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The First Courtyard at the Temple of Amun,
Karnak
 In
the first courtyard of the Temple of Amun at Karnak, on the inside
of the courtyard abutted up against the inside of he first pylon is a
construction platform built of brick caissons enclosing packed earth
between retaining walls perpendicular to the pylon, which is
evidence that the first pylon was still under construction when the
work was abandoned.
The first, western pylon of the Temple of Amun at Karnak (in modern Luxor, ancient Thebes)
forms the facade to a large, somewhat square courtyard measuring
some 84.12 by 99.4 meters. It is bordered on two sides by a portico
with columns built during the 22nd Dynasty rule of
Sheshonk I (Shoshenq
I) , though he left the columns here undecorated except for the
five standard bands indicating constriction that separate the column
shafts from the capitals. The capitals themselves or in the form of
closed buds.
About in the center of the northern enclosure wall behind the
columns is an enigmatic, but interesting depiction. This is the so
called magic image of Amun.
Here, the pharaoh is referred to as per-aa in the two cartouches,
and he is making libation in the presence of a very strange image.
The representation has the head of Amun, wearing a crown topped by a
solar disk surmounted by two large feathers, which emerge from a
goatskin bottle embraced by the extended wings of Ma'at. In turn,
this depiction surmounts a pedestal crowned by a uraeus, in 
front of which is a lion whose chest comes up to the level of the
shafts. It would seem that this "magic image of Amun" was perhaps
paraded during processions. This scene then sits upon a table
fronting a series of lotuses,
each of which is giving birth to a new lotus framed by two
buds.
The first open courtyard in the Temple of Amun at Karnak was
originally outside the temple proper, so the row of Cryosphinxes
outside the temple would have continued unabated within. However,
the statues that once occupied the space within the courtyard (some
were completely removed) had to be repositioned. They were placed
further to the side, just before the columns of the courtyard's
flanking porticos. This courtyard includes edifices dating over a
thousand year period that extended from the end of the 18th Dynasty to the
Ptolemaic
Period.
Barque Chapel of Seti II
 As
one passes through the first pylon, to the left is the quartzite and
sandstone triple Barque
Chapel of Seti II,
sometimes referred to as the repository of Seti II but known in
ancient times as "Castle of Seti Merneptah in the Temple of Amun".
Its facade, reaching some 7.1 meters above the surrounding pavement,
is marked by sloping walls that are capped by the standard torus (a
large convex molding, semicircular in cross section) and cornice. The
central doorway measures 4.5 meters high, while the side doorways
are each 3.79 meters.
 The
foundation, the first course of stone, and the doorway are all made
of quartzite that probably came from Gebel el-Ahmar near Cario. The rest of the
building is made of more ordinary sandstone, probably from Gebel el-Silsila.
Hence, this edifice is made of white blocks of sandstone from the
South placed on red stones coming from the north. The quartzite
blocks of the first course of stone also have a much more pronounced
slope than the rest of the building.
In the eastern area of the northern facade of the building we
find depictions in two registers of tableaux presenting Seti II
offering to the Theban gods. In the lower of these registers the
gods are upright and walking, while in the upper they are seated on
a cubic throne and holding the was scepter and the ankh (the key of life).
The west side of this facade is divided lengthwise by a vertical
column of text. here, the king on the left, facing west, claps Amun
Re Kamutef around the waist. On the Right, the king is turned to the
east, and gives unction to his father, the ithyphallic Amun Re.
 It
has three deep chambers for the barques of Mut (left), Amun
(center) and Khonsu
(right). These chambers have no common entryways. The sanctuary
consecrated to Mut has two
niches in the back and on its wall is a depiction of the barque of
of that god. The central chamber has three niches in its rear wall,
and likewise contains representations of the barque of Amun.
Here, however, is inscribed the name of Menmaatre (Seti I)
rathe than Set II. On the doorway to the Khonsu chamber, neither the
lintel nor the jamb of which is adorned with any decorations.
However, on the sandstone partition to the right of the doorway are
representations of "Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep", and Thoth, who
resides in Hermonthis preceded by Amun. In the chamber for the
barque of Khonsu, there are two niches on the rear wall, as well as
three more on the east wall. All of these niches probably at one
time held statues. Also on the east wall of the Khonsu chamber is a
stairway that gives access to the roof of the structure.
Opposite this triple shrine is a small sphinx, we believe, with
the features of Tutankhamun.
The Kiosk of Tahraqa
 Centered in the courtyard are the the remains of a huge
kiosk of Tahraqa
(Taharqa), which was usurped by Psammetichus
II (Psamtik II), and the restored during the Greek Period.
It originally consisted of ten, tall, slim papyrus columns linked by
a low screening wall, though open at its eastern and western ends.
