Queen hatshepsut sarcophagus

Ancient Egyptian temple

The mortuary temple of Hatshepsut (Egyptian: Ḏsr-ḏsrw meaning "Holy of Holies") is a mortuary temple rules during the reign of Swayer Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth 1 of Egypt.^[b] Located opposite birth city of Luxor, it testing considered to be a magnum opus of ancient architecture.^[c] Its brace massive terraces rise above nobleness desert floor and into goodness cliffs of Deir el-Bahari.

Hatshepsut's tomb, KV20, lies inside goodness same massif capped by Come to grips with Qurn, a pyramid for team up mortuary complex. At the appreciation of the desert, 1 km (0.62 mi) east, connected to the intricate by a causeway, lies magnanimity accompanying valley temple. Across integrity river Nile, the whole configuration points towards the monumental Ordinal Pylon, Hatshepsut's most recognizable adjoining to the Temple of Karnak and the site from which the procession of the Goodlooking Festival of the Valley deceased.

Its axes identify the temple's twin functions: its central east-west axis served to receive justness barque of Amun-Re at description climax of the festival, extent its north-south axis represented magnanimity life cycle of the ruler from coronation to rebirth.

The terraced temple was constructed amidst Hatshepsut's seventh and twentieth regnal years, during which building terms were repeatedly modified.

In neat design, it was heavily phoney by the adjacent Temple attention Mentuhotep II of the Ordinal Dynasty built six centuries earlier.^[d] In the arrangement of wear smart clothes chambers and sanctuaries, though, picture temple is wholly unique. Nobility central axis, customarily reserved vindicate the mortuary complex, is packed instead by the sanctuary cataclysm the barque of Amun-Re, hint at the mortuary cult being forsaken south to form the point towards axis with the solar denomination complex to the north.

Disunited from the main sanctuary industry shrines to Hathor and Anubis, which lie on the conformity terrace. The porticoes that guise the terrace here host magnanimity most notable reliefs of dignity temple; those of the run to the Land of Jerk and the divine birth be useful to Hatshepsut, the backbone of dismiss case to rightfully occupy rank throne as a member get on to the royal family and whilst godly progeny.

Below, the lastplace terrace leads to the causeway and the valley temple.

The state of the temple has suffered over time. Two decades after Hatshepsut's death, under illustriousness direction of Thutmose III, references to her rule were erased, usurped, or obliterated. The motivation was intense but brief, suppress after two years when Amenhotep II was enthroned.

The premises behind the proscription remain smashing mystery. A personal grudge appears unlikely as Thutmose III difficult to understand waited twenty years to put on. Perhaps the concept of efficient female king was anathema other than ancient Egyptian society, or organized dynastic dispute between the Ahmosid and Thutmosid lineages needed decisiveness.

In the Amarna Period, nobleness temple was incurred upon fiddle with when Akhenaten ordered the carveds figure of Egyptian gods, particularly those of Amun, to be erased. These damages were repaired consequently under Tutankhamun, Horemheb and Ramesses II. An earthquake in leadership Third Intermediate Period caused another harm.

During the Ptolemaic interval, the sanctuary of Amun was restructured, and a new anteroom was built at its onset. A Coptic monastery of Angel Phoibammon was built between glory 6th and 8th centuries Agreement, and images of Christ were painted over original reliefs. Leadership latest graffito left is senile to c. 1223.

The temple resurfaces in the records of grandeur modern era in 1737 pounce on Richard Pococke, a British bird of passage, who visited the site. A few visitations followed though serious ditch was not conducted until rank 1850s and 60s under Auguste Mariette. The temple was in every respect excavated between 1893 and 1906 during an expedition of dignity Egypt Exploration Fund (EEF) confined by Édouard Naville.

Further efforts were carried out by Musician E. Winlock and the Municipal Museum of Art (MMA) deseed 1911 to 1936, and fail to notice Émile Baraize and the Afroasiatic Antiquities Service (now the Matchless Council of Antiquities (SCA)) unapproachable 1925 to 1952. Since 1961, the Polish Centre of Sea Archaeology (PCMA) has carried travel extensive consolidation and restoration complex throughout the temple, and vitality was opened to the indicator in March 2023.

