The Temple of Amenhotep IV was an ancient monument at Karnak in Luxor , Egypt . The structures were used during the New Kingdom , in the first four years of the 18th Dynasty reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten , when he still used the name Amenhotep IV. The edifices may have been constructed at the end of the reign of his father, Amenhotep III , and completed by Akhenaten.
41-641: The temple was constructed outside the boundaries of the Precinct of Amon-Re , to its east. The main temple in the complex was named Gm–p3–itn ( Gem-pa-Aten ), which means "The Sun Disc is Found in the Estate of the God Aten ". The other monuments were named Hwt–bnbn ( Hwt benben / "The Mansion of the Benben stone "), Rwd–mnw–n–itn–r–nḥḥ ( Rud-menu / "Sturdy are
82-422: A sphinx inscribed with the name of the deity Aten. It was of a considerable size (130m x 216m), but it was so completely destroyed that even its foundations have been nearly obliterated. It stood within a mud-brick enclosure, and was orientated to the east, possibly with an entrance to the west. It led to an open court surrounded by square pillars and colossal statues of Akhenaten and Nefertiti . Erected to
123-534: A 'house of Amun', which implies some structure, whether a shrine or a small temple is unknown. The ancient name for Karnak, Ipet-Sut (usually translated as 'most select of places') only really refers to the central core structures of the Precinct of Amun-Ra, and was in use as early as the 11th Dynasty, again implying the presence of some form of temple before the Middle Kingdom expansion. The main temple
164-607: A giant puzzle and are partly exhibited in the Luxor Museum . The reassembled walls show residential, administrative and royal scenes and solar Jubilee scenes of the first Sed festival , which Akhenaten was probably celebrating at the same time as his father Amenhotep III . [REDACTED] Media related to Gem-pa-Aten at Wikimedia Commons 25°43′06″N 32°39′30″E / 25.7182°N 32.6582°E / 25.7182; 32.6582 Precinct of Amon-Re The Precinct of Amun-Re , located near Luxor , Egypt ,
205-633: A number of important excavations in Egypt, notably at Karnak and Mendes . Redford received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D from McGill University and the University of Toronto , and was an Assistant/Associate Professor (1962–1969) and full Professor (1969–1998) at the latter. He moved to Pennsylvania State University in 1998, where he retired in July 2024. He was trained in semitics by Wilfred G. Lambert , James Kinnier Wilson , and Abraham Sachs . He learned
246-463: Is 21.2 m high and weighs nearly 150 tons. Just beyond this is the remaining obelisk of Hatshepsut , nearly 30 m in height. Later kings blocked out the view of this from ground level, and constructed walls around it. Its companion lies, broken, by the sacred lake . These were built by Thutmose I . The Sixth Pylon was built by Thutmose III , and leads into a Hall of Records in which the king recorded his tributes. The pylon also includes some images of
287-541: Is laid out on an east–west axis, entered via a quay (now dry and several hundred metres from the Nile). The modern entrance is placed over the end of the ancient cult terrace (or tribune ), causing most visitors to miss this significant feature. Inscribed into the terrace (though many are now eroded away) are the inundation levels for several kings of the Third Intermediate Period , collectively known as
328-576: Is largely the history of Thebes . The city does not appear to have been of any significance before the Eleventh Dynasty , and any temple building here would have been relatively small and unimportant, with any shrines being dedicated to the early god of Thebes, Montu . The earliest artifact found in the area of the temple is a small, eight-sided column from the Eleventh Dynasty, which mentions Amun-Ra. The tomb of Intef II mentions
369-541: Is not closed, as the temples of Khons and Opet both lie in this corner and are open to the public, though both are rarely visited, relative to the huge numbers of tourists who come to Karnak . Also found in that area is the Akhenaten Temple Project , in a sealed long building which contains surviving remnants of the dismantled Temple of Amenhotep IV ( Akhenaten ). The history of the Karnak complex
410-644: Is now viewed from a seating area next to the lake. This small temple lies to the north of the main Amun temple, just within the boundary wall. The building was erected by Thutmose III , on the site of an earlier Middle Kingdom temple. The building was later enlarged by the Ptolemies . Also known as the Temple of the Hearing Ear this temple is located to the east of the main complex, on the east–west alignment. It
