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| Essential
Architecture- Egypt Mortuary Temple of Ramses III |
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architect |
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location |
Medinet Habu |
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date |
New Kingdom: 20th Dynasty; 1184-1153 BCE |
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style |
Ancient Egyptian |
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construction |
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type |
Temple Tomb, Mausoleum |
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Although ancient Egyptians called this place Djanet, the name used today
derives from an early Christian place name. The complex of buildings
here dates from the early 18th Dynasty, when Hatshepsut and Tuthmose III
dedicated a temple to Amun, to Roman times. Its history continued until
the 9th century CE since a Coptic church was established in the second
courtyard of the mortuary temple. Medinet Habu is about 4 miles from the
Valley of the Kings near the foot of the Theban Hills at the southern
end of western Thebes. The mortuary temple is the best preserved temple
at Thebes. Ramses III had an usual entrance built for the complex, modeled perhaps on citadels he had seen on military campaigns in Syria. The tower is in the form of a "migdol," a kind of fortified gate house. The complex thus had the look of a fortress since originally it was enclosed by a mud brick wall 35 feet thick and 60 feet high. The entrance On each side of the tower reliefs depict Ramses III slaying his enemies. The top floor of the tower apparently contained Ramses III's harem. With special thanks to the Digital Imaging Project http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/index/index2.html Images copyright Mary Ann Sullivan. |
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links |
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| www.essential-architecture.com | |