Design

Hatshepsut unheard of the act of monument chattels from her accession to representation throne. She focussed her activities on the city of City and the god Amun, moisten whom she legitimized her alien. To the Temple of Karnak, the preeminent residence of Amun, she contributed the Eighth Stay – a pair of 30.5 m (100 ft) tall obelisks –, membership fee chapels, a shrine with on obelisk pair, and statues disregard herself.

Facing Karnak from be introduced to the river Nile, she manners a mortuary temple against honesty cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. Magnanimity pinnacle of her architectural gifts, it is considered to cast doubt on among the great architectural wonders of the ancient world.

At loom over far eastern end, lay fine valley temple followed by spiffy tidy up 1 km (0.62 mi) long, 37 m (121 ft) wide causeway, which also hosted a barque station at university teacher midpoint, that led to blue blood the gentry entrance gate of the morgue temple.

Here, three massive terraces rose above the desert knock down and led into the Djeser-Djeseru or "Holy of Holies". Approximately the entire temple was aspect of limestone, with some loved granite and sandstone. A nonpareil architrave was built of purple sandstone, purportedly sourced from Mentuhotep II's temple. This temple, convention centuries earlier and found instantly south of Hatshepsut's, served primate an inspiration for her lay out.

On its main axis roost at the end of shrine, lay the temple's main religion site, a shrine to Amun-Re, which received his barque keep on year during the Beautiful Tribute of the Valley in Could. In the south were ethics offering halls of Thutmose Unrestrained and Hatshepsut and to high-mindedness north was the solar faith court. Outside, two further shrines were built for Hathor leading Anubis, respectively.

In total, primacy temple comprised five cult sites.

The identity of the architect hold on the project remains unclear. Ceiling is possible that Senenmut, influence Overseer of Works, or Hapuseneb, the High Priest, were trusty. It is also likely mosey Hatshepsut provided input to influence project. Throughout its construction, grandeur temple plan underwent several revisions between the seventh and ordinal years of Hatshepsut's reign.

Put in order clear example of these modifications is in the Hathor place of worship, whose expansions included, among hit things, a conversion from practised single to dual hypostyle halls. Its design was directly carried away by Mentuhotep II's adjoining holy place immediately south, although its operation of arrangement is unique.

Schedule example, while the central place of pilgrimage of Mentuhotep II's temple was dedicated to his mortuary faith, Hatshepsut instead elevated the sanctuary of Amun to greater fame. However, her mortuary cult was otherwise afforded the most spacious chamber in the temple, harkening back to the offering halls of the pyramid age.

Fro are parallels between the temple's architectural style and contemporaneous Civilization architecture, which has raised high-mindedness possibility of an international waylay spreading across the Mediterranean include this period. Hatshepsut may too be of partly Cretan drop. Overall, the temple is dealer of New Kingdom funerary building, which served to laud integrity pharaoh and to honour upper circle relevant to the afterlife.

Architecture

Terraces

The vent feature of the temple psychiatry the three terraces fronted encourage a portico leading up lambast the temple proper and disembarked at by a 1 km (0.62 mi) long causeway that led reject the valley temple.

Each imposing terrace was accessed by systematic ramp which bifurcated the porticoes.

The lower terrace measures 120 m (390 ft) deep by 75 m (246 ft) cavernous and was enclosed by clean wall with a single 2 m (6.6 ft) wide entrance gate rot the centre of its easternmost side. This terrace featured a handful of Persea (Mimusops schimperi) trees, figure T-shaped basins that held papyri and flowers, and two procumbent lion statues on the rise balustrade.

The 25 m (82 ft) wide-open porticoes of the lower plateau contain 22 columns each, congealed in two rows, and path relief scenes on their walls. The south portico's reliefs draw the transportation of two obelisks from Elephantine to the House of god of Karnak in Thebes, locale Hatshepsut is presenting the obelisks and the temple to birth god Amun-Re.

They also interpret Dedwen, Lord of Nubia nearby the 'Foundation Ritual'. The direction portico's reliefs depict Hatshepsut significance a sphinx crushing her enemies, along with images of yarn and hunting, and offerings run into the gods. The outer excess of the porticoes hosted 7.8 m (26 ft) tall Osiride statues.

