Mortuary temple of Thutmose III. (Qurna)

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Mortuary temple in hieroglyphics
18th dynasty
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Hut-henket-ankh Men-cheper-Re
Ḥw.t-ḥnk.t-ˁnḫ Mn-ḫpr-Rˁ
The temple (name) Chamber of the life of Men-cheper-Re (Thutmose III.)

The mortuary temple of Thutmose III. (also Henket-anch ) is a million year house ( mortuary temple ) of the ancient Egyptian king ( Pharaoh ) Thutmose III. (approx. 1486-1425 BC). The temple is located 400 m southwest of the beginning of the ascent of the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II and 300 m northeast of the Ramesseum in Thebes-West near the present day Qurna . Thutmose III. When choosing the building site, Amenhotep I continued the sequence of mortuary temples to the south-west, which subsequently continued to Medinet Habu . The Egyptologist Herbert Ricke examined the fragmentarily preserved temple and reconstructed it on the basis of the other surviving mortuary temples of the 18th dynasty . Presumably, Thutmose III began. in the early years of his reign with the building, he steadily expanded it and his successor Amenophis II completed it. In addition, Thutmose III built. in his later reign he opened another mortuary temple in Deir el-Bahari and also the Ach-menu in Karnak was called the Millennium. The temple had an important function for the cult of the god Amun and in connection with it for the king, in addition there was a separate Hathor sanctuary.

exploration

Map with the mortuary temples in Thebes-West

Richard William Howard Vyse already noted in his diary from 1837 a building near the Ramesseum, the brick of which was named Thutmose III. were stamped. Even Richard Lepsius was the temple due to the brick temple Thutmose III. assign.

The temple was first partially exposed in 1905 by the Egyptian Antiquities Administration under the direction of Arthur EP Weigall and the results were published in 1906. Since the excavation was not completed, Ludwig Borchardt asked for a follow-up examination at his own expense. This was headed by Herbert Ricke from 1934 to 1937 and consisted mainly of a precise measuring table recording of the remaining building remains and the excavation and recording of previously unexposed parts of the temple area, as well as a review of the relief fragments that Weigall had placed in the excavation magazine with regard to their significance for the determination the building history of the temple .

construction time

When exactly Thutmose III. began with the construction of the mortuary temple is not known. The earliest recorded mention is in the Chapelle Rouge , on a black base block (No. 290). This proves that the building was built during the time of co- reign with Hatshepsut , because the Chapelle Rouge, a barge room of Hatshepsut, was built in the 16th year of the joint government. In it the mortuary temple of Thutmose III. mentioned among the temples offering sacrifices. Accordingly, in the 16th year of the reign it was already finished and in operation in a first version.

The lack of nicknames in the name ring of most of the brick temples in the surrounding wall of the first phase of construction and the modest size of the temple also speak in favor of the start of construction in the first years of government.

Another dated mention comes from the 23rd year of the reign. In the annals of the Annals Hall in the Karnak Temple , Thutmose III mentions that the victory festival of the third Asian campaign was celebrated in the mortuary temple.

The king's nicknames on the brick temples indicate that the temple continued to be built during the time of the sole government. The Hathor Shrine appears to have been completed under the successor of Amenhotep II . The temple seems to have been extended and rebuilt, especially in the sole government. According to Ricke, because Thutmose III. did not want to make the temple appear too modest next to its huge complex in Deir el-Bahari and because it was able to expand the cult with the means of the Asian campaigns and needed more space for this development.

Presumably, the dismantling of the temple began under Ramses II and components for the nearby Ramesseum were reused.

architecture

Plan of the incompletely excavated area from 1905 by Arthur Weigall

The temple precinct

The original temple district was laid out in the rock floor as an 80 m × 100 m rectangle in two steps: A 40 m high step formed the forecourt and the 2.75 m higher, originally 60 m deep step, the original temple house with the ancillary facilities. In the axis of the facility, a brick ramp led to the higher step. The temple precinct was surrounded by a brick wall. Pylons were not planned in the first construction phase.

