Dendera Temple complex ( Part 4 ) , Outbuildings of Hathor temple :

- Beyond the stone enclosure wall , there are the ruins of various outlying buildings of the complex .

- Moving towards the main temple from the gate and on its western side are the remains of the Roman period birth house built ( mammisi ) by Augustus shortly after Egypt was added to the Roman Empire .

- The structure was dedicated to the goddess and her child Ihy , and its birth theme is reflected in the figures of the god Bes ( a patron of childbirth ) carved on the abaci above the column capitals , who protects the mother and her child during the birth .

- Directly south of this mammisi are the remains of a Christian Basilica of the 5^th century AD , and an earlier birth house of the 30^th dynasty and Ptolemaic Period . It's scenes depicting Augustus' later successor Trajan offering to Hathor and are among the finest to be found in Egypt .

- The latter structure was split by the building of the Roman enclosure wall which required the building of the later birth house , This birth house begun by Nectanebo I and completed in the Ptolemaic period .

- Next are the remains of a mud-brick sanatorium , the only one of its type known from Egyptian temples , where visitors could bathe in the sacred waters or spend the night in order to have a healing dream of the goddess .

- To the west of the sanatorium , a small chapel of Nebhepetre " Mentuhotep " dating to the 11^th dynasty , which seems to have been dedicated to the cult of the king rather than the goddess Hathor , and as such was probably ancillary to the main Middle Kingdom temple . This chapel was moved in modern times , however , and has been re-erected in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo .

- Further to the south , at the temple's southwest corner , lies the compound's sacred lake which provided water for the priests' ablutions . With flights of stairs descending from each corner , this stone-lined ceremonial basin is the best preserved of its type in any Egyptian temple . Today, it is empty of water and tall trees grow within its walls .

- Next to the lake is a well with rock-cut steps leading down to give access to water for daily use in the temple .

- Immediately to the south of Hathor's temple is the Iseum , the temple of the birth of Isis .

- Within the rear wall of the sanctuary a statue of Osiris ( now destroyed ) was supported by the arms of Isis and Nephthys .

To be continuous ...............

Part ( 5 ) Coming Sooooooon ......