Ramesseum

The Ramesseum

This was the temple established by Ramses II (r. 1290–1224 B.C.E.) at Thebes (Luxor). Called “the Temple of the Million Years,”  the  construction  was  part  of  Ramses II’s mortuary  cult.  The  temple  was  dedicated  to  the  deified Ramses II  and  to  the  god  Amun, addressed  “the  United With Eternity.” The site was called the Memnomium, or the Tomb of Ozymandias, by the Greeks.

The  structure  was  included  by  a  brick  wall  and superimposed on a temple constructed originally by Seti I. Pylons drawn Ramses II’s Battle of Kadesh and his Syrian victories. The Ramesseum had a Hypostyle Hall, courts, and a throne room. A big statue of Ramses II,  more  than  55  feet  tall,  was  discovered  in  the  first court.  An  astronomical  chamber  was  likewise  found  on  the site, composing a second hypostyle hall.

In the southwest, a temple devoted to Seti I and Queen Tuya, the  royal  parents  of  Ramses II,  was erected,  and  an  avenue  of  sphinxes  surrounded  various edifices. There were likewise chambers that served as sanctuaries for the different solar barks. A royal hall was part  of  the  design.  The  Twenty-second  (945–712 B.C.E.) and also Twenty-third  (828–712  B.C.E.)  Dynasties  used  the storage  areas  of  the  Ramesseum as a burial  site.  A papyrus  discovered  on  the  site  contained  a  version  of “the  Tale  of  the  Eloquent Peasant,”  and  medical  texts referring  the  treatment  of  tightening  limbs  were  also found.

In  the  reign  of  Ramses IX (1131–1112 B.C.E.), priests  serving  the  Ramesseum were  caught  transferring golden  objects  from  this  shrine.  An  confederate,  a  gardener  named  Kar,  confessed  how  measures  of  golden decorations were taken. He also named his confederates, some  of  whom  were  in  the  priesthood.  They  were seriously punished, as their crimes included not only theft but desecration in violating a religious site.

Colossi of Memnon

Colossi of Memnon

Two big quartzite statues experienced as the Colossi of Memnon are all that rest of the magnificent social system which was built as a mortuary temple for Amenophis III.  Earlier the statues flanked the pylon gates of the temple, now they model side by side amid fields of corn with their hands located neatly upon their knees, quiet facing east waiting for the rise of the new-born sun.  On one position of Amenophis’s feet stands the little figure of his wife Queen Tiye and on the other face stands an equally diminutive figure of his mother Mutemuia.

These two colossal statues were misnamed Memnon by the Greeks who thought that they represented the mighty Memnon who Achilles killed in the battle for Troy.  In Roman times, wind passing through a crack in the northwest statue gave out a baleful cry which was thought to be Memnon crying to his mother Eos.  The crack appeared after an earthquake some 30 BC and stopped when Septimus Severus ordered its doctor in 199 AD.  The statues although anonymous and badly damaged are still very amazing although the south statue now has an appearance of being burned after it was recently treated with preserving material.

Amenophis III, now as well referred to as Amenhotep III, came to the throne when he was only 12 years old and governed Egypt from 1390 – 1352 BC when he passed at the age of 49 years.  He was buried in the Western Valley near the Valley of the Kings. 

His prevail was a time of peace and successfulness when Egypt’s wealth inflated enormously and, without any wars to worry about, he shipped on a large building programme including a mud-brick palace known as Malqata, the scant ruins of which are close to the Medinet Habu.  In size, his mortuary temple may well have rivalled that of the mighty temple at Karnak but it was established on the flood-plane and hurt corrosion and earthquake damage soon after its completion.  Many of its finely carved stone stops were later reused in the building of the Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum.  Extensive digging of the temple site has of late started and the bases of some exceptionally big statues have been exposed in 2005.

The car park beside the statues can be complete of tour buses early in the morning so the best time to view the statues is late in the afternoon when most of the tour buses have gave or at night when the statues are light.

Deir el-Medina

Deir el-Medina

Deir el-Medina, a village of ancient Egyptian artisans involved  to  the  New Kingdom (1550–1070  B.C.E.) necropolis  at  Thebes. It  is  based  on  the  west  bank between the Ramesseum and Medinet Habu. The site was named  Set-Ma’at when  grounded  by  Tuthmosis I (r.1504–1492 B.C.E.)  near  the  special  eleventh  dynasty (2040–1991  B.C.E.)  necropolis.  The  artisans  were  formerly known as “the Servitors of the Place of Truth,” the laborers of the tombs in the Valleys ofthe kings and queens. Some  workers  were  valued  for  their  skills  and imaginative artistry. In some reads these workers were called “the Servants of the Place of Truth.”.

From the Tomb of Merit in Deir el-Medina

The homes of these artisans had various rooms, with the workers of higher rank basking vestibules and several architectural adornments. They also raised elaborate funerary  sites  for  themselves  and  their  families,  caricatures  of  the  royal  tombs  upon  which  they  hard throughout their entire lives. Little pyramids were fashioned out of bricks, and the secret walls were covered with stunning paintings and reliefs. The site has provided scholars  with  inscribed  papyri,  ostraka,  and  elaborate depictions of common life.

King Amenhotep I (r. 1525–1504  B.C.E.)  was  an  early supporter  of  the  region.  A  temple  put up  on  the  site  by Amenhotep III (r.  1359–1353  B.C.E.)  was  refurbished  by Ptolemy IV Philopator (r. 186–164, 163–145 B.C.E.). Seti I (1306–1290  B.C.E.) put up temples to Hathor and Amun on the site. Tahrqa (r. 690–664 B.C.E.) also built an Osirian chapel in that location.