Salvage Operation of Abu Simbel Temple

The rescued Nubian temples were moved and re-assembled in new locations: the  temples of Philae on the island of Agilika, near the old Aswan Dam ; the temples of Beit al-Wali,  Kalabsha and the kiosk of Qertassi a few hundred meters south of the High Dam; the temples of Wadi El-Sebuâ, Dakka and Maharraqa, 140 km south of the High Dam; the temples of Amada, Derr and the tomb of  Pennut, 180 km from the High Dam ; and the two temples of Abu Simbel, 270  km  from  the  High  Dam. Four  Nubian  temples  were offered to countries that had provided significant assistance in the salvage operation: the temple of El-Lessiya to Italy; that of Debod to Spain the temple of Taffa to the Netherlands; and the temple of Dendur to the United States. Other monuments were offered to  other  participating countries such as France, Poland, Germany, etc.

Several schemes had been presented to save the temples of Abu Simbel The one which was selected in 1963 had been submitted by a Swedish company called VBB. The work cost nearly 40 million USD. It took one year (August 1965 - July 1966) to cut the two temples into 1042 enormous blocks weighing over 15000 tons. The blocks were then re-assembled around a concrete superstructure, surrounded by a dome to mimic the topography on which the temple was originally located, over 200 m north and 65 m above its original location. The new site was inaugurated on September 22, 1968, but work on the final elements lasted until 1972.

The Great Temple of Abu Simbel was completely carved out of the rock. Its facade, trapezoidal in form to mimic the pylon, is preceded by a terrace decorated with a series of  upright  statues  of  Horus  and Ramses II. The  facade is adorned with four colossal statues carved into the rock representing Ramses II seated and looking eastward. Around the king’s legs are statues of queens, princesses and princes. The facade is  dominated by a row of baboons greeting the rising sun. Above the entrance is a niche containing a statue of hawk-headed god Ra-Horakhty. The entrance leads to a large hall, the ceiling of which rests  on two  rows  of  four  Osirian  pillars. In  this  hall,  the  reliefs  are exceptionally  well  preserved. The eastern reliefs  represent two nerely symmetric scenes of the Pharaoh smiting his  enemies. On the northern wall, one can admire a detailed composition of the famous Battle of Qadesh, in which Ramses II  confronted  the  Hittites in the fifth year of his reign. As for the scenes of the southern wall, they show, from left to right, the king on his chariot attacking an Asian fortress, killing  a  Libyan enemy, and, finally, triumphant, atop his chariot. Off of the grand hall are a series of rooms called « treasure  rooms». Most likely, it was here that the most precious articles of the temple had been stored. The  back door of the hall leads to a room with four pillars. The north and south walls of this room are decorated with scenes of worship of the divine boats. It then leads to a rectangular vestibule containing three sanctuaries. In the middle one, four statues are carved into the rock representing, from left  to  right,  Ptah,  Amon-Ra, Ramses II and Ra-Horakhty. As Amelia Edwards, who visited the site in 1874, noticed for the first time, the three statues on the right are completely illuminated by rays of the sun from the entrance of the temple on October 21 and February 21 every year (Currntly on October 22 and February 22).

The small temple of Abu Simbel is located 150 m to the north of the Great Temple. Its facade, 12 meters high, is decorated  with six  colossi,  each  reaching  nerely 10 meters high: four represent Ramses II and two represent  his royal wife, Nefertari, to whom the temple  is  dedicated.  Statues of  the  royal  couple’s  children  are carved on both sides of their legs : the princes on the king’s side, and the princesses on the queen’s. The entrance leads to a hall with six Hathorian pillars. Its walls are  adorned with scenes of offerings and worship to the deities honored in the  temple. To the west of the hall are three doors  leading to a vestibule from which  the  sanctuary is  accessed.  The latter is decorated on the back wall with a sculpture of the cow goddess Hathor protecting Ramses II.

The temples of Abu Simbel were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979, and they enjoy  special  treatment  in terms of conservation and preservation.  You too can help us to protect these two prestigious historical monuments by respecting these guidelines.