In the planning and execution, changes were made constantly, so the temple axis pointed out on the preserved paving slabs in the rearmost outline does not exactly coincide with the actually executed axis direction, but it deviates with its front end a little to the northeast, so it runs almost exactly with the northeast Surrounding wall parallel, which also seems to be the oldest section of the wall . This change in axis is noticeable in all parts of the temple. All transverse walls run parallel to the rear perimeter wall, but the long walls run parallel to the new axis, which means that the floor plan of the temple is shifted in the shape of a parallelogram.

During the time of Thutmose's sole government, the complex was expanded by adding an outer forecourt about 45 m deep to the width of the existing temple. From the front end of the forecourt, the ridges of a double-towered pylon have been preserved. By erecting a new retaining wall parallel to the existing one, the terrace was widened and a new ramp was added.

Like the stepped terrace temple, the temple has two levels offset in height, which are formal expression in the height differentiation of the three courtyards connected one behind the other .

The temple house

Almost nothing has been preserved of the masonry of the temple house on the rear, higher up and it can only be roughly reconstructed on the basis of the discarded remains of sandstone and limestone. It was about 33.6 m wide and 50.92 m wide. The preliminary drawings on the rear wall show that the floor plan fell into five consecutive strips. The space in the middle of the axis was intended to temporarily accommodate the amus bark at festivals and was therefore the holy of holies.

Ceiling blocks made of sandstone that were left behind during the demolition indicate a 3.67 m wide false vault. This seemingly vaulted room was probably connected as a reclining room to the southwest half of the temple house, where the outer wall of the temple house was not yet located. The representations of the ceiling blocks show that this room was decorated in the same way as the memorial room of Hatshepsut in her mortuary temple in Deir el-Bahari: Thutmoses III was accordingly on the southwest half of the ceiling. before the daytime hours, on the northeast half before the nighttime hours . A granite door that was dragged from this temple to Medinet Habu and on the rear narrow wall of the memory room for Thutmose III. also shows that the distribution of the hours was exactly as in the temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari. Thutmose III. So had a special cult space for himself in his mortuary temple.

Auxiliary systems

On the south-west side, there are contiguous areas of sandstone paving that belonged to three adjacent rooms and an altar has been preserved. The rooms were probably stores for temple implements. The small altar was in the north corner of the altar courtyard. How big this was and whether it was connected to the temple house can no longer be determined. The remaining remains on this side are evidence of residential buildings.

The 20 m wide strip between the temple house and the northeast perimeter wall also contains remains of residential buildings.

Hathor Shrine

Ricke found the remains of a Hathor shrine at the southwest corner of the inner temple courtyard. The remaining building remains are so small that a clear reconstruction is not possible. The side entrance of the temple complex, which led into this sanctuary, lies in axial relation to building remains in the western corner of the outer courtyard. Parts of a staircase ramp made of limestone and sandstone in the axis of the side entrance have been preserved. To the right of the stair ramp there is a paving remnant of a deep pillar hall and to the northeast of it two foundations for pillars or posts of a door symmetrically to it. In the demolition rubble next to the ramp was a large Hathor capital.

Residential houses

Two priestly apartments were subsequently added to the south-west enclosing wall, probably not until the time after Amenophis IV. A cult for Thutmose III was probably also established here in the 19th dynasty. carried out.

cult

The main gods of the temple are Amun of Henketanch and the king who, as Nelson has shown, are a deity, namely Men-cheper-Re (Thutmosis III.) Amun of Henketanch.

As with all mortuary temples on the west bank of Theban, the most important function was the cult for the god Amun, even if no cult image of the god was erected. Rather, Amun visited the temple on his feasts from the east side and only “rested” here, in contrast to the Karnak temple, where he was at home. For this purpose, priests carried the idol in a boat.

Amun was also worshiped in various minor forms, such as Amun- Min and Amun- Re and a number of other gods such as Seth , Nephthys , Horus , Isis and Osiris .

