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| The Mortuary Temple of Seti I |
The consequence of the Amarna period, with Seti I restoring the
worship of the traditional Egyptian
gods, may explain
the merged dedication
of the temple
to (from south
to north) Ptah, Re-Horakhty, Amen-Re, Osiris, Isis and Horus. The
unusual L-shaped project of the temple is caused by a southeast wing appended
to the main rectilinear temple. This wing
contains rooms dedicated
to Memphite funerary
deities, such as
Sokar and Nefertum, further
underlining the national and funerary centre of the temple. In addition, a good
list of legitimate pharaohs is offered in the “kings’ gallery” to the south of
the sanctuaries in
the passageway passing
to a butchering
room. The names
of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare and Tutankhamen are missed from the list, as if
to wipe off their reigns from qualified history.
The temple is set within
a great enclosure
wall (circa 220×350 metre) with
a important mudbrick pylon
confronting the desert, from
which a prosodion
way probably led
to the royal tombs at Umm
el-Qa’ab. Access to the temple was from the east, up ramps that led into two
large courtyards, one after the other. The temple was left unfinished at the
death of King Seti I and most of the front part of the temple was finished in
sunk ease during the reign of King Seti I’s son Ramses II. The southeast home
wall of the first court contains a agency of Ramses II struggling the Hittites
at Qadesh. The names of Merenptah, Ramses III and Ramses IV are also preserved
on these front courts. To the east of these courts lies a large storehouse or
set of magazines, such as were likewise found at the Ramesseum. In the center
of these is a pulpit with pillars which would have served as a reception center
for entry or outgoing goods.