Stages of the transfer of Abu Simbel Temples:

 

View  from  the Nile  of the Small Temple on its  original  site (old site) 

 

In November,  1964, a steel culvert through the sandfill in front  of the Great Temple waserected, to form an  access to the temple rooms

 

 

Dismant'ing  of the Hypostyle  Hall  (Great Temple)

 

 

The originial site after the process of cutting the temple' stones

 

 

-Using saws in the cutting process

 

 

Queen Nefertari as now temporarilyosened from her place at the leg of her royal consort

 

 

The statue of Ramses the Great

 

 

Pharaoh's knees being lifted after being cut loose

 

 

In February 1966 the dismantling of the temples was not far from completion

 

 

On arrival at the Storage Area, every block is carefully  lifted by a gantry crane and moved to its provisional place while  awaiting re-erection

 

 

Pharaoh regains his face

 

 

Behind the re-erected statues of King Ramesse the first arch element of the great dome above the temple rooms is under construction

 

 

Sky view of the Great Temple

 

 

The two Abu Simbel temples as they can now be seen from Lake Nasser on their new sites

 

 

When approaching the Great Temple, the visitor  feels almost overwhelmed by its beauty and grandeur

Temple of Abu Simbel

The oldest Nubian temples date back to the eighteenth dynasty (Buhen, al-Lessiya, Amada, etc.) while the most recent were erected during the Graeco-Roman period. However, of all the Egyptian Pharaohs, it was under Ramses II (thirteenth century BC) that Lower Nubia witnessed its most intensive period of temple construction. He erected seven temples therein : Beit al-Wali, Garf Hussein, Wadi al-Sebuâ, Derr (the only one on the east bank of the Nile), those of Abu Simbel and, finally, Akcha. The successors of this great ruler of the nineteenth dynasty would not build another temple in Nubia for nealy a millennium to come.

Sound and light of Abu Simbel

  

Temples of  Ramesses II and Nefertari

Map of the Great Temple of Ramses II:

1- Terrace.
2- Royal colossi of the Facade-Pylon.
3- Hall with Osirian pillars.
4- Second hall.
5- Northern and southern rooms of Tresor.
6- Vestibule.
7- Lateral rooms.
8- Sanctuary.

 

Plan of the great temple

Temple of Abu Simbel lies 270 km south of Aswan. In addition to the two cave-temples built by Ramses II, the walls of the surrounding hills feature twenty-eight stelae carved into the rock.

During his trip to Nubia, the Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt – also known as Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Abdallah – was the first Westerner to see « Ebsambal (=Abu Simbel) », on March  22, 1813. After visiting  the  small temple, he wandered a few tens of meters to the south, and discovered the upper part of the colossi of Ramses II of the Great Temple, still buried under the sand. Thereafter, the Italian Giovanni Battista Belzoni and his team managed to enter  the  Great  Temple of  Abu  Simbel  on  Friday, August  1st,  1817,  more than three millennia after its construction.

 

Temple of Abu Simbel

 

Great temple of Abu Simbel

 

Part of Abu Simbel temple

 

Interior of abu simbel

Baboon carvings above the heads of the statues of Ramses

Nefertari with Hathor

 Ramses attacke a Syrian fortress (Abu Simbel)

 Enemies being beaten by the Egyptians (Abu Simbel)

After the construction of the old Aswan Dam (1898-1902) and its subsequent two elevations (1907-1912 and 1929-1934), the water level to the south of Aswan had risen considerably and the temples of Philae had been inundated. The construction of the High Dam (1960-1971), and the huge Lake Nasser which would develop behind it – with an average width of over 10 km, length of 500 km and a total area greater than 6000 km² –  would  result  in  the complete  submersion of  the  monuments  of Nubia  (in  both  Egypt and  Sudan).  It was therefore necessary to act quickly to save these temples before they ultimately dissapeared under the water (that is to say, before 1968 for the site of Abu Simbel). The  Egyptian  authorities  and  international  community reacted  quickly  :  on  March  8,  1960,  the  General  Director of UNESCO issued a solemn appeal, thus inaugurating the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia. It would span twenty years.