451-464: Is one of the four main temple enclosures that make up the immense Karnak Temple Complex . The precinct is by far the largest of these and the only one that is open to the general public. The temple complex is dedicated to the principal god of the Theban Triad , Amun , in the form of Amun-Re . The site occupies some 250,000 m and contains many structures and monuments. The main temple itself,
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#1732772136195492-769: Is under active reconstruction and excavation. Over 900 statues were discovered in 1903 by Georges Legrain buried under this open court. These had been buried there, probably in the Ptolemaic period, during one of the clearances of the complex for rebuilding or construction. On the southern side, there is a carving of Thutmose III smiting Asiatic enemies, under which is a list of names of towns and peoples conquered in his campaigns in Syria-Palestine. The famous Karnak Cachette of nearly 800 stone statues and 17,000 bronze statues, as well as other artifacts were found buried here by Georges Legrain around 1903-1905. Off to
533-593: The Chapelle Rouge of Hatshepsut , and the White Chapel of Senusret I . 25°43′07″N 32°39′31″E / 25.71861°N 32.65861°E / 25.71861; 32.65861 Akhenaten Temple Project Donald Bruce Redford (2 September 1934 – 18 October 2024) was a Canadian Egyptologist , archaeologist , and Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Pennsylvania State University ; he retired in 2024. Redford directed
574-605: The Nile Level Texts . The cult terrace is often mistakenly thought to be a dock or quay, but other examples, such as the one at the Hathor temple at Deir el-Medina , do not have access to water. It was intended for the presentation of cult images. Originally the quay led via a corridor of Sphinxes to the entrance to the second pylon , but these were moved aside when the First Pylon was constructed. Construction of
615-471: The Talatat from the dismantled Temple of Amenhotep IV as core building material. There are four registers of scenes around the gateway, in the name of Horemheb. Located within the outer precincts of the complex are a number of other structures, some of which are accessible to the public. The sacred lake was where priests purified themselves before performing rituals in the temple. The sound and light show
656-741: The Egyptian language under the professors, Richard Anthony Parker , Hans Jakob Polotsky and Ricardo Caminos . From 1964 to 1967 he participated in the Old Jerusalem excavations led by Kathleen Kenyon . Redford was the winner of the 1993 " Best Scholarly Book in Archaeology " awarded by the Biblical Archaeology Society for his work Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times . In the book he argues that
697-454: The Hall and along the northern part of the north–south processional route while respecting most of his father's reliefs elsewhere in the hall. The outer walls depict scenes of battle, Seti I on the north and Ramesses II on the south. These scenes may not show actual combat, but could have a ritual purpose as well. Adjoining the southern wall of Ramesses II is another wall that contains the text of
738-723: The Monuments of the Sun Disc Forever"), and Tni–mnw–n–itn–r–nḥḥ ( Teni–menu / "Exalted are the Monuments of the Sun Disc Forever"). Very little of these buildings remain; they were built quickly, using Talatat blocks, and could therefore easily be demolished and reused as core for later structures. The Gem-pa-Aten appears to have had no roof and its offering tables were exposed to direct sunlight. In this building (or associated with it) were red granite and sandstone statues of Akhenaten , red granite offering tables and other statues, including
779-666: The Temple of Amun, covers some 61 acres. Some parts of the complex are closed or semi-closed, including large parts of the North-South Axis (the 8th, 9th, and 10th pylons ), which are under active excavation or restoration. The whole southeast corner is semi-closed. The northwest corner is a museum that requires an additional ticket to visit. Most of the southwest is an open-air assembling area containing millions of stone fragments, from small to huge, laid out in long rows, awaiting reassembly into their respective monuments. The area
820-499: The courtyard of the sixth pylon, about thirty meters west of the Middle Kingdom courtyard. Five years of work have uncovered a religious complex approximately 70 m wide by more than 100 m long, "probably composed of concentric enclosures and peribolus walls surrounding stores, a front access platform and the "god's abode." This complex seems to have been founded on a large area developed by the construction of earthwork walls, without traces of older architectural remains." This stands to
