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36-517: The Nile Level Texts (or Nile Quay Texts) are inscribed on the cult terrace (the so-called "quay") at the temple of Karnak , in Thebes , Egypt . This cult terrace itself was constructed during the time of Ramesses II , but the kings of the 22nd to the 26th Dynasties recorded the height of the Nile on its western side. The inscriptions are invaluable records since they are dated to specific years of

72-534: 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

108-516: A certain king's reign. The cult terrace does not bear any inscriptions from the early years of reign of Taharqa , a period that is known from other sources to have been a time of drought. The texts were first examined and recorded by Georges Legrain in 1896, and later recollated by Jürgen von Beckerath in 1953. Many are now damaged or lost through erosion. Precinct of Amon-Re#Cult Terrace The site occupies some 250,000 m and contains many structures and monuments. The main temple itself,

144-463: 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

180-399: Is currently uncertain, although he is now thought to have governed Egypt early in the 9th century BC for a short time between Osorkon I and Takelot I . The next ruler at Tanis after Shoshenq V was Osorkon IV . This pharaoh is sometimes not believed to be a member of the 22nd Dynasty since he only controlled a small portion of Lower Egypt together with Tefnakhte of Sais , whose authority

216-541: 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

252-576: 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

288-541: 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

324-644: 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

360-769: 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

396-623: 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 Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt The Twenty-second Dynasty was an Ancient Egyptian dynasty of ancient Libyan origin founded by Shoshenq I . It is also known as the Bubastite Dynasty , since the pharaohs originally ruled from

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432-605: 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

468-471: 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

504-613: The Twentieth Dynasty and were known in Egypt as the 'Great Chiefs of the Ma' (Ma being a synonym of Meshwesh). Manetho states that this Egyptianized ancient Libyan dynasty first ruled over Bubastis , but its rulers almost certainly governed from Tanis , which was their capital and the city where their tombs have been excavated. Another pharaoh who belongs to this group is Tutkheperre Shoshenq . His period of rule within this dynasty

540-454: 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

576-666: 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

612-474: The city of Bubastis . The Twenty-first, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-fifth dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group designation of the Third Intermediate Period . The pharaohs of the Twenty-second Dynasty were a series of Meshwesh ( ancient Libyan tribe) chieftains, who ruled from c. 943 BC until 716 BC. They had settled in Egypt since

648-499: 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

684-450: 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

720-418: 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

756-409: 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

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792-441: 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

828-520: 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

864-404: 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

900-632: 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

936-481: 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

972-596: 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

1008-490: 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

1044-408: 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

1080-542: 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

1116-519: 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

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1152-470: 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

1188-416: 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

1224-669: 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

1260-417: 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

1296-696: Was recognised at Memphis —and Iuput II of Leontopolis . The known rulers during the Twenty-second Dynasty include: The rise to power of the Twenty-second dynasty and its founder Sheshqonq, a Libyan Amazigh king of the Meshwesh tribe, is remembered as year 0 of the Berber calendar celebrated by the Berber New Year each year: the Yennayer . The character is known as Ouchachnaq, hero of

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