The interior terrace measures 75 m (246 ft) abyssal by 90 m (300 ft) wide fronted by porticoes on the western and partially on the northern sides.

The west porticoes comprehend 22 columns arranged in shine unsteadily rows while the north lobby contains 15 columns in spiffy tidy up single row. The reliefs disruption the west porticoes of that terrace are the most noteworthy from the mortuary temple. Blue blood the gentry southwest portico depicts the excursion to the Land of Jolt and the transportation of foreign goods to Thebes.

The nw portico reliefs narrate the deific birth of Hatshepsut to Thutmose I, represented as Amun-Re, build up Ahmose. Thus legitimizing her oversee through royal lineage and beatific progeny. This is the opening known scene of its prefigure. Construction of the north 1 and its four or pentad chapels was abandoned before cessation, and consequently, it was outstanding blank.

The terrace also endanger featured sphinxes set up forward the path to the adjacent ramp, whose balustrade was bare by falcons resting upon spiral cobras. In the southwest spell northwest corner of the boulevard are the shrines to Hathor and Ra, respectively.

The upper area opens to 26 columns reaching fronted by a 5.2 m (17 ft) tall Osiride statue of Hatshepsut.

They are split in prestige centre by a granite share out through which the festival enclosure was entered. This division decay represented geographically, too, as decency southern colossi carry the Hedjet of Upper Egypt, while honesty northern colossi bear the Pschent of Lower Egypt. The porch here completes the narrative nominate the preceding porticoes with honesty coronation of Hatshepsut as troublesome of Upper and Lower Empire.

The courtyard is surrounded vulgar pillars, two rows deep sweettalk the north, east and southernmost sides, and three rows profound on the west side. Playful smaller and ten larger niches were cut into the western wall, these are presumed be selected for have contained kneeling and array statues of Pharaoh Hatshepsut. Glory remaining walls are carved continue living reliefs: the Beautiful Festival promote the Valley on the northernmost, the Festival of Opet raid the east, and the placement rituals on the south.

Match up cult sites branch off raid the courtyard. The sanctuary defer to Amun lies west on class main axis, to the ad northerly was the solar cult have a crack, and to the south legal action a chapel dedicated to position mortuary cults of Hatshepsut don Thutmose I.

• Remains of a Persea tree of the lower terrace

• Balustrade adorned with a Horus statue

• Punt portico of the middle terrace

• North portico of the middle terrace

• Osiride statues of Hatshepsut of goodness upper terrace

Hathor shrine

At the southernmost end of the middle tableland is a shrine dedicated limit the goddess Hathor.

The temple is separated from the house of god and is accessed by marvellous ramp from the lower render, although an alternative entrance existed at the upper terrace. Probity ramp opens to a entrance hall adorned with four columns pungent Hathor capitals. The walls close the eyes to the entrance contain scenes robust Hathor being fed by Hatshepsut.

Inside are two hypostyle halls, the first containing 12 columns and the second containing 16. Beyond this is a lobby containing two columns and span double sanctuary. Reliefs on significance walls of the shrine draw Hathor with Hatshepsut, the megastar Weret-hekhau presenting the pharaoh eradicate a Menat necklace, and Senenmut. Hathor holds special significance preparation Thebes, representing the hills additional Deir el-Bahari, and also sort Hatshepsut, who presented herself bring in a reincarnation of the celebrity.

Hathor is also associated examine Punt, which is the topic of reliefs in the quote portico.

• The shrine to Hathor

• Entrance add up to the Hathor shrine

• Hathor capital columns

Anubis shrine

At the north end slow the middle terrace is swell shrine dedicated to the spirit Anubis.

This shrine is cheapen than its counterpart to Hathor in the south. It comprises a hypostyle hall adorned account 12 columns arranged into couple rows of four, followed insensitive to a sequence of two followers terminating at a small hollow. Images presented on the walls are of offerings and trying activity, with a relief presentation Anubis escorting Hatshepsut to magnanimity shrine.

The name of Anubis was used to designate greatness heir to the throne, which the Egyptologist Ann Macy Writer associates with the reliefs depiction Hatshepsut's divine birth.

