Northwest of the Temple of Sethos I, lying partly under the modern village of Abydos, is a Temple of Ramesses I, and a short distance away is the (destroyed) Temple of Ramesses II, also dedicated to Osiris and the cult of the dead King. In front of the present entrance was a large court of which only a few traces remain. The masonry of the temple itself is preserved only to a height of 6.5ft/2m, but it is still possible to trace the outlines of a court surrounded by colonnades with pillars and Osiris figures (as in the Ramesseum), two halls with chapels at their far ends and many subsidiary rooms. To judge from the surviving remains, the temple was much more sumptuous and more carefully built than any of the other buildings of Ramesses II known to us. It was constructed of fine grained limestone, with red and black granite for the doorways, sandstone for the columns and alabaster for the innermost sanctuary.
The mural decorations, the colors of which are remarkably well preserved, are in delicate low relief, reminiscent of the fine work done in the reign of Sethos I, in the rooms to the rear; the cruder sunk reliefs are found only in the court, the first hall and the rooms adjoining that hall. The reliefs in the first court depict a sacrificial procession. On the outer walls are warlike scenes, on the south wall lists of donations to the temple.
On the right hand (north) wall peasants are shown bringing various sacrificial animals (oxen, antelopes, geese) to four priests, the first of whom records the gifts, while the second offers incense. Farther right the animals are being slaughtered. On the left hand (east and south) walls are similar scenes. To the left of the entrance are people with sacrificial offerings, who are met by a procession of priests, soldiers, the royal war chariot, Negro and Asian prisoners, etc. The colors are surprisingly fresh. In the rooms to the rear are badly damaged religious scenes.
The reliefs on the outside of the temple (north and west sides), worked in fine white limestone, are among the finest produced in the reign of Ramesses II. They depict scenes from the King's war against the Hittites; adjoining is an account of the campaign. On the south wall is a long inscription recording the building of the temple and its endowments.
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