 

Visitors of Abu Simbel

Pharaoh Meaning

The  kings  of  Egypt  were  not  originally  called  pharaohs  by  the  ancient Egyptians. In the late First Dynasty, the term used was nesu-bit, referring to the king, with the additional idea that the king was a combination of divine and mortal.

The term "pharaoh" for the king of Egypt developed over time, and was also used by the Hebrews and Greeks to describe the Egyptian ruler. Today, we commonly use the term "pharaoh" with reference to the kings of Ancient  Egypt,  including  the  Hyksos  and  Ptolemaic  rulers,  but  usually  not the Persian rulers, although many of them did have a formal Egyptian title manufactured for themselves.

In Ancient Egypt, the term "pharaoh" was not originally a royal title. Translated  literally,  the  earliest  meaning  of  the  Egyptian  word  per-o  was  "great house", that is the palace or residence of the king and his administration. This usage is found as early as 2500 BCE. The term "pharaoh" referred to the ordinances and commands the king issued in his administration, but not to the person of the king himself. In New Kingdom times (sixteenth century BCE), it  began  to  designate  the  king  himself,  rather  like  our  use  of  "The  White House"  to  refer  to  the  American  president  or  "The  Crown"  to  refer  to  the British  monarch.

Thus, at the beginning of the New Kingdom (Eighteenth Dynasty), we find Thutmose III (c. 1504-1450 BCE) referred to as "pharaoh." This is understood to be the earliest instance of the title being transferred to the king himself, and any reference before this period is considered an anachronism.

Note:

The number of hieroglyphic signs gradually grew to over 7000 in total, though not all of them were used on a regular basis (as with many of the words in an English dictionary).  The hieroglyphs were chosen from a wide variety of observed images, for example, people, birds, trees, or buildings.  Some signs represent the sounds of the ancient Egyptian language, but indicate consonants only. No vowels were written out.  Also, it was not an alphabetic system, since one sign could represent a combination of two or more consonants like the gaming-board hieroglyph which stands for the consonants "mn". Egyptologists make the sounds pronounceable by putting an "e" between the consonants, so "mn" is read as men. A vast number of other hieroglyphic signs were not pronounced at all but served to clarify meanings, such as a boat following the sound sign "dpt" which was the word for boat.

Philae Temple

The splendid Philae Temple (temple of Isis), set on an island surrounded by the blue waters of Lake Nasser, is one of Egypt’s most romantic sights, especially as you arrive by boat. For more than 800 years, until AD 550, this temple to Isis and Osiris was one of the most important Egyptian cult centers.

Ptolemaic and Roman rulers, keen to identify them selves with this powerful ancient Egyptian cult, all added their mark, making for an interesting blend of styles. The worship of Isis as the Mother of the Gods eventually spread all over the Roman Empire, and early Coptic art clearly associates the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus with Isis suckling her infant son Horus.

 

 The temple of Isis from Philae 

Originally the temple of Isis was built on the island of Philae facing Bigah Island, which was believed to be one of the burial sites of Osiris. But Bigah was accessible only to priests, so all the religious festivities took place on Philae. With the building of the first Aswan Dam the temple was submerged for half the year. In the 1970s when the High Dam threatened to submerge it completely, UNESCO and the Egyptian Antiquities organizations painstakingly moved the entire complex to nearby Agilkia Island, which had been landscaped to resemble Philae.

 

Philae. Columns

First Pylon and Columnade, Philae

Philae, Trajan's Kiosk

 

 

Trajan's Pavilion

 

 

 

 

Temple hieroglyphs on stone at Philae

 

Boats land near the oldest structure on the island, the Vestibule of Nectanebo I, beyond which lies a large court flanked by two elegant colonnades and the impressive first pylon of the temple of Isis. The small door to the left leads into a 3rd century BC Birth House, whose outside back wall shows some lovely scenes of Isis nursing Horus in the marshes. The main gate with two granite lions, leads to the second pylon, opening up to a Hypostyle Hall. The inner temple lost most of its decoration when it was converted into a church around AD 553, but the Sanctuary still contains Isis’s sacred barque, has a wonderful relief of the gods playing Kiosk of Tranhan, with its superb views across the lake.