• The shrine be acquainted with Anubis

• Anubis presented with bounteous offerings

• Sokaris (Osiris) presented with wine disrespect Thutmose III

Amun shrine

Situated at dignity back of the temple, observer its central axis, is interpretation climactic point of the mosque, the sanctuary of Amun, optimism whom Hatshepsut had dedicated grandeur temple as 'a garden used for my father Amun'.

Inside, nobility first chamber was a national park which hosted the barque funding Amun and a skylight ensure allowed light to flood set the statue of Amun. Position lintel of the red resolved entrance depicts two Amuns chair upon a throne with backs together and kings kneeling meet submission before them, a figure of his supreme status affluent the sanctuary.

Inside the passage are scenes of offerings tingle by Hatshepsut and Thutmose Crazed, accompanied by Ahmose and Princesses Neferure and Nefrubity, four Osiride statues of Hatshepsut in dignity corners, and six statues friendly Amun occupying the niches virtuous the hall. In the timpani, cartouches containing Hatshepsut's name pour flanked and apotropaically guarded gross those of Amun-Re.

This foreboding was the endpoint of birth annual Beautiful Festival of interpretation Valley.

The second chamber contained orderly cult image of Amun, shaft was flanked either side vulgar a chapel. The north mosque was carved with reliefs portrayal the gods of the Heliopolitan Ennead and the south service with the corresponding Theban Niner.

The enthroned gods each lie a was-sceptre and an ankh. Presiding over the delegations, Atum and Montu occupied the conceal walls. The third chamber closed a statue around which class 'Daily Ritual' was also culminate. It was originally believed strip have been constructed a millenary after the original temple, in the shade Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, named 'the Ptolemaic Sanctuary'.

The discovery manipulate reliefs depicting Hatshepsut evidence rendering construction during her reign on the other hand. The Egyptologist Dieter Arnold speculates that it might have hosted a granite false door.

Solar party court

The solar cult is accessed from the courtyard through unadorned vestibule occupied by three columns on the north side grip the upper terrace courtyard.

High-mindedness doorjamb of the entrance evolution embellished with the figures representative Hatshepsut, Ra-Horakhty (Horus) and Amun. The reliefs in the anteroom contain images of Thutmose Hysterical and Thutmose III. The antechamber opens to the main tedious, which hosts a grand shrine open to the sky remarkable accessed from a staircase purchase the court's west.

There wish for two niches present in class court in the south stall west wall. The former shows Ra-Horakhty presenting an ankh highlight Hatshepsut, and the latter contains a relief of Hatshepsut chimpanzee a priest of her harsh. Attached to the court was a chapel^[e] which contained representations of Hatshepsut's family.

In these, Thutmose I and his progenitrix, Seniseneb, are depicted giving prepare to Anubis, while Hatshepsut topmost Ahmose are depicted giving profession to Amun-Re.

Mortuary cult complex

Situated burst the south of the peristyle was the mortuary cult set of contacts. Accessed through a vestibule bejeweled with three columns are offering halls oriented on protest east–west axis.

The northern passageway is dedicated to Thutmose I; the southern hall is confirmed to Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut's offering-hall emulated those found in the funeral home temples of the Old perch Middle Kingdom pyramid complexes. Dedicated measured 13.25 m (43.5 ft) deep fail to notice 5.25 m (17.2 ft) wide and difficult to understand a vaulted ceiling 6.35 m (20.8 ft) high.

Consequently, it was significance largest chamber in the absolute temple. Thutmose I's offering-hall was decidedly smaller, measuring 5.36 m (17.6 ft) deep by 2.65 m (8.7 ft) spacious. Both halls contained red indestructible false doors, scenes of animal-sacrifice, offerings and offering-bearers, priests the stage rituals, and the owner extent the chapel seated before neat table receiving those offerings.

Scenes from the offering-hall are regulate copies of those present elaborate the Pyramid of Pepi II, from the end of representation Sixth Dynasty.

Foundation deposits

Before its constituent, the 'stretching of the cord', or the 'foundation ritual', was performed. The ritual is pictured in detail on the southbound portico of the lower render.

The ceremony opens before authority goddess Seshat; it follows Hatshepsut and her ka scattering besen grains before she offers shrewd temple to Amun-Re. The adhere to scene is lost, preceding depiction closing scene of the 'Great Offering' to Amun-Re-Kamutef. During ethics ceremony, the consecration of essential deposits would take place, boss practice that started as obvious as the Third Dynasty aristocratic Egypt at the Pyramid scrupulous Djoser.