This building now retains only one great column and a large block of
Egyptian alabaster (calcite) that resembles an altar that perhaps
was once surmounted by a pedestal. However, Champollion
tells us that:
"Twleve (?) columns, or rather twelve large scale imitations
of the wadj amulets that served as props for the sacred tokens of
Amun and the king who inhabited this building, were once in the
center of the large courtyard of the palace. It should in
fact be noted that these constructions posses in no way the curve
of a column but are lengthier and narrower below the bell of the
capital...
It becomes obvious in view of this decoration that the
author of the pillars is the king Taharqa, who, after the
expulsion of the Ethiopians under Psamtik, the first of the
dynasty, has replaced the inscriptions left by the foreign king
with those of the native king. However, the proper name of the
former, although hammered out, is still quite visible on the
second ring of the column of the first Babastite portico."
 
Left: Colonnade of Taharqa;
Right: Heiroglyph Wadj Symbol
Champollion believe that these columns were standard holders.
Indeed, the columns the average diameter of the shaft of these
columns is round one-seventh the size of the total height, whereas
normally this proportion is hardly greater than one-sixth. Their
total height is 21 meters, with the aver diameter being 2.99
meters.
Traditionally, this building has been considered to be another
barque chapel, yet, the fact that it was an open structure suggests
otherwise. Some Egyptologists today believe that it may have had a
function in ritual activities associated with a "uniting with the
sun" ceremony, as was practiced in later times at Dendera and
elsewhere. However, others maintain that this structure was not open
at all, but roofed with timber and was used as a way station for the
sacred barques. Indeed, the columns appear to have an abacus (though this
is called a dado), usually used to support an architrave. This
area was later paved with irregular slabs of red granite.
First Barque Chapel of Ramesses III
In the Harris Papyrus written during the 20th Dynasty, Ramesses
IV, recording on behalf of his father Ramesses
III, said:
"I made for thee a mysterious horizon in thy city of Thebes
over against thy forecourt, O lord of gods (named): 'House (pr) of
Ramesses Ruler of Heliopolis, L.P.H., inn the House of Amun",
abiding like the heavens bearing the sun. I built it, I laid it in
sandstone, having great doors of fine gold. I filled its treasury
with the things which my hands carried off, to bring them before
thee every day."
 He
was most likely speaking of Ramesses III's barque chapel in the
right (southern) part of the first courtyard of the Temple of
Amun at Karnak. This temple is built on a platform with the profile
of a cavetto cornice. The facade of the building is in the form of a
pylon, in front of which once stood two squat, six meter royal
statues carved from red sandstone. Champollion tells us that the
pylon would have been much larger, but its upper portion is
destroyed today, so it is missing the cornice, the frieze and the
upper section of the tableaux that decorated it. In fact, in
antiquity, this was probably a much larger edifice.
The chapel is indeed an elaborate barque chapel today, but
originally it was designed as a miniature version of this king's mortuary temple at
Medinet
Habu. The monument was entirely crowned with a grooved cornice
capping the standard torus that also bordered the corners of the
pylon. Champollion described the two underpinnings of this pylon
very well, telling us that:
"On the left underpinning, the king Ramessses Meryamun,
wearing the pschent [white crown over the red], holds a group of
begging prisoners by the hair as he massacres them with his white
club. Facing him, Amun-Re presents the harpagon to the pharaoh and
holds with his left hand the bonds to which the captives with the
coats of arms are attached. These are the people of the North and
the Central regions."
A similar scene on the right underpinning portrays the king
wearing the red crown. Legrain adds that:
"The door posts and the cornice are of gray
speckled granite. This was the great doorway of the king of Upper
and Lower Egypt, Usermaatre Meryamun. Hardly any of the blocks
that composed it remain."
The splay of the right door post as one enters this chapel from
the first courtyard is adorned with horizontal inscriptions of royal
titles alternating with baskets that are surmounted with three
symbols, including a was, ankh and djed, meaning
prosperity, life and stability.
The first court is lined with eight Osride statues of the king,
with those to the west wearing the crown of the red crown
of the south, while those on the east, the while
crown of the north. The Osirde statues on the west hold the hek
scepter in the left and and the nekhakha scepter in their right. The
architrave surmounting the Osride
pillars (see also Osiris),
which once supported a grooved cornice, provide the dedication
written by Ramesses III, in two lines, which states:
"He has made the house of Ramesses, sovereign of Heliopolis
in the house of Amun, in perfectly sound white stone"
The interior walls are decorated with various festival scenes and
texts.
Beyond the court is a vestibule on a higher level that was also
fronted by similar Osiride pillars between which runs a parapet 1.83
meters high, except for the central area. The east face of the
pillar to the left of the entranceway provides an excellent example
of the royal name of Ramesses III, Usermaatre Meryamun, and below
that the name of Mut (the
vulture) is carved. A row of bud papyriform columns is set behind
the Osiride pillars. Here, the walls are adorned with scenes of
sacred processions. The remains of two large statues of Sekmet
produced in black granite, similar to those in the temple of Ptah, were
found on each side of the doorway that communicates with the next
chamber (they hypostyle hall).