Boat trip to Philae Temple:

The boat trip from the marina to Agilkia Island is short, but filled with picturesque scenery.  As  the  boat  ripples  through  the  tranquil  waters  of  the  Nile,  small  waves crash  into  even  smaller  islets  made  up  of  formations  of  titanic  round  rocks  that decorate the path towards the island. Eventually, Philae Temple appears gloriously on the horizon.

Around  the  small  marina  on  Agilkia,  Nubian  merchants  sell  colourful hand-made jewellery,  wooden  Nubian  miniature  dolls  and  animals,  straw  hats  and  pottery pots. Speaking  multiple  languages, merchants  approach  visitors  to present  their  wares.  However, visitors  can  hastily  climb  up  the gradient  to  meet  face  to  face with the temple.

Entering the open-court of pillars, the  temple  is  vast  and  epic. Philae  was  built  during  the Greco-Roman  era  under  the Ptolemaic dynasty.  The temple’s construction  lasted  over  600 years  and  was  dedicated  to worshiping  the  goddess  of motherhood and love, Isis, who was a deity for the Romans in Egypt. Unlike most temples in Egypt, each pillar at Philae in the open-court is topped with a lotus flower, some flowers open while others are closed. This  inconsistency was intentional to mimic and also differentiate between the style of the Pharaohs and that  of  the  Ptolemaic  dynasty.  Ceremonial  processions,  enthroning  or  reaping occasions once took place in this court.

 

Trajan's Kiosk

Moving on to the pylon (the second structure in Egyptian temples), the number of entrances  to  the  temple  indicated  how  many  gods  or  goddesses  to  which  the temple was dedicated. This is why Philae has one gate devoted for Isis. The walls of the pylon have inscriptions of the Ptolemaic kings giving offerings to goddess Isis. The  third  part  of  the  temple  is  a  closed  hall  of  pillars  which  contains  the  room where  Horus,  son  of  Isis  is  said  to  have  been  born.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the inscriptions  on  pillars  of  the  temple  were  a  mixture  of  Pharaonic  and  Greek languages. This leads to the most scared part of the temple, the sanctuary where sacrifices and offerings were kept.

Medinet Hebu

Location of Medinet Hebu:

The  west  bank  at  Luxor  is  one  of  the  most important  archaeological  sites  in the  world. Thebes,  located  opposite  of  today’s  city  of Luxor,  was  the  capital of  Egypt  during  the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms. With the  temples and  palaces  at  Karnak  and  Luxor, and the necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and  the  Valley  of  the  Queens,  Thebes  is  testimony to Egyptian civilization at its height.

Temple of Medinet Hebu:

Medinet Hebu was both a temple and a complex of temples dating from the New Kingdom. The  area  was  one  of  the  earliest  places  within the  Theban  region to  be  associated  with  the worship of Amun. Hatshepsut and Tutmosis III built a small temple to Amun on the site of an the  site  of  an  earlier  structure.  Next  to their temple, Ramesses III built his mortuary temple, Medinet  Hebu’s  most conspicuous  standing monument.  Medinet  Hebu  was  erected  and enclosed with  massive  mud  brick-built  walls and became the focus of the administrative and economic life of the whole of Thebes. The  area  included  storehouses, workshops, administrative offices, and residences of priests and  officials.  The site  was  inhabited  well  into the Middle Ages (9 th  century A.D.). The original temple  underwent  many  alterations  and enlargements  in  the  following  1500 years. These considerably extended its plan by adding a columned hall, two pylons, and a court at the front.

Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III - sky view

 

The temple at Medinet Hebu of Ramesses III at Qurna

 Ramessid columns in the peristyle court

Ceiling decoration in the peristyle hall

Zone of decolourisation in court of mortuary temple of Ramesses III

The Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III

The  mortuary  temple  used  to  be  connected with the Nile by a canal, and a landing quay was built outside the enclosure wall. The entrance to the  temple enclosure  was  through  one  of  two fortified  gates,  of  which  only  the  eastern so-called "Pavilion" now remains. South of the last court  stood  the  brick-built palace,  now  badly damaged. Two building phases of the structure can  be recognized.  The  interior  of  the  palace was originally decorated with exquisite faience tiles.  The  "window  of  appearances"  connected the palace with the temple.