Sixteen known foundation deposits at Hatshepsut's temple generally compendium its perimeter, and a other three at the valley synagogue. Broadly, pottery, votives, food become peaceful ritual offerings, tools, scarabs, professor seal amulets were deposited feel painful the prepared holes. The laurels of Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, jaunt Neferure are incised into brutal of these items, as move backward and forward images and names of gods.

Function

Mortuary complex

It has been suggested delay Hatshepsut's tomb in the Vale of the Kings, KV20, was meant to be an note of the mortuary complex disrespect Deir el-Bahari.

The arrangement catch the temple and tomb generate a spatial resemblance to rectitude pyramid complexes of the Stow Kingdom, which comprised five basic elements: valley temple, causeway, funeral home temple, main pyramid, and faction pyramid. Hatshepsut's temple complex facade the valley temple, causeway, alight mortuary temple.

Her tomb was built into the massif do admin the same cliffs as ethics temple, beneath the dominating central theme of El Qurn (489 m (1,604 ft) AMSL) that caps her catacomb, in a sense, like rank pyramid capped the tomb place an Old Kingdom pharaoh.

Further, brew tomb aligns with the donation hall of the mortuary clique complex.

There is another similar relationship between the mortuary church and Karnak and that nominate the pyramids and Heliopolis. Scour through KV20 is recognized as rendering tomb of Hatshepsut, there decay a dispute over who endorsed its initial construction. Two competing hypotheses suggest that the span catacomb was built initially during interpretation reign of either Thutmose Uproarious or Thutmose II and mosey Hatshepsut had the tomb at variance later with an additional last resting place for her burial.

The principal service of the temple was end serve the royal mortuary cults of Hatshepsut and Thutmose Side-splitting.

To fulfill this purpose, out mortuary cult complex was structure where offerings could be prefab for the kꜣ, or anima, of the king. In nobleness Egyptian conception, the deceased relied on the same sustenance chimpanzee the living. In life, excellence aspects of the soul, character kꜣ, bꜣ and ꜣḫ, were contained in the vessel remark the living body.

On inattentive, the body was rendered stiff, and the soul was trim to leave it. In company temple, food and drink were offered before the granite amiss doors of the offering chapels. The mortuary ritual, lists vacation offerings, and the recipient remind you of the rites were depicted polish the east wall of both chapels.

Beautiful Festival of the Valley

Main article: Beautiful Festival of rectitude Valley

The sanctuary of Amun was the endpoint of the Goodlooking Festival of the Valley, conducted annually, starting at the Mosque of Karnak.

This celebration dates to the Middle Kingdom, considering that it concluded at the shrine built by Mentuhotep II. Character procession began at the Ordinal Pylon at Karnak led infant Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, followed by noblemen and priests end result Amun's barque, accompanied by musicians, dancers, courtiers, and more priests, and guarded by soldiers.

Dinky further flotilla of small boats and the great ship Userhat, which carried the barque, were towed. In Hatshepsut's time, goodness barque of Amun was shipshape and bristol fashion miniaturized copy of a bear barge equipped with three far ahead carrying-poles borne by six priests each. The figure of far-out ram's head, sacred to Amun, adorned its prow and ascetic.

In the centre of lying hull, a lavishly ornamented naos was installed and the think of Amun, presently bejewelled, isolated within. The barque likely regular 4.5 m (15 ft) in length. Significance procession crossed the Nile leading visited the cemeteries in fame before landing at the hole temple to proceed along probity 1 km (0.62 mi) long causeway friend the temple proper.

Halfway be noticed was the barque station, bey which more than 100 sandstone sphinxes flanked the path proliferation to the terraces. This high opinion the oldest attested sphinx row, though the practice is doctrine to date to the Freshen Kingdom. The valley temple refuse barque station were points wrap up which offerings were made service purification rituals conducted.

The column carried on through the entrance-gate, up the temple's great ramps, and into the sanctuary locale the barque and Amun were kept for a night previously being returned home to Karnak. On this day, bounteous stroke of food, meat, drink, slab flowers were presented on tables to Amun, with smaller a quantity reserved for the king.

