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Mendes (Ancient Greek: Μένδης, gen.: Μένδητος), the Greek name of the ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in ancient Egypt as Per-Banebdjedet ("The Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet") and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba (Arabic: تل الربع).

Key Information

The city is located in the eastern Nile delta (30°57′30″N 31°30′57″E / 30.95833°N 31.51583°E / 30.95833; 31.51583) and was the capital of the 16th Lower Egyptian nome of Kha, until it was replaced by Thmuis in Greco-Roman Egypt. The two cities are only several hundred meters apart. During the 29th Dynasty, Mendes was also the capital of Ancient Egypt, lying on the Mendesian branch of the Nile (now silted up), about 35 km east of al-Mansurah.

History

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Naos of Amasis II at Tell El-Ruba (ancient Mendes)
Ddd
t		 niwt
Djedet (ḏd.t)
in hieroglyphs

In ancient times, Mendes was a famous city that attracted the notice of most ancient geographers and historians, including Herodotus (ii. 42, 46. 166), Diodorus (i. 84), Strabo (xvii. p. 802), Mela (i. 9 § 9), Pliny the Elder (v. 10. s. 12), Ptolemy (iv. 5. § 51), and Stephanus of Byzantium (s. v.). The city was the capital of the Mendesian nome, situated at the point where the Mendesian arm of the Nile (Μενδήσιον στόμα, Scylax, p. 43; Ptol. iv, 5. § 10; Mendesium ostium, Pliny, Mela, ll. cc.) flows into the lake of Tanis. Archaeological evidence attests to the existence of the town at least as far back as the Naqada II period (4th millennium BCE). Under the first Pharaohs, Mendes quickly became a strong seat of provincial government and remained so throughout the Ancient Egyptian period. In Classical times, the nome it governed was one of the nomes assigned to that division of the native army which was called the Calasires, and the city was celebrated for the manufacture of a perfume designated as the Mendesium unguentum. (Plin. xiii. 1. s. 2.) Mendes, however, declined early, and disappears in the first century AD; since both Ptolemy (l. c.) and P. Aelius Aristides (iii. p. 160) mention Thmuis as the only town of note in the Mendesian nome. From its position at the junction of the river and the lake, it was probably encroached upon by their waters, after the canals fell into neglect under the Macedonian kings, and when they were repaired by Augustus (Sueton. Aug. 18, 63) Thmuis had attracted its trade and population.

Religion

[edit]

The chief deities of Mendes were the ram deity Banebdjedet (lit. Ba of the Lord of Djedet), who was the Ba of Osiris, and his consort, the fish goddess Hatmehit. With their child Har-pa-khered ("Horus the Child"), they formed the triad of Mendes.

The ram deity of Mendes was described by Herodotus in his Histories[1] as being represented with the head and fleece of a goat: "...whereas anyone with a sanctuary of Mendes or who comes from the province of Mendes, will have nothing to do with (sacrificing) goats, but uses sheep as his sacrificial animals... They say that Heracles' overriding desire was to see Zeus, but Zeus was refusing to let him do so. Eventually, as a result of Heracles' pleading, Zeus came up with a plan. He skinned a ram and cut off his head, then he held the head in front of himself, wore the fleece, and showed himself to Heracles like that. That is why the Egyptian statues of Zeus have a ram's head, is why rams are sacred to the Thebans, and they do not use them as sacrificial animals. However there is just one day of the year—the day of the festival of Zeus—when they chop up a single ram, skin it, dress the statue of Zeus in the way mentioned, and then bring the statue of Heracles up close to the statue of Zeus. Then everyone around the sanctuary mourns the death of the ram and finally they bury it in a sacred tomb."

Demonologists in early modern times often imagined Satan as manifesting himself as a goat or satyr, because goats had a reputation for lustful behavior and were used in the iconography of pre-Christian gods like Pan and the goat of Mendes. The occultist Eliphas Levi in his Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (1855) drew an image of the fictitious medieval idol Baphomet that conflated it with the goat of Mendes and the imagery of the Satanic satyr. The image of the satyr-like Baphomet and its supposed connection with Mendes has since been repeated by various occultists, conspiracy theorists, and neopagans.[2]

Ruins

[edit]
Ushabti of pharaoh Hakor, found at Mendes

The site is today the largest surviving tell in the Nile delta, and consists of both Tell El-Ruba (the site of the main temple enclosure) and Tell El-Timai (the settlement site of Thmuis to the south). Overall, Mendes is about 3 km long from north to south and averages about 900m east-to-west. An Old Kingdom necropolis is estimated to contain over 9,000 interments. Several campaigns of 20th-century excavations have been led by North American institutions, including New York University and the University of Toronto, as well as a Pennsylvania State University team led by Donald Redford. Under the direction of Redford, the current excavations are concentrating on a number of areas in and around the main temple.

