Tanis (also known as San el Hagar or Dja'net in ancient Egyptian) is the name of an ancient city in Egypt, located in the Nile Delta. Built by the pharaoh Smedes during the 21st dynasty of the Third Intermediate period (ca 1069-664 BC), Tanis is a marvel of repurposing, with building materials, statues, tomb reliefs and other architectural elements borrowed from Old and Middle Kingdom sites throughout Egypt.
The city includes a large rectangular enclosure of brick, measuring 430x370 meters and with walls up to 15 m thick. Inside the enclosure is a great temple of Amun, erected by Psusennes I. Much of the temple came from nearby Pi-Ramesses, the capital city of Ramses the Great, who moved much of the city's buildings to Tanis.
Tanis and Archaeology
Archaeologists who have excavated at Tanis include W. M. Flinders Petrie, Auguste Mariette, and Pierre Montet.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Ancient Egypt, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Heide K, Hartmann E, Gert K, and Wiedemann HG. 2000. MS-TGA of ancient glasses: an attempt to determine the manufacturing conditions (I). Thermochimica Acta 365(1-2):147-156.
Hikade T. 2008. AFRICA, NORTH: Pharaonic Egypt. In: Deborah MP, editor. Encyclopedia of Archaeology. New York: Academic Press. p 31-45.
