  We have used temperature dependent x-ray absorption at the Ce-L3 edge to
investigate the recently discovered Kondo compound Ce2Rh3Al9. The systematic
changes of the spectral lineshape with decreasing temperature are analyzed and
found to be related to a change in the $4f$ occupation number, n_f, as the
system undergoes a transition into a Kondo state. The temperature dependence of
$n_f$ indicates a characteristic temperature of 150K, which is clearly related
with the high temperature anomaly observed in the magnetic susceptibility of
the same system. The further anomaly observed in the resistivity of this system
at low temperature (ca. 20K) has no effect on n_f and is thus not of Kondo
origin.