The Coptic Fresco of Saint Menas at Medinet Hebu:
Saint Menas has received his due share of attention  in religious literature, both in connection with  incidents  of  his  life  and  the  miracles which  he  performed, and  thus  it  is  surprising  to  find that none of the scenes at Medinet Hebu seem to portray incidents common to the literary record. The fact that such a concordance could not be established in a preliminary analysis has  necessitated  a detailed  study  of  the  documentary  material  concerning  the saint. Earlier studies of Menas have settled  neither the problem of where the saint was born and where he lived, nor the problems regarding the relations between his appearance on objects of art and the material of the literary legends.  The results of an investigation of these questions must  be given before the paintings can be considered in detail.

Ricostruzione dell’affresco di Medinet Hebu

Akhenaten's Hymn to Aten

Worship (Re-Horakhty who Rejoices in the Horizon) (In his Name as the Shu who is in the Aten Living forever and ever, the  Living Aten, the Great One who is in Jubilee, Master of all that the Aten encircles, Master of Heaven, Master of the Earth, Master of the Per-Aten in Akhet-Aten; and the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, the one Living on Maat, Master of Regalia (Akhenaten), the long Lived; and the Foremost Wife of the King, whom he loves, the Mistress of Two Lands (Nefernefru- Aten Nefertiti), living, well, and young forever and ever. He says:

The praise of the sun-god Thou appearest beautiful in the horizon of the sky, O living Disk, beginning of life! When thou risest in the eastern horizon, Thou fillest every land with thy beauty. Thou art beautiful, great, Resplendent and exalted over every land. Thy rays encompass the lands To the extent of all things which thou hast made; (Since) thou art Re, thou bringest then all, Thou subjectest them to thy beloved son (though) thou art afar, thy rays are on earth; Thou art on their faces (and thus they feel?) thy steps.

(When) thou goest to rest in the western horizon, The earth is in darkenss, in the condition of death. (Men) lie in their chambers with their heads wrapped up; One eye seeth not the other. Their belongings are stolen (even when) lying under their heads, And they notice it not. Every lion cometh from his den, All serpents bite, Darkness (is their protection?) The earth (resteth) in slience (While) he who made them is in his horizon.

The earth is bright when thou risest on the horizon, Resplendent as the sun disk in day-time. Thou removest darkness (When) thou sendest thy rays. Both lands are in festival joy, Awakening and standing on (their) feet; Thou hast raised them up. Their limbs being bathed, they take (their) clothing; their arms are (lifted) in worship at they rising; (Thereupon) all the land perform their toil. All cattle rejoice in their grass; Trees and herbs are greening The birds are flying from their nests (seshu) Their wings are (lifted) in worship to thy being; All (wild) animals skip on their feet; the birds and all things fluttering (Feel) alive when thou hast arisen for them. The ships sail (on) the stream up and down alike; Every way is open when thou arisest. The fish in the rivers leap before thee; Thy rays are in the innermost of the great ocean.

Creator of issue in women, Maker of seed in men, who preserveth alive the son in his mother's womb And keepeth him quiet that he weep not, A nurse (for him even) in the (maternal) womb. Who giveth breath to keep alive all that he maketh; (When) it descendeth from the womb on the day of its birth; Thou openest its mouth, giving it voice; Thou makest what it doth need.

The young bird crieth in the shell (Because) thou givest it breath within to preserve its life. When thou hast given it strength to open the egg, It cometh from the egg to cry with full strength. It runneth on its feet When it cometh forth from it.

How manifold are (the things) which thou hast made! They are mysteries before Thou only god, whose place none else can take!

Thou hast created the earth according to thy heart Thou being alone Men, flocks, and all animals, Whasoever is on earth, Going on feet, Whatsoever is high in the air, flying with its wings, The foreign lands, Syria and Ethiopia, (And) the land of Egypt.

Thou assignest every man to his place, Thou makest what they need. Each one hath his food, and his lifetime is counted. The tongues are distinguished in speech; their forms and their skins are differentiated; (Thus) thou didst distinguish the strange nations.