Work on the New Kingdom processional-style temple has recently uncovered foundation deposits of Merenptah below the second pylon. It is thought that four separate pylons or gates existed. Evidence has suggested that their construction dates from at least the Middle Kingdom, as foundation deposits were uncovered. The original structures were buried, added to, or incorporated into later ones over time by later rulers.

A cemetery of sacred rams was discovered in the northwest corner of Tell El-Ruba. Monuments bearing the names of Ramesses II, Merneptah, and Ramesses III were also found. A temple attested by its foundation deposits was built by Amasis II. The tomb of Nepherites I, which Donald Redford concluded was destroyed by the Persians,[3] was discovered by a joint team from the University of Washington and the University of Toronto in 1992–1993.

On the edge of the temple mound, a sondage supervised by Matthew J. Adams has revealed uninterrupted stratification from the Middle Kingdom down to the First Dynasty. Coring results suggest that future excavations in that sondage should expect to take the stratification down into the Buto-Maadi Period. The material excavated so far is already the longest uninterrupted stratification for all of the Nile Delta, and possibly for all of Egypt.[4]

See also

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Notes

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References

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Mendes

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Mendes, known in ancient Egyptian as Djedet (or Per-Banebdjedet), was a major and religious center in the of , located at the modern of Tell el-Rubʿa, approximately 35 kilometers southeast of the of Mansoura. Dedicated primarily to the worship of the ram-headed god Banebdjedet (Ba-neb-Djedet, meaning "Ram Lord of Djedet"), who was considered a form of the fertility and virility deity with avatars including , Re, Shu, and , the flourished as a cult site from through the Ptolemaic period. Inhabited continuously for over 5,000 years—from the Predynastic era until its abandonment in the late first century BCE due to silting of the branch and regional upheavals—Mendes served as the capital of the 16th nome of and briefly as the national capital during the 29th Dynasty (c. 399–380 BCE) under pharaohs like . Its strategic position on what was once the Mendesian branch of the supported a thriving economy based on , grain export, and , evidenced by large harbors, warehouses filled with Greek and Phoenician amphorae, and a defensive dating to the Old Kingdom. Archaeological excavations, notably those led by Donald B. Redford since the 1960s and continuing through Penn State University's field school, have uncovered monumental structures including a vast New Kingdom temple complex (over 165 meters long) built by and expanded by and Merenptah, a Late Period temenos wall erected by , and foundation deposits revealing Ptolemaic-era rituals. These findings highlight Mendes' role as a microcosm of Egyptian history, reflecting periods of prosperity, conflict (such as Old Kingdom famines marked by mass graves), and cultural synthesis with Greek influences during the Hellenistic era.

Introduction and Etymology

Name Origins

The ancient Egyptian name for the city was Djedet (ḥḏ.t), derived from the djed pillar hieroglyph (𓊽), a symbol representing stability, endurance, and the backbone of Osiris, first attested in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BCE). The hieroglyphic writing of Djedet combines the djed sign with the feminine ending t (𓏏), emphasizing its conceptual ties to permanence and resurrection, as seen in early royal inscriptions like Pyramid Text Utterance 1261b, where it invokes "Djed-powerful in Djedet." This nomenclature reflected the city's foundational role in Lower Egyptian cosmology, predating its prominence as a cult center. Another key designation was Per-Banebdjedet, meaning "House (or Domain) of , Lord of Djedet," referring to the ram-headed god (Ba-neb-Djedet, "the ba-soul lord of Djedet"), whose cult was central to the site. The full hieroglyphic form incorporates the house sign (𓉐) prefixed to the god's name, appearing in references and later temple dedications, underscoring the city's identity as the deity's primary domain. A lesser-known alternative name, Anpet, also denoted the , particularly in Late Period texts linking it to local festivals and topography, as in the where it distinguishes Mendes from nearby Busiris. Djedet served as the capital of the 16th Lower Egyptian nome, known as the Djedi or Kha nome (the "Fish" nome), an encompassing the eastern Delta region and marked by the symbol in nome standards from onward. The Greek adaptation Mendes (Μένδης) first appears in ' Histories (Book 2, 42 and 46), written in the mid-5th century BCE, where he describes local customs involving goat reverence, likely a misunderstanding of the ram cult. This Hellenized form, derived phonetically from Djedet via intermediate pronunciations, became the standard in classical sources, preserving the site's ancient prestige.