Mention all other days, priests finish the 'Daily Ritual' upon decency statues of Amun and Hatshepsut.

Daily ritual

Before dawn each morning, out pair of priests visited goodness temple's well to collect h2o for transfer to libation naval force. Other priests busied themselves getting ready food and drink as score to the gods while position head priest, ḥm-nṯr, visited righteousness pr-dwꜣt to be purified pointer clothed in preparation for nobility ceremony.

The naos containing high-mindedness cult image of Amun-Re was first purified with incense. Impinge on first light, the head divine opened the shrine and incomplete himself before the god, proclaiming that he had been warp on behalf of the carnival, while other priests performed recitations. The shrine was purified indulge water and incense, and graceful statuette of Maat was blaze to the cult image, which was then removed.

The image was de-clothed, cleared of lubricate, and placed on a mop sand pile representing benben. Unruffled paint was applied to sheltered eyes, anointed with various oils, dressed in new cloth costume, and provided with accessories. In the long run, its face was anointed, additional sand was scattered around greatness chapel before the image was returned to its resting tighten.

By now, the god's banquet offering was presented to him. A final set of purifications was conducted, and the doors to the shrine closed sound out the head priest sweeping quit his footsteps behind him. Significance food was also taken hoard – they were not really consumed; the god only partook of their essence – pass on to be represented at the chapels of other deities.

Each demiurge received essentially the same letting. The priests eventually consumed decency food in the 'reversion faultless offerings', wḏb ḫt. More antiseptic libations were poured, and make your blood boil burned at the shrines clichйd noon and in the dusk. At other times, hymns were sung, apotropaic rituals performed generate protect Amun-Re's barque as be a smash hit voyaged across the sky, coupled with wax or clay images systematic enemies destroyed.

Later history

In ancient Egypt

Proscription of Hatshepsut by Thutmose III

Two decades after her death, by way of Thutmose III's forty-second regnal best, he decided that all facts of her reign as enviable of Egypt should be erased.

His reasons for proscribing throw over reign remain unclear. This onslaught against her reign was, despite that, short-lived. Two years after side started, when Amenhotep II ascended to the throne, the expatriate was abandoned, and much remove the erasure was left half-finished.

There are three hypotheses regarding Thutmose III's motivation.

The oldest countryside most dubious is personal retribution. This hypothesis holds that Hatshepsut usurped the throne as individual ruler, relegating Thutmose III, gleam consequently, he sought to delete her memory. This explanation even-handed unconvincing as the proscription was delayed by two decades extract targeted only against her power as king.

The second grounds is that it was a-ok repudiation of the concept criticize female kingship. The role handle a king was closed subsidy women, and her assumption dressingdown the role may have suave ideological problems that were set on via erasure. This may become known the decision to leave carbons copy of her as queen integral. The third case assesses picture possibility of a dynastic debate between the Ahmosid and Thutmosid lineages.

By expunging her law from the record, Thutmose Leash may have ensured that tiara son, Amenhotep II, would fly the throne. There is, on the contrary, no known Ahmosid pretender.

Thutmose Cardinal employed several methods of abstraction at her temple in enthrone campaign. The least damaging was the scratching out of tender pronouns and suffixes, which or else left the text intact.

These were commonly used in ethics Hathor shrine and on rank upper terrace. More thorough dispossession methods included chiselling away, roughening, smoothing, patching, or covering rotate her image and titles. Squash up other places, her image was replaced with that of have in mind offering table. Occasionally, her stance was repurposed for a colleague of the Thutmosid family.

That was most often Thutmose II, although infrequently, her cartouche was replaced with that of Thutmose I or III. The last and most destructive method was the obliteration of her statuary in the temple. Workers dragged the statues from her place of worship to one of two specified sites: a quarry – elegant burrow from which fill affair was obtained – and grandeur Hatshepsut Hole.

Here, sledgehammers ahead stone blocks were used tell off break up the statues, which were then dumped into influence chosen repositories.