Besides Amun, Hathor had a special cult in the temple. She was particularly venerated as the necropolis gods in the 18th dynasty, and Hatshepsut and Thutmose III can also be found in the mortuary temples. in Deir el-Bahari a separate sanctuary for this goddess. In the Hathor Shrine a smashed double seat picture of Hathor and Thutmose 'III. found on which Thutmose is described as "loved by Amun and Hathor". It could be the cult image of this sanctuary.

In close connection with the cult for Amun and Hathor stood the cult for the king. The main cult for Thutmose III. took place in the main temple building and was probably carried out during his lifetime and of course continued under Amenhotep II's successor. As in the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, a special memorial chapel was set up here for the king and his sacrificial service.

Since the mortuary temple of Thutmose III. In Deir el-Bahari and the Ach-menu in Karnak are called the Millennium , the actual function determination is more difficult. According to Dieter Arnold , the temple in Deir el-Bahari was only a replacement for the chapels of the gods of the Hatshepsut temple, which had been affected by the Hatshepsut persecution, especially for its Amun sanctuary and Hathor sanctuary . In Donadoni's opinion, however, the last stage of the valley festival was moved from the first mortuary temple Henket-anch to Djeser-achit.

literature

  • Piotr Laskowski: Monumental Architecture and the Royal Building Program of Thutmose III. In: Eric H. Cline, David O'Connor (eds.): Thutmose III. A new biography. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor MI 2006, ISBN 0-472-11467-0 , pp. 207-208.
  • Herbert Ricke : The mortuary temple Thutmose III. Building history study (= contributions to Egyptian building research and antiquity (BÄBA). Vol. 3, No. 1, ZDB -ID 503160-6 ). Swiss Institute for Egyptian Building Research and Archeology, Cairo 1939.
  • Stefanie Schröder: Millions of years. On the conception of the space of eternity in constellative kingship in language, architecture and theology. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-447-06187-2 , especially p. 95, (also: Heidelberg, Univ., Diss., 2009).
  • Arthur EP Weigall: A Report on the Excavations of the Funeral Temple of Thoutmosis III at Gurneh. In: Annales du service des antiquités de l'Égypte. No. 7, 1906, pp. 121-141, ( online ).
  • Arthur EP Weigall: Plan of the Mortuary Temple of Thoutmose III. In: Annales du service des antiquités de l'Égypte. No. 8, 1907, p. 286, ( online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 4f.
  2. ↑ Richard William Howard Vyse: Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837. (2 volumes), Fraser, London 1840, Volume 1, p. 89. (Diary of January 2, 1837)
  3. ↑ See the map of Thebes-West in Richard Lepsius: Monuments from Egypt and Ethiopia. Nicolai, Berlin 1849, Vol. I, p. 73.
  4. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 1.
  5. ↑ a b H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, pp. 5-7.
  6. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 17f.
  7. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 7ff.
  8. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 17ff.
  9. ↑ Stefanie Schröder: Millions of Years House . ... Wiesbaden 2010, p. 95.
  10. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 8f.
  11. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 9ff.
  12. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 16ff.
  13. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 21ff.
  14. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, pp. 25f.
  15. ^ H. Nelson: The Identity of Amun-Re of United-with-Eternity. In: Journal of Near Eastern Studies Vol. 1 (1942) pp. 127–155.
  16. ↑ H. Ricke: The mortuary temple Thutmose 'III. Building history investigation. Cairo 1939, p. 27ff.
  17. ^ Dieter Arnold: Deir el-Bahari III. In: Wolfgang Helck [Hrsg.]: Lexikon der Ägyptologie. (LÄ) Volume 1: A - Harvest. (Main volume) Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1975, ISBN 978-3-447-01670-4 , column 1022.
  18. ↑ Sergio Donadoni: Thebes. Holy City of the Pharaohs. Hirmer, Munich 2000, ISBN 978-3-7774-8550-8 , p. 183.

Coordinates: 25 ° 43 ′ 49 ″  N , 32 ° 36 ′ 47 ″  E