Linguistic Evolution

The ancient Egyptian name for the city was Djedet, which underwent a phonetic approximation to Mendes in Greek during the Ptolemaic period, as Greek speakers adapted the Egyptian 'dj' sound to more familiar phonemes. This transition is evident in early Greek texts, where the historian refers to the city simply as Mendes. Under Roman rule, the name was Latinized primarily as Mendes, with genitive forms like Mendae or extended variants such as Mendesium, preserving the Greek rendering while integrating into Latin for administrative and references, including the perfume known as unguentum Mendesium. The modern Arabic name, Tell el-Rub'a—translating to "mound of ashes," likely alluding to the site's layered ruins and historical burn layers—directly identifies the ancient location in the eastern . The enduring legacy of Mendes is seen in regional toponyms, notably the Mendesian nome (the 16th Lower Egyptian administrative district) and the Mendesian branch of the , which channeled trade and settlement patterns across the Delta.

Geography and Setting

Location in the Nile Delta

Mendes, known in modern times as Tell el-Rubʿa, is situated in the of northeastern , within the region. Its precise coordinates are approximately 30°57′30″N 31°30′57″E. The site lies approximately 35 km southeast of the modern city of Mansoura, the governorate's capital, and is positioned near the ancient site of Thmuis (modern Tell Timai), which succeeded Mendes as a major center during the Greco-Roman period, located roughly 500 m to the south. As the capital of the 16th Lower Egyptian nome, known as the Mendesian nome, Mendes occupied a strategic location along the Mendesian branch of the River, one of the delta's major ancient distributaries that historically flowed east of the site before shifting eastward over time. This positioning facilitated its role as a key hub for trade and religious activity in the eastern delta. The tell itself, encompassing the main mound at Tell el-Rubʿa and the adjacent Tell Timai, measures approximately 3 km in length from north to south and 900 m in width east to west, making it the largest surviving urban tell in the . The principal mound at Tell el-Rubʿa spans over 1,550 m north-south and more than 800 m east-west, reflecting the city's extent during its peak in the Late Period.

Environmental Context

The fertile alluvial soils of the , enriched by annual inundations during the Predynastic era (c. 5000–3100 BCE), provided an ideal environment for early agricultural expansion and supported significant population growth in the region around Mendes. These periodic floods deposited nutrient-rich , enabling the cultivation of crops such as emmer wheat and , which formed the basis of a surplus and facilitated the establishment of permanent settlements. The ecological productivity of the Delta's wetlands and floodplains attracted human communities, contributing to a marked increase in the number and size of sites across the area. In antiquity, the Mendesian branch of the served as a critical for Mendes, enhancing its role as a hub for and by connecting the city directly to the . This branch facilitated the transport of goods, including and produced in the surrounding fertile lowlands, to coastal ports and beyond, underscoring Mendes' economic vitality during the Pharaonic and Greco-Roman periods. The river's navigability supported both commercial exchanges and the distribution of agricultural surpluses, integrating the city into broader regional networks. From the Late Period (c. 664–332 BCE) onward, progressive silting of the Mendesian branch and shifts in the Nile's distributaries profoundly impacted Mendes' development, leading to the gradual decline of its harbor and connectivity. Sedimentation reduced water flow, causing the branch to migrate eastward and diminish the city's access to maritime trade routes by the Ptolemaic era. These hydrological changes, exacerbated by natural deltaic processes, isolated Mendes from vital economic lifelines and contributed to its reduced prominence. Today, the archaeological remains at Mendes face severe threats from land , seawater intrusion, and in the , which endanger site preservation. rates, driven by extraction and compaction, combined with rising sea levels, have led to saltwater infiltration that corrodes structures and erodes foundations across northern Delta sites. Rapid urban expansion and agricultural intensification further accelerate degradation and habitat loss, complicating conservation efforts for ancient Mendes.

Historical Development

Early Settlement and Pre-Dynastic Era

Archaeological evidence indicates that human occupation at Mendes began in the mid-fourth millennium BCE, during the (circa 3500–3200 BCE), marking the site's initial settlement phase in the Predynastic era. Excavations have revealed evidence of early domestic activities and rudimentary agriculture, consistent with Predynastic settlements in the . These finds, primarily from test trenches in the settlement areas, demonstrate a transition from nomadic or semi-sedentary lifestyles to more permanent habitation, influenced by the broader Lower Egyptian cultural complex. The site's development reflects general Predynastic traditions in the , which included technologies for food processing and containment as the community shifted toward proto-urban formation. During the Gerzean phase of II, Mendes functioned as a modest local center in the eastern , benefiting from its proximity to fertile floodplains and waterways that supported subsistence economies. The settlement's role is underscored by clusters of postholes and pit structures uncovered in excavations, indicating organized living spaces amid growing regional interactions. Early economic activities centered on in the adjacent marshes and of and sheep, complemented by limited cultivation, as inferred from faunal remains and tool assemblages recovered from these layers. Population estimates for Predynastic Delta sites remain tentative due to the ephemeral nature of remains, suggesting small communities sustained by mixed subsistence strategies. This occupation continued into the transitional Late Predynastic-Early Dynastic period, with evidence of settlement expansion.

Dynastic Periods and Capital Role

During the Old and Middle Kingdoms (circa 2686–1650 BCE), Mendes functioned primarily as a provincial center within the 16th nome of , known as the Mendesian nome, where local was managed by nomarchs responsible for collection, labor mobilization, and regional administration under central pharaonic . Archaeological from excavations reveals a with elite tombs and administrative sealings dating to the Old Kingdom, indicating Mendes' role in funerary practices and bureaucratic oversight, including seals bearing royal names that attest to its integration into the state apparatus. In the Middle Kingdom, the city maintained this administrative significance amid broader national reorganization, serving as a hub for local economic activities such as along the Nile's Mendesian branch, though material remains from this era are sparse and suggest continuity rather than expansion in structures. In the New Kingdom (circa 1550–1070 BCE), Mendes' administrative role evolved with increased royal investment, highlighted by temple constructions that underscored its strategic position in nome governance and Delta defense. initiated a major temple complex in the 18th Dynasty, which later expanded in the 19th Dynasty, incorporating foundation deposits and monumental architecture that reinforced the city's function as a regional administrative seat for overseeing , , and . These developments reflect Mendes' integration into the empire's bureaucratic network, where nomarchs coordinated with the central administration in Thebes to manage the nome's resources and population. Mendes reached its dynastic peak in the Late Period as the capital of during the 29th Dynasty (399–380 BCE), when , a native of the city, overthrew the previous ruler and relocated the royal court there to consolidate power in the Delta against Persian threats. This elevation transformed Mendes into a national administrative hub, hosting royal residences, palaces, and central bureaucracies that directed nome governance across , including fiscal policies, diplomatic relations, and military command. The city's nome oversight extended to judicial functions and resource allocation, with its strategic location facilitating control over the eastern Delta's waterways and agriculture, marking a brief but pivotal era of indigenous revival before subsequent dynastic shifts.

Greco-Roman Era and Decline

During the Ptolemaic period (c. 305–30 BCE), Mendes retained significant religious prominence as the center of the dedicated to the ram-headed god , building on its legacy from the 29th Dynasty as a . visited the city around 282 BCE to pay homage to the sacred ram and established a syncretic that blended Egyptian traditions with Hellenistic elements, underscoring the Ptolemies' strategy of integrating local deities into their ruler . This religious continuity attracted pilgrims and supported temple activities, though the city's economic role diminished as trade increasingly centralized in the newly founded port of , which became the primary hub for Mediterranean commerce by the late 4th century BCE. Following the Roman conquest in 30 BCE, Mendes and the surrounding Mendesian nome were incorporated into the administrative framework of the province of , with the region later reorganized into the province of Augustamnica during the CE under Diocletian's reforms. The city's decline accelerated in the 1st century CE, primarily due to the silting of the Mendesian branch of the , which severed its access to navigable waterways and undermined its viability as a and center. This environmental degradation, exacerbated by Roman canalization projects such as the construction of the Butic Canal, led to the gradual abandonment of Mendes' maritime functions. By the 1st century CE, the nearby settlement of Thmuis had supplanted Mendes as the capital of the Mendesian nome, emerging as the administrative and economic focal point due to its more favorable position relative to the shifting channels. Archaeological evidence, including late Roman ceramics and structural remains, attests to sporadic occupation persisting into the 4th century CE, after which the site saw full abandonment as populations migrated to Thmuis and other viable Delta locations.