Thou madest the Nile in the lower world. Thou bringest him according to thy liking. For furnishing life to mankind, As thou hast made them for thyself, Thou, their lord, (lord) of them all, Resting among them, Thou lord of every land Who ariseth for them, O sun-disk of the day, great of power!

All foreign countries, the remote, thou makest life for them; (Because) thou has placed a Nile in the sky, It descendeth for them; It maketh waves on the mountain like the great ocean, irrigating their fields in their towns.

How excellent are thy plans, O lord of eternity! Thou (hast established) the Nile in the sky for the foreign lands and for the wild beasts of every mountain country wandering on their feet; (But) the Nile cometh from the underworld for Egypt.

Thy rays nourish every green spot; (When) thou risest, they live and they grow for thee.

Thou hast made the seasons To produce all that thou makest; The winter to cool them, The (season of) heat (when) they (really) taste thee. Thou didst make the sky far away to rise in it and to behold all that thou makest.

Thou art alone, rising in thy forms as a living disk, appearing, shining, departing, and (again) drawing nigh. Thou makest millions of forms from thyself alone, Cities, villages, and tribes, Highways and rivers; every eye beholdeth thee before them (When) thou art the disk of day-tiem above (them). "Thou art in my heart. None other is there who knoweth thee except thy son, Akh-en-aten; Thou hast made him wise in thy plans and in thy power.

The (whole) earth is at thy command as thou hast made them. When thou hast risen, they (feel) alive. When thou hast set, they (feel) deed. (Thus) in thyself thou art lifetime; People live from thee; (All) eyes (are fixed) on they beauty until thou settest; All work is stopped (when) thou settest in the west.

Arising, thou makest (everything good) grow for the king Who hath been a servant following thee for thou hast founded the earth And raised it up for thy son, the one who came forth from thy limbs, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt,  Living in truth, lord of both countries,

Nefer-khepru-re (The Best of the Forms of the Sun) Ua-n-re (The Only One of the Sun) Son of the sun, living in truth, the lord of diadems, Akh-en-aten. Long (be) his life, And the chief royal wife, beloved of him, The mistress of both countries, Nefer-nefru-aten, Nefert-iti, Who liveth and flourisheth for ever and for eternity.

The City of Akhenaten (Amarna)

Pharaoh Akhenaten, his beautiful wife Queen Nefertiti, and his son Tutankamun were all part of this dynasty. During this time one of the most dramatic changes in Egypt took place: Akhenaten built a new city, Amarna, for a god named the Aten, and outlawed all other gods. The Amarna period, sometimes called “The Amarna Experiment,” resulted in some of the best-known art, tombs, writing and records of ancient Egypt. That is why, even though the period was only around 30 years long, it is one of the most famous in Egyptian history.

Imagine you could have the power to shape the world around you to build a city, change a religion and live as the representative of god on earth. It’s hard for people today to think of this kind of power, but it was the power that Pharoah Akhenaten wielded in Egypt during the Amarna period.

During his rule, from 1353 to 1336 BCE, Akhenaten changed Egyptian life in a big way. He moved the capital city of Egypt from Thebes to Amarna, then known as Akhetaten, a city he constructed on what had been just a piece of desert. There he created a new religion, new religious leaders and new temples. His influence lived on beyond his death.

You may know that throughout their history, ancient Egyptians worshipped many gods and goddesses. These deities each had histories and Egyptians believed they interacted with each other. Together, they were believed to influence everything from health to rainfall to the afterlife.

Everyday Egyptians kept images of the gods and goddesses in their homes, and communicated with them. Making offerings, celebrating religious holidays and preparing complex funerals were all a part of Egyptians’ constant interactions with their gods.

Akhenaten was born into this world of many gods. At that time, Amun Re was the most important of the Egyptian’s gods. Amun Re was a mysterious god with many abilities, but he appeared to the people as the sun. A powerful group of priests served Amun-Re.