On the pedestal of the statue on the left was written, "Beloved of
Mut-Sekhmet, lady of Asheru", while on that of the right, "Beloved
of Sekhmet-Menhit".
A small, shallow hypostyle hall follows with two rows of
four bud columns each. The shafts of these columns emerge from eight
leaves that are carved above the pedestals. Two of the royal
cartouches, with a uraei crowned by the solar disk, are engraved in
sunk relief, alternate between each of these leaves. Surmounting
these cartouches is a register of tableaux carved in very light
relief. Above the five constrictive bands of the shaft of these
columns, and just below the abacus, the two
cartouches found at the bottom of the shaft are repeated, though
here only is flanked by uraei. These cartouches are crowned by solar
disks. Scenes within this hall portray the daily worship of Amun,
with the king entering the room followed by two gods, including Montu.
In the rear of the hypostyle hall, a darkened area contains three
contiguous chapels for the barques of Karnak triad, as well as a few
small rooms. Here, the ceiling was at one level except for the
sanctuary of Amun and its flanking rooms, so that a row of
clerestory windows at the rear of the hypostyle hall lighted the
back of the temple, with additional light provided by slots between
the slabs of the ceiling.
There was a drainage system for water here on the roof, with
three gargoyles on each side of the temple. The roofing slabs were
placed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, except above the
vestibule.
The Bubastite Portal
Just beside this temple between it and the second pylon is the so
called "Bubastite Portal", which gives access to the now famous
scenes of Sheshonk I
(Shoshenq I), believed to be the Shishak of biblical fame (1
Kings 14: 25-26). The inscriptions on the architrave and pillars
that frame the portico are in the name of Sheshonq I and his
successors of the 22nd
Dynasty. The scenes depict this Libyan king smiting captive enemies
on the south face of the main temple's walls. These scenes
graphically portray his successful campaign into Palestine, which is
believed to be recounted in 1 Kings 14, and 2 Chronicles 12 of the
Bible. Sheshenq himself is presented on the posts of the
doorway, along with his son, Iuput, high
priest of Amun
at Karnak.
A portal on the courtyard's opposite, northern side communicates
with the open-air
museum where a number of small monuments have been reconstructed
from dismantled blocks found within the temple's walls and pylons.
These include the nearly complete limestone barque
chapel of Senusret
I, shrines of Amenhotep
I and II,
and Hatshepsut's
red quartzite "Chapelle
Rouge", which has only recently been reconstructed.
The Second Pylon
At the rear of the courtyard is the second pylon and a vestibule
that precedes it, but architecturally forming one building. The
western section of the vestibule preserves the vestiges of the
tableaux carved in the name of Horemheb, but who's
cartouches were subsequently added on to by Ramesses I and II. On the
south wall of the vestibule is carved a relief of Amun, who is
holding the scythe in his right and and the was scepter in
his left.
This pylon was fronted by two striding colossi of Ramesses II, of
which only the feet of one remain. Fronting these is a third,
standing statue of the king with the small image of his daughter and
queen, Bent'anta,
standing between his feet. The statue was later usurped by both Ramesses VI of the
20th Dynasty, and
Pinudjem I of the 21st
Dynasty. This pylon was begun during the reign of Horemheb, but
was not completed until perhaps the reign of Seti I
(though also perhaps Ramesses I). Now removed, its core was filled
with many sandstone talatat blocks of an earlier temple of
Akhenaten. In the
southwest corner of the second pylon is an unfinished Anta Pillar
with a depiction of Prince Osorkon I being
breast fed by Hathor.
Like the first pylon, this one also has grooves (four) for
flagstaffs in each tower. A staircase in the northern tower rises to
the top of the pylon. There are decorations on this pylon that were
begun by Horemheb and completed by several of his successors. The
gateway of this pylon was called "Illuminating Thebes". The Greeks
entirely reworked this large doorway.
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See Also:
References:
| Title |
Author |
Date |
Publisher |
Reference Number |
| Complete
Temples of Ancient Egypt, The |
Wilkinson, Richard H. |
2000 |
Thames and Hudson, Ltd |
ISBN 0-500-05100-3 |
| History of Egyptian Architecture, A
(The Empire (the New Kingdom) From the Eighteenth Dynasty to
the End of the Twentieth Dynasty 1580-1085 B.C. |
Badawy, Alexander |
1968 |
University of California Press |
LCCC A5-4746 |
| Luxor, Karnak and the Theban
Temples |
Siliotti, Alberto |
2002 |
American University In Cairo Press,
The |
ISBN 977 424 641 1 |
| Ramesses II |
James, T. G. H |
2002 |
Friedman/Fairfax |
ISBN 1-58663-719-3 |
| Temples of Karnak, The |
de Lubicz, R. A. Schwaller |
1999 |
Inner Tradition |
ISBN 0-89281-712-7 |
| Thebes
in Egypