Temple of the Ramessids (Asasif)

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The Temple of the Ramessids is a million year house built by Ramses IV on the eastern edge of Al-Asasif in West Thebes .

The temple, of which only a few remains are preserved today, was the first project by Ramses IV, who began an extensive construction program immediately after taking office. The work on the temple was carried out by Ramses V and Ramses VI. continued, but the building was never completed. The temple is the last example of a million year house. Ramses IV had a colonnade temple and another temple built north of Medinet Habu during his seven-year reign .

location

The temple is located on the edge of the fertile land in the Asasif valley basin, at the foot of the pathways of Mentuhotep II and Thutmose III. , southwest of the valley temple of Hatshepsut .

Research history

In 1911 the first excavation expedition was carried out by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in the area of ​​the eastern Asasif. Partial exposure occurred under the direction of Herbert E. Winlock . At first a granite block belonging to the pylon facade was discovered on the way of Mentuhotep II, which was wrongly assigned to a valley temple of the 11th dynasty . The discovery of a nearby relief block of Ramses II , however, contradicted the initial dating, and a carefully worked foundation was established, which shows the paths of Mentuhotep II and Thutmose III. destroyed. Winlock created a first plan of the eastern half, the reconstruction of which was based on a comparison with the mortuary temple of Ramses III. based in Medinet Habu.

From 1934 to 1935 excavations took place under the direction of Ambrose Lansing , who discovered seven founding depots from the time of Ramses IV. Until then, the temple was mistakenly included in the relatively long reign of Ramses IX. and Ramses XI. dated. From 1969 to 1971 there were further excavations by Manfred Bietak and the University of Vienna , which led to essential findings about the expansion, the construction and numerous building details, including an elaborate foundation that was unique for that time.

architecture

construction

Eastern part of the reconstructed temple plan, after Winlock

The temple complex begins with a large entrance pylon in the southeast. This is followed by a courtyard surrounded by columns, which is followed by a festival courtyard with a double row of columns. According to Winlock, there may still be a simple row of columns on the inner facade of the pylon.

A special feature is the huge foundation, which was not built directly on the stable rock floor, but in a basin in the bottom of the pathways. The basin has a size of 240 × 60 m - which also corresponds to the overall size of the temple - and was filled with pure sand. The depth decreases to the east, with the west side being twice as deep. During the construction, the continuous decrease in level of the access routes had to be taken into account, which also led to an artificial elevation of the east end with the pylon. In addition to the stepped separation of the tub below the western sanctuaries , which is approximately one cubit and three to four hand widths, there is also a lateral widening of three cubits each. The deep foundations were possibly also cultic, as the sand also guaranteed cultic purity of the building ground. The western sanctuary would have stood on twice the clean subsoil.

Building inscriptions

In the lower level of the sanctuary foundations, seven chronologically arranged hieratic building inscriptions were found on the edge running from north to south . These documented the progress of the work, but also served as control marks and as a guide for measurements. The inscriptions were roughly the same:

"The five Epagomentage , Nephthys birthday party , (1 cubit) three hand's breadth, his house, the stonemasons of Usermaatrenacht "

- Building inscription

The inscriptions show that work was also carried out on public holidays and that the temple should possibly be completed in a hurry.

Origin of the blocks

Spolia blocks were mainly used for the construction of the temple complex . Most of them (except for the foundations and the temple pavement ) were made of limestone . Some of them show sacrificial scenes by Ramses II in sunk relief and worn representations from the 18th dynasty . According to Bietak, the blocks of Ramses II come from outbuildings of the nearby southwestern Ramesseum , but originally belonged to Thutmose III. and to the valley temple of Hatshepsut. However, some blocks are also directly remnants of the valley temple of Hatshepsut, the temple of Amenhotep I in Dra Abu el-Naga and the pathways of Mentuhotep II and Thutmose III. In addition, inscription stones with cartouches from Ramses V and Ramses VI. found.

More finds

Another foundation pit was discovered in 1971 at the northwest corner of the temple foundation. It contained model-like bull skulls and forelegs made of faience , ceramics (wine amphorae , beer pots , plates and small bowls), as well as flattened loaves of bread, charcoal , incense bulbs and grains. Between the ceramics there were faience and bronze pallets from Ramses IV. Scattered around the pit were pearl necklaces with other faience pendants from Ramses IV and faience rings.

literature

  • Manfred Bietak: Theben-West (Luqsor). Preliminary report on the first four excavation campaigns (1969–1971). In: Meeting reports of the OeAW 278, 4th Vienna 1972.
  • Manfred Bietak: Excavations in Theben West - Asasif In: Archive for Orient Research (AfO) No. 24, 1973, pp. 230–239.
  • Julia Budka: The temple complexes of Ramses IV. In Theben-West In: The 20th Dynasty. = Kemet issue 2/2001, ISSN  0943-5972 , pp. 28-32 ( digitized version ).
  • William C. Hayes : The scepter of Egypt: a background for the study of the Egyptian antiquities in the Metropolitan museum of art. Part 2, The Hyksos period and the New kingdom (1675-1080 BC). Harper & Brothers, New York 1959 / 4th printing, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1990, both: ISBN 0-87099-580-4 .
  • Ambrose Lansing: The Egyptian Expedition 1934–1935. The Museum's Excavations at Thebes. In: Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (BMMA) Sect. II, New York Nov. 1935, pp. 4-12.
  • Bertha Porter , Rosalind Moss : Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings. Volume II: Theban Temples. 2nd edition, revised and augmented, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-920026-2 .
  • Helmut Satzinger : Thebes. In: Elfriede Reiser-Haslauer, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna): Finds from Egypt. Austrian excavations since 1961. Catalog of a special exhibition of the Egyptian-Oriental Collection . Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 1979, ISBN 3-900325-01-4 , pp. 95–114.
  • Herbert E. Winlock: Excavations at Deir El Bahri 1911-1931. The Macmillan Company, New York NY 1942, pp. 9-13.

Remarks

  1. ↑ A little further north in Asasif, right next to the valley temple of Hatshepsut.
  2. ↑ Similar to the Ramesseum.
  3. ↑ Translation from Bietak, Kemet 2/2001 , p. 30.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dieter Arnold: Lexicon of Egyptian architecture. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2000, ISBN 3-491-96001-0 , p. 164, → Million Years House
  2. ↑ a b J. Budka: The temple complexes of Ramses IV. In Thebes-West. In: Kemet 2/2001 , p. 29.
  3. ↑ a b J. Budka: The temple complexes of Ramses IV. In Thebes-West. In: Kemet 2/2001 , p. 30.
  4. ^ H. Satzinger: Finds from Egypt. Vienna 1979, pp. 95-114.

Coordinates: 25 ° 43 ′ 57.1 ″  N , 32 ° 36 ′ 59.7 ″  E