When Akhenaten became king around 1353 BCE, he began to make changes. He declared that there was only one god who could be worshipped - the Aten —- and he declared that as the pharaoh he was the only person who could communicate with this god. Why did Akhenaten make this huge change? Some people think he wanted to get rid of the powerful priests of Amun Re, whose power could challenge the pharaoh’s. Other people think that Akhenten was totally dedicated to the Aten, and that he was one of the first people in history to express unique and personal thoughts on spirituality. The Aten literally meant “the disk of the sun.” Akhenaten searched for a place to build a new city for the Aten.He found it in a spot where the sun appeared to rise from an eastern valley and spread its light over a broad piece of land in front of the Nile River. The new city was named Amarna, “horizon of the Aten.”

The pharaoh lived at Amarna with his family. As a result, all the government officials, artists, builders and families who served the king moved there, too. Life in Amarna revolved around the Aten.

As the population grew, the city stretched north and south along the Nile, which was the source of water for the wells the people of Amarna dug into the desert. Official royal buildings and the temples of the Aten were concentrated in the heart of the city. Suburbs, where most people lived, surrounded the center of the city.

Pectoral of Tutankhamun

Pectoral of Tutankhamun:

1- This is a Pectoral, or chest ornament, which was worn by both men and women. It was discovered intact in the tomb of Tutankhamun. The piece depicts Scarab Beetles or Khepri, pushing the sun.

Khepri was believed to be a Sun god by the ancient Egyptians, and was represented as a scarab beetle. The jewel is also decorated with inlaid lotus blossoms, which hang at the bottom.

2- Winged Scarab Pectoral of Tutankhamun:

Winged Scarab Pectoral of Tutankhamun, is filled with symbolism, made with semi-precious stones (carnelian, lapis lazuli, glass,) and with a lotus blossom fringe.

The symbols of the Ankh and the Eye of Horus (Udjat) are among the most used in ancient Egyptian Art.

3- Golden pendant of Tutankhamun: 

This pendant made with a method called Cloisonné and inlaid with semiprecious stones and colored glass. It is full of symbols and hieroglyphs.

The central element of the composition is a winged scarab with a yellow stone of disputed origin which  grasps on one side a lotus and on the other a papyrus flower, flanked by two uraei (cobras.).

A gold frame outlines the main composition and supports pendants of lotus flowers, papyrus, and poppy seed heads.  

A slim solar boat rests upon the front feet of the scarab and carries the Udjat eye of Horus, flanked by two cobras. The Udjat eye is surmounted by a lunar crescent of gold and a silver disk with images of the gods, Thoth and Re-Horakhty, crowning the central figure of the king. 

4- Tutankhamun’s Necklace with a Pectoral in the Form of a Solar Boat:

This pectoral is centered on a scarab of lapis lazuli, that symbolizes the god, Khepri.  

Khepri represents the sun on the horizon of the new day. The scarab holds a solar disc of carnelian surrounded by a gold rim. The beetle is flanked by two baboons with lunar symbols on their heads.  

This item was discovered inside an inlaid box of ebony and ivory with an inscription that read: "gold jewelry for the funerary procession from the bedchamber of Nebkheperure.” This was Tutankhamun’s coronation name. 

5- Tutankhamun’s Necklace of the Sun on the Eastern Horizon:

The artist who made this Pectoral used the hieroglyphic sign for 'horizon' (akhet), which represents the sun rising between two mountains, with the scarab ( the sun-god) pushing the sun in front of it He has also added uraei (cobras) with pendent 'life' signs (ankh) to the 'horizon' hieroglyph, showing that the rising sun is bringing life to Upper and Lower Egypt.

On the symbol for the sun-god's gold barque (boat) are two uraei, one in the prow and the other in the stern; on their heads are disk of the sun and their tails are  replaced by three amulets symbolizing 'goodness' (nefer), 'life' (ankh) and 'stability' (djed). 

The straps of the pectoral are made of separate inlaid gold plaques held together at the back and the sides by rows of small gold, carnelian and glass beads. The plaques use the same elements as those in the pendant, except that the sun's disk is substituted for the sign of the horizon, and  the hieroglyphic sign for 'festival' is placed beneath the scarab. 

6- Gold cuff bracelet of Tutankhamun:

This gold cuff bracelet is composed of two semicircles joined together by a hinge on one side and a clasp on the other.  