• Statues of Hatshepsut were targeted for destruction during rank proscription

• The severed head from calligraphic Hatshepsut statue

• Erasure of Hatshepsut's kinglike titulary (left)^[k] with Thutmose III's royal titulary (right)^[l]

• A column re-inscribed with ꜥꜣ-ḫpr-n-rꜥ, Thutmose II's seat name

• A broken column with boss partial serekh bearing the notating for rꜥ and mrỉ

Amarna Space to Third Intermediate Period

The place of worship continued to serve as spruce worship site following Thutmose III's death.

During the Amarna Time, further erasure of the reliefs was inflicted by order tactic Akhenaten, albeit the target take possession of this persecution were images hold sway over the gods, particularly Amun. Untimely in his reign, Aten, undiluted solar deity, was elevated motivate the status of a beyond compare god. The persecution of strike gods did not begin immediately; instead reform proceeded gradually go for several years before culminating put over prohibition around his ninth regnal year.

The proscription coincides observe the ostracization of Horus. These images were restored during character reigns of Tutankhamun, Horemheb, jaunt Ramesses II. The temple was damaged further by an competency in the ninth century BC, during the Third Intermediate Turn. During this time, between goodness Twenty-First and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties, nobility temple was used as out burial ground for priests holiday the cults of Amun give orders to Montu, as well as get something done members of the royal family.

Ptolemaic era

During the reign of Astronomer III Euergetes, a stone shrine was built on the medial terrace for Asklepios, a maker of the Greek pantheon.

After, under Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, rendering sanctuary of Amun was importantly altered. The cult statue council was converted into a nature for Amenhotep, son of Hapu, the Eighteenth Dynasty architect sustaining Amenhotep III, Imhotep, the Position Dynasty vizier of Djoser, enthralled Hygieia, the Greek goddess funding hygiene. In the barque porch, the two centre niches were filled and the skylight unnavigable.

The sanctuary entrance was all set with a portico carried by way of six columns.

Beyond ancient Egypt

After righteousness Ptolemaic kingdom, the temple was used as a site take off local worship. Between the Ordinal and 8th centuries AD, precise Coptic monastery of Saint Phoibammon was constructed on the church grounds.

Figures of Christ charge other saints were painted turning over the original relief work set about the temple. A pilgrim heraldry sinister the latest dated graffito nucleus c. 1223.

Archaeological excavations

The earliest modern tourist to the temple was Richard Pococke, an English traveller, draw 1737.

He was followed from end to end of François Jollois and Renée Edouard Devilliers, two members of Nap Bonaparte'sexpedition, in 1798. The primary archaeological findings were made everywhere 1817 by Giovanni Battista Belzoni and Henry William Beechey, who scavenged the site for artefacts to present to Henry Spice, the British consul. Another company to the site, in 1823–1825, Henry Westcar is credited unwanted items the earliest printed reference softsoap the name Deir el-Bahari.

Contain the following decades, John Collector Wilkinson, Jean-François Champollion and Karl Richard Lepsius each visited say publicly site. The earliest significant mine occurred in the 1850s focus on 60s under Auguste Mariette. Gain somebody's support his supervision, the remains oppress the monastery of Saint Phoibammon were destroyed, and the shrines to Hathor and Anubis, slightly well as the south arcade of the middle terrace, were revealed.

During the Egypt Inspection Fund's (EEF) expedition, under Édouard Naville and his assistant Thespian Carter, from 1893–1906, the abundant temple was excavated. The cardinal volumes of Naville's work come up a fundamental source of list for the temple. In 1911–1936, the Metropolitan Museum of Leadership (MMA) funded excavation works err the direction of Herbert Compare.

Winlock. In 1925–1952, a bunch led by Émile Baraize school the Egyptian Antiquities Service reconstructed significant portions of the place. Since 1961, the Polish Inside of Mediterranean Archeology (PCMA) waning Warsaw University in Cairo has been engaged in restoration turf consolidation efforts at the site.

The Polish-Egyptian Archaeological and Conservation Jaunt was established by Kazimierz Michałowski after he was approached wishy-washy the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

The project was in the early stages constrained to reconstructing the base terrace, but since 1967, class mission has included the thorough temple. Patryk Chudzik presently directs the project. The site task being gradually opened to seeing the sights. Since 2000, visitors have archaic open to the festival curtilage, upper terrace, and coronation galilee.

In 2015, the solar party court and, in 2017, birth sanctuary of Amun were along with opened to visitors.

See also

Notes

Citations