mine regions possess perhaps a certain nearness to enemy representations (p. 517). In D 3-3 more mineralogical text sources are developed, to which belong the recipe of the unguent chamber from Edfu, the recipe on the enclosure wall from Edfu and both lists of the Osiris chapels in Dendara (pp. 522–35). The minerals show up in foundations of Thutmosis III in Karnak (pp. 543–5), a building inscription of Amenhotpe III on the third pylon in Karnak (pp. 545–6), onomastica (pp. 546–7), pChester Beatty IV (pp. 548–50), pChester Beatty IX (p. 550) and a Late-hieratic lexicon (p. 551).

In Volume 2, D4, texts, representations and ritual scenes are taken into account. In door inscriptions and bandeaux texts of the frontal treasure vault in Dendera, minerals and precious cult paraphernalia constitute the main themes (p. 619). In room Q in Dendera, amulets and the New Year Festival prevail as the most important complexes of the treasure vault (pp. 654–5). In the treasure vault of Kom Ombo, room symmetrical relations can be seen clearly (p. 710). In the treasure vault of Athribis and Dendara, the offering of eye liner goes to the god Min, while it is addressed to the god Horus in Edfu (p. 718). The link of the offering of the eye liner to Min can be explained by his role as lord of the eastern desert, from where the mineralogical base substances of the liner were imported (p. 718). In mineralogical texts, the first four minerals in the lists consist of the pairs gold and silver on the one hand and turquoise and lapis lazuli on the other (p. 719). The offering of two vessels with hawk head and solar disc of electrum on the back wall of the treasure vault in Edfu generates a singular scene for the Graeco-Roman period (p. 731). The ritual scene with the presentation of a ram figure to Horus is only attested in the treasure vault in Edfu (p. 737).

In Part E, the architectonic and functional integration of the treasure vault in the room constellation of the temple is treated. The inner treasure vault belongs together with the textile chamber, Wabet, hall of the ninehood and sanctuary very closely (p. 758). The frontal treasure vaults of the temple house are located next to the hypostyle (p. 764). The book is completed by a bibliography, indexes, plates and tables.

The following remarks may shed some more light on various questions addressed in the book:

p. 83: for the change ‘nb–ḥb’ cf. W. Helck, Zur Verwaltung des Mittleren und Neuen Reiches (1958), p. 302.

p. 138: for the change ‘nb–k’ cf. M. Wagner, ‘Der Sarkophag der Gottesgemahlin Anchnesneferibre’, SSR 16 (2016), 137; H. Kockelmann/E. Winter, Philae III, Die Zweite Ostkolonnade des Tempels der Isis in Philae (CO II und CO II K) (2016), p. 34.

p. 146: the translation ‘land’ for the word ‘idb’ should be corrected to ‘shore’.

p. 288: for the land ‘irś’ cf. H. Altenmüller, Zwei Annalenfragmente aus dem frühen Mittleren Reich (2015), pp. 297–306.

p. 386: the translation ‘gem stone’ for ‘ꜥꜣ.t’ has suffered from a confusion with that of ‘ꜥꜣ.t špśi’.

p. 572: for the loss of ‘h’ in the writing ‘bd’ for ‘bhd’ ‘odour’ cf. S. Bojowald, ‘Einige kurze Bemerkungen zur Elision von “h” im Ägyptischen’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 50 (2014), 123–6.

p. 578: the phrase ‘nb p.t’ ‘lord of heaven’ is missing in the translation.

p. 584: for the verb ‘ꜥbꜣ’ (‘to provide’) cf. H.M. Stewart, ‘A Crossword Hymn to Mut’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 57 (1971), 93; É. Chassinat, Le temple d'Edfou V (1930), pp. 18, 11.

p. 599: for ‘ḥr-šn’ (‘Horus of the ring’) cf. H. Altenmüller, ‘Der “Schlaf des Horus-Schen” und die Wiederbelebung des Osiris in Abydos’, in H.-W. Fischer-Elfert, R.B. Parkinson (edd.), Studies on the Middle Kingdom (2013), pp. 9–22.

p. 637: the translation ‘to shine’ for ‘wbn’ should be replaced by ‘to arise’.