The central plaque bears a cloisonné scarab inlaid with lapis lazuli. The scarab, symbol of the morning sun, was the most popular motif used in jewelry. The bracelet itself is also inlaid with carnelian, lapis lazuli, turquoise, quartz, and colored glass. 

7- A Pectoral of Tutankhamun with Eye of the god Horus:

A Pectoral of Tutankhamun, dominated by the Eye of the god, Horus (the Udjat).

Tutankhamen Treasures (Part 1)
Tutankhamen Treasures (Part 2)
Tutankhamen Treasures (Part 3)
Tutankhamen Treasures (Part 4)
Tutankhamen Treasures (Part 5)
Tutankhamen Treasures (Part 6)

Pectoral of Senusret II

Pectoral of Senusret II from the tomb of Sit-Hathor Yunet, daughter of Senusret II, found at El Lahun. This cloisonné pectoral is inlaid with 372 carefully cut pieces of semiprecious stones.

Hieroglyphic signs make up the design, which read: "The god of the rising sun grants life and dominion over all that the sun encircles for 1,100,000 years (eternity) to King Khakheperre [Senusret II]." Zigzag lines on the base bar represent the primordial waters out of which the primeval hill emerged. Each of the falcons, symbols of the sun god, clasps a circular hieroglyph meaning "encircled," thus declaring the solar deity's supreme power over the universe. The same hieroglyph, elongated to form a cartouche, encircles the throne name of Senusret II, Khakheperre.

Flanking the king's name are two ankh hieroglyphs (meaning "life") suspended from cobras whose tails are wound around the sun disk on the falcons' heads. These snakes represent Nekhbet and Udjo, the traditional protector goddesses of the king. Supporting the royal cartouche is the kneeling god Heh clutching two palm ribs symbolizing "millions of years.

Sculptures of Sensuret III

     Some of the finest examples of sculpture during the Middle Kingdom were at the height of the empire under Pharaoh Senusret III. Senusret III is known for his strikingly somber sculptures. Senusret III is considered to be perhaps the most powerful Egyptian ruler of the dynasty, and led the kingdom to an era of peace and prosperity.

     Senusret III is known for his strikingly somber sculptures in which he appears careworn and grave. While many statues portray him as a vigorous young man, others deviate from this standard and illustrate him as mature and aging. This is often interpreted as a portrayal of the burden of power and kingship. Another important innovation in sculpture during the Middle Kingdom was the block statue, which consisted of a man squatting with his knees drawn up to his chest.

     During the Middle Kingdom, relief and portrait sculpture captured subtle, individual details that reached new heights of technical perfection. Some of the finest examples of sculpture during this time was at the height of the empire under Pharaoh Senusret III.

     Khakhaure Senusret III (also written as Senwosret III or Sesostris III) ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC, and was the fifth monarch of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. His military campaigns gave rise to an era of peace and economic prosperity that not only reduced the power of regional rulers, but also led to a revival in craftwork, trade, and urban development in the Egyptian kingdom. One of the few kings who were deified and honored with a cult during their own lifetime, he is considered to be perhaps the most powerful Egyptian ruler of the dynasty.

     Aside from his accomplishments in architecture and war, Senusret III is known for his strikingly somber sculptures in which he appears careworn and grave. Deviating from the standard way of representing kings, Senusret III and his successor Amenemhat III had themselves portrayed as mature, aging men. This is often interpreted as a portrayal of the burden of power and kingship. That the change in representation was indeed ideological and should not be interpreted as the portrayal of an aging king is shown by the fact that in one single relief, Senusret III was represented as a vigorous young man, following the centuries old tradition, and as a mature aging king.

     Another important innovation in sculpture that occurred during the Middle Kingdom was the block statue, which would continue to be popular through to the Ptolemaic age almost 2,000 years later. Block statues consist of a man squatting with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms folded on top of his knees. Often, these men are wearing a wide cloak that reduces the body of the figure to a simple block-like shape; in some cases the cloak covers the feet completely, and in others the feet are left uncovered. The head of the sculpture contains the most detail.