Religious Importance

Principal Deities

The principal deities worshipped at Mendes, an ancient city in the known as Djedet in Egyptian, centered on the Mendesian triad, comprising the ram god , his consort the fish goddess , and their son Harpa-Khred (later known in Greek as ). This triad embodied themes of fertility, protection, and renewal, reflecting the city's agricultural and aquatic environment. served as the ba (soul or manifestation) of , linking the local cult to broader Egyptian resurrection mythology. Banebdjedet, meaning "Ba of the Lord of Djedet," was the preeminent ram-headed god of Mendes, symbolizing and . Depicted as a ram or a figure with a ram's head, he occasionally appeared with four ram heads emerging from a single body, representing the four bas of and emphasizing his role in the god's and eternal life cycle. As consort to , formed the paternal figure in the triad, with his cult involving the veneration of a living sacred ram believed to embody his essence. In mythological narratives, he acted as a supporter of during the god's judgment in the underworld, voicing pleas on behalf of the deceased. Syncretically, merged with as his ba-form, particularly in texts like the Book of the Heavenly Cow, which identifies "the ba of [as] the ram of Mendes." During the Greco-Roman period, his ithyphallic ram form was equated with the Greek god Pan, as noted by , who described the Mendesians portraying Pan with a goat's (or ram's) head and fleece among their eight primordial deities. Hatmehit, whose name translates to "Foremost of the ," was a protective intrinsically tied to Mendes as its guardian . Often represented as a wearing a (typically or ) headdress atop her head, or simply as a , she symbolized the Nile's life-giving inundation and the abundance of aquatic resources in the Delta. As the original of Mendes before the rise of , Hatmehit's epithets such as "She who resides in Djedet" underscore her localized protective role over the city and its inhabitants. Mythologically, she assisted in searching for 's dismembered body, earning titles like "Excellent Sister of Osiris" and "She who looks for (the members of) her brother over the flow," which connected her to themes of and restoration. Her cult persisted from the 4th Dynasty (c. 2670 BCE) through the Roman era (641 CE), with evidence from votive mummies at Mendes attesting to her enduring significance. Harpa-Khred, or in Greek rendering, was the form of revered as the son of and within the Mendesian triad, embodying youthful vitality, fertility, and safeguarding against harm. Depicted as a nude with a and often a finger to his lips (symbolizing silence and secrecy), he represented protection for the vulnerable, particularly in agricultural contexts where he was linked to crop abundance as "Lord of the Cereals." In Mendes, Harpa-Khred's cult emphasized and defense against chaos, with syncretic ties to the local ram traditions, assimilating him with the ithyphallic aspects of . His role extended to warding off evil and venomous threats, making him a popular figure in amulets during the Greco-Roman period.

Cult Practices and Iconography

The cult practices at Mendes revolved around the veneration of sacred rams as living manifestations of , with these animals housed and tended within dedicated temple enclosures. Upon the death of a sacred ram, it underwent mummification and was interred in a specialized adjacent to the temple, accompanied by rituals that mirrored pharaonic ceremonies to ensure its role in divine . These practices underscored the ram's symbolic connection to and renewal, integral to the city's religious identity from the New Kingdom onward. The primary temple complex of , expanded during the New Kingdom and further developed in the Late Period, included associated shrines that facilitated ram care, mummification, and communal worship. Devotees, particularly elites, contributed images of the deity to these spaces, enhancing the cult's material and framework. Annual festivals animated the temple precincts through elaborate processions, in which boat-shaped shrines bearing the god's image were paraded publicly, allowing interaction between the divine and the populace while evoking Banebdjedet's ties to Osirian themes. These events emphasized and communal renewal, with ram imagery prominently displayed to invoke the god's virility. Iconographic representations of Banebdjedet evolved over three millennia but consistently featured the god as a ram-headed figure, often in standing pose with a short kilt, broad collar, and wig accentuating the curved, twisted horns of the ram. Ram-headed statues, sculpted in stone or bronze, dominated temple interiors and processional routes, symbolizing the deity's potent life force. Reliefs within the complexes incorporated fish motifs, such as the schilby fish emblem of Mendes, linking Banebdjedet to his consort Hatmehit and the Nile Delta's aquatic environment. Later Greco-Roman variants included tetracephalic forms with four ram heads, denoting multifaceted divine authority.