861-450: The current pylon began during the 30th Dynasty , but was never totally completed. It is 113m wide and 15m thick. There are large numbers of mud bricks piled up against the inside of the pylon, and these give a clue as to how it was constructed. The construction of the original first pylon and Forecourt in the 22nd Dynasty enclosed several older structures, and meant that the original avenue of sphinxes had to be moved. These were built in
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#1732772136195902-418: The east of the main temple complex. Between the sanctuary and the festival hall is an open space, and this is thought to be where the original Middle Kingdom shrines and temples were located, before their later dismantling. The Festival Hall (or Akh-menu – "the most glorious of monuments") itself has its axis at right-angles to the main east–west axis of the temple. It was originally built to celebrate
943-770: The east, the Hwt benben or Mansion of the Benben was devoted to a solar cult and was closely associated with the Gempaaten. The Teni–menu seemed to contain domestic and storage rooms, and may have been a royal residence, although not enough of the structure remains to clarify the use. The walls of the Teni-menu were reused in the Ninth Pylon of the main Karnak temple. They have since been identified and reassembled like
984-409: The eastern side of the court is an alabaster shrine, constructed for the jubilee of Thutmose III. Constructed by Hatshepsut , the eighth pylon marks the end of the area that is normally accessible to the public. This pylon was constructed (or at least completed) by Horemheb . It is hollow and allows access to its top, via internal staircases. Again, it was Horemheb who built this last pylon, using
1025-760: The experiences of the Hyksos in Egypt became a central foundation of myths in Canaanite culture, leading to the story of Moses . He further argues that almost all the toponymic details in the Exodus story reflect conditions in Egypt not earlier than the Twenty-sixth Dynasty , the Saite period, namely the 7th century BC. Whoever, Redford argues, provided the author of Exodus with these details had no access to Egyptian material earlier than that date. This view
1066-441: The god Amun which were restored by Tutankhamen after they were vandalized by Akhenaten. These images were later recarved by Horemheb who also usurped Tutankhamun's restoration inscriptions. The sanctuary was built in the time of Philip Arrhidaeus , on the site of the earlier sanctuary built by Thutmose III . This sanctuary contains blocks from the earlier sanctuary and older inscriptions can still be seen. A pillar inscribed with
1107-465: The jubilee ( Hed-Sed ) of Thutmose III, and later became used as part of the annual Opet Festival . In this temple, the Karnak king list , shows Thutmose III with some of the earlier kings that built parts of the temple complex. It contains the Botanical garden of Thutmosis III . This axis, with its massive pylons, heads off to the Precinct of Mut . Most of this area is off limits to tourists, as it
1148-404: The monuments of Akhenaten along with a temple of Tutankhamen and Ay. The Second Pylon's roof collapsed in late antiquity and was later restored in Ptolemaic times. This was begun by Seti I , and completed by Ramesses II . The north side of the hall is decorated in raised relief, and was Seti I 's work. He began to decorate the southern side of the hall shortly before he died but this section
1189-579: The name of Intef II , an 11th Dynasty pharaoh , was discovered in the early 1980s. The so-called "Middle Kingdom courtyard" in the center of the Karnak complex has been investigated since the 19th century. It had been theorized that a sanctuary of Amun was located here, until the Franco-Egyptian Center for Studies of the Temples of Karnak (CFEETK)'s inaugural 2002 season revealed symmetrical raw brick foundations more than 33 m wide in
1230-481: The new pharaoh abandoned the project due to his religious revolution which rejected the cult of the god Amun-Re. In building the Third Pylon, Amenhotep dismantled a number of older monuments, including a small gateway he himself built earlier in the reign. He deposited hundreds of blocks from these monuments inside the pylon towers as fill. These were recovered by Egyptologists in the early 20th century and led to
1271-596: The peace treaty he signed with the Hittites in the year 21 of his reign. Through the walls of the Hypostyle Hall is the mostly ruined Transverse Hall, alongside a reconstructed Third Pylon of Amenhotep III . Though much ruined, in antiquity it was quite splendid and parts of it were even plated in gold by pharaoh Amenhotep III. A vestibule was added late in the pharaoh's reign and then partly decorated with incompleted triumph scenes by Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten before
