Thebes - Temple of Deir el-Bahri

The great Temple of Deir el-Bahri is magnificently situated at the foot of the sheer cliffs fringing the desert hills, the light-colored, almost white, sandstone of the temple standing out prominently against the golden yellow to light brown rocks behind.

History

The temple was built at the beginning of the New Kingdom, in the reign of Queen Hateshepsut, who was at once aunt, stepmother and mother-in-law of Tuthmosis III and Co-ruler with him. It encroached on the court of the 11th Dynasty temple, laid out in terraces and richly adorned with statues, reliefs and inscriptions, which adjoins it on the south, and incorporated architectural elements from that temple. When Tuthmosis III became sole ruler he caused all statues of the Queen to be removed from the temple and had her name and figure erased from all reliefs and inscriptions, replacing them by his own. In the reign of Amenophis IV/Akhenaten the figures and names of the god Amun were obliterated, but they were later restored, rather clumsily, during the reign of Ramesses II. In subsequent centuries the temple suffered little change.

Minor alterations and additions were made by Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (146-117 B.C.), but these did not affect the main structure. After the introduction of Christianity the temple was occupied by monks, who converted it into a monastery known in Arabic as Deir el-Bahri, the Northern Monastery and defaced the pagan scenes depicted on the walls.

Mariette carried out some minor excavation of the site; then in 1894-96 it was cleared of rubble and sand by Edouard Naville on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund; and later it was carefully investigated and made structurally safe by an expedition from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. In recent years restoration work has been carried out by Polish archeologists, and these are still in progress.

In examining the wall paintings and reliefs it should be borne in mind that Queen Hatshepsut, as if to demonstrate that as ruler of Egypt she possessed all the authority of a king, had herself represented with the attributes (the beard and short apron) of a Pharaoh, normally appropriate to a man.

The temple was dedicated to Amun of Thebes, but the goddess Hathor and Anubis, god of the dead, also had their own chapels,here, and there were also chambers set apart for the mortuary cult of the Queen, whose tomb was in the Valley of the Kings, on the main axis of the temple. The temple complex is laid out on three terraces rising from the plain, linked by ramps which divide it into a northern and a southern half. Along the west side of each terrace is a raised colonnade. The terraces were hewn out of the eastern slopes of the hills, with retaining walls of the finest sandstone along the sides and to the rear. The temple itself was also partly hewn from the rock.

Other major discoveries have been made in the Valley of Deir el-Bahri. In 1881 a number of royal mummies, including those of Amosis I, Tuihmosis III, Sethos I and Ramesses II, were found in a shaft in a small valley south of the mortuary temple brought here during the 21st Dynasty to protect them from tomb robbers. In 1891 a mass tomb of Theban priestly families was found immediately north of the lower court (material in Alexandria and Cairo museums).

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Read More Deir el-Bahri - Middle Court

Continuing up the ramp, we reach the Middle Court, which, like the lower one, is bounded on the west by a colonnaded terrace: to the right the Birth Colonnade, to the left the Punt Colonnade. The Birth Colonnade has two rows of 11 pillars supporting the roof, with the same scenes on all four sides of the pillars: Amun laying his hands in blessing on the shoulders of the Queen (whose figure is invariably obliterated) or Tuthmosis Ill. The inscriptions and reliefs on the walls relate to the procreation and birth of the Queen (note the two fine figures of her mother Ahmes: in one she is conducted while pregnant into the presence of the ram headed Khnum and the frog headed Heqet, in the other she stands opposite the ibis headed Thoth). Two steps at the north end of the colonnade lead down into a Vestibule with 12 16 sided columns and fine mural reliefs.

In the south wall of the vestibule is a small niche with representations of the Queen (figure obliterated) before Osiris. To the left of the niche is Anubis, originally with the Queen behind him; to the right Nekhbet and Harakhty, between whom the names of the Queen were originally inscribed. Above the niche in the north wall is Tuthmosis III making a sacrifice to the falcon headed god of the dead Sokar; to the right of the niche Anubis and the Queen (obliterated); to the left the Queen (obliterated) standing in a chapel in front of the symbol of Emewet. Rear (west) wall: left, the Queen (obliterated) making an offering to Amun, with votive gifts heaped up in front of him; right, a similar scene with Anubis.

From the rear of the vestibule three steps lead into the Chapel of Anubis, which consists of three chambers with vaulted roofs. On the walls are paintings with well preserved coloring, depicting the Queen (always obliterated) in the presence of various gods, in particular Anubis. On the east wall of the second chamber Tuthmosis III is depicted once, pouring out water in the presence of Sokar. The colonnade along the north side of the terrace, with 15 16 sided columns and four rear chambers (now walled up), was left unfinished.

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