Archaeological Remains

Site Description and Layout

The archaeological site of Mendes consists primarily of two prominent tells in the eastern : Tell el-Rubʿa, which encompasses the main temple enclosure, and Tell el-Timai, identified as the eastern residential area, located several hundred meters apart. These components form the core of the ancient urban complex, with Tell el-Rubʿa serving as the focal point for religious architecture and Tell el-Timai accommodating domestic structures. The site's overall reflects to the Delta's landscape, with elevations varying across the mounds to support settlement and ceremonial functions. The layout centers on a temple district at Tell el-Rubʿa, oriented north-south and measuring approximately 70 meters by 120 meters, enclosed by mud-brick walls that integrated shrines, a sacred lake to the southeast, and associated harbor facilities along the nearby branch for ritual and trade access. Surrounding this district lies a , featuring burial structures that extended outward from the temple core, while residential zones at Tell el-Timai included settlement remains indicative of everyday urban life. This arrangement highlights Mendes' role as a planned center with integrated civic and funerary spaces, though preservation varies due to flooding and erosion. Defensive features, particularly from the Late Period, include substantial mud-brick enclosure walls surrounding the temple district and gates providing controlled access, designed to protect the sacred precinct amid regional instability. These walls, though poorly preserved today, incorporated bastion-like elements for reinforcement. The stratigraphic sequence at the site spans continuous occupation from the First Dynasty through the Roman era, with distinct layers revealing early settlement foundations, Old Kingdom mastabas in the necropolis, and later overlays from Middle Kingdom to Ptolemaic periods, illustrating Mendes' enduring significance.

Excavation History and Key Finds

The archaeological of Mendes, known anciently as Tell er-Rubʿa, gained momentum in the mid-20th century with systematic excavations led by North American teams. Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the 1980s, expeditions affiliated with the , under Robert J. Wenke, uncovered significant portions of an estimated to contain over 9,000 interments, providing insights into early urban burial practices in the . These efforts, later supported by collaborators from the and the , focused on stratified deposits spanning the Early Dynastic to periods, revealing domestic structures, pottery sequences, and evidence of continuous occupation. In the early , the expedition, directed by Donald B. Redford, intensified work at the site, shifting emphasis to the royal necropolis and temple complexes. During the 1992–1993 seasons, the team discovered the mastaba tomb of (r. 399–393 BCE), founder of the 29th Dynasty, featuring wall reliefs depicting the king before the ram-god ; the structure had been deliberately violated in antiquity, likely by Persian forces under . Concurrently, foundation deposits attributed to Merenptah (r. 1213–1203 BCE) were unearthed beneath the second pylon of the New Kingdom temple, consisting of pottery vessels, model tools, and inscribed stone bricks placed adjacent to the foundation trench, attesting to Ramesside-era temple expansions. Since the mid-1990s, the project transitioned to under Redford's direction until his death on October 18, 2024, with co-directors Susan Redford and Matthew D. Adams employing advanced techniques such as GIS mapping and to expose Middle Kingdom through First Dynasty strata, including administrative buildings and elite tombs. This work has illuminated Mendes' role as a provincial center, with deep soundings revealing predynastic layers beneath the temple mound. No major discoveries have been reported since , though as of November 2025, conservation and analysis of existing materials continue under the Mendes Expedition. Among the key finds are the mastaba tomb with its reliefs, the Merenptah foundation deposits, and evidence of economic activities such as trade in amphorae from Greek and Phoenician sources found in temple warehouses. These discoveries, integrated into the site's processional dromos and temple layout, underscore Mendes' enduring religious and administrative significance.

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  41. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Iconography-of-the-God-Banebdjedet-Arab/25b481b1d9c3eb0073e90fb2414983e712758f45
  42. https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/7987
  43. https://brill.com/display/title/8754
  44. https://www.psu.edu/news/liberal-arts/story/acclaimed-egyptologist-donald-redford-passes-away-90
  45. https://www.ancientmendes.org/about
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