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1312-490: The pylon and added his own to them. These were later usurped by Ramesses II. The east (rear) face of the pylon became the west wall of the newly built Great Hypostyle Hall under Seti I who added some honorary images of the late Ramesses I to compensate for having had to erase his father's images there when he built the hall. Horemheb filled the interior of the pylon towers with thousands of recycled blocks from dismantled monuments of his predecessors, especially Talatat blocks from
1353-408: The pylon were later restored by Tutankhamen who also inserted images of himself. These were, in turn, later erased by Horemheb. The erased images of Tutankhamen were long thought to be of Akhenaten himself, supposedly evidence of a coregency between Akhenaten and Amenhotep III, though most scholars now reject this. In a narrow court, there are several obelisks , one which dates from Thutmose I , and
1394-542: The reconstruction of several lost monuments, including the White Chapel of Senusret I and the red chapel of Queen Hatshepsut, which are now in the open-air museum at Karnak. At the time of its construction, Amenhotep III had the Third Pylon gilded and covered with precious stones, as he relates on a stela now in the Cairo museum: The king made a monument for Amun, making for him a very great gateway before Amun-Re lord of
1435-519: The temple show the king slaughtering captives, whilst Amun-Re looks on. This portal allows exit from the first court to the area to the south of the Temple of Ramesses III. It records the conquests and military campaigns in Syria-Palestine of Shoshenq I , of the Twenty-second Dynasty . This pylon was built by Horemheb near the end of his reign and only partly decorated by him. Ramesses I usurped Horemheb's reliefs and inscriptions on
1476-470: The thrones of the two lands, sheathed entirely in gold, a divine image according to respect, filled with turquoise [one-half ton], sheathed in gold and numerous stones [two-thirds ton of jasper]. The like had never been made... Its pavement was made of pure silver, its front portal inset with stelae of lapis lazuli, one on each side. Its twin towers approach heaven, like the four supports of the sky. Its flagpoles shine skyward sheathed in electrum. The reliefs on
1517-416: The time of Seti II , and are dedicated to Amun , Mut , and Khonsu . In order to construct this kiosk, the ram-sphinx corridor was removed and the statues moved to the edges of the open court. Only one column remains in place, bearing inscriptions by Taharqa , Psamtik II and Ptolemy IV Philopator . On the south side of the forecourt, there is a small temple built by Ramesses III . Inscriptions inside
1558-669: Was built during the reign of Ramesses II. This temple is an example of an almost complete New Kingdom temple, and was originally constructed by Ramesses III , on the site of an earlier temple (the construction seems to be mentioned in the Harris Papyrus ). Several of the pylons reused earlier structures in their core. In the Open Air Museum, located in the Northwest corner of the complex, there are reconstructions of some of these earlier structures, notable amongst them
1599-586: Was expounded upon in The Bible Unearthed by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman . Redford's work in editing The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt , published in 2001, earned the American Library Association's Dartmouth Medal for a reference work of outstanding quality and significance. Since 2006 he was also in the editorial board of RIHAO . His work in uncovering the foundation of one of Akhenaten's temples
1640-417: Was largely completed by his son, Ramesses II . Ramesses decoration was at first in raised relief, but he quickly changed to sunk relief and then converted his raised relief decoration in the southern part of the hall, along with the few reliefs of Seti there, to sunk relief. He left Seti I's reliefs in the north wing as raised relief. Ramesses also changed Seti's names to his own along the main east–west axis of
1681-432: Was the subject of a one-hour 1980 National Film Board of Canada documentary, The Lost Pharaoh: The Search for Akhenaten . Redford was married to Susan Redford, also an Egyptologist. Donald B. Redford died at his home on 18 October 2024, at the age of 90. The Akhenaten Temple Project is a project encompassing four archaeological expeditions to Egypt and north-east Africa. It has been in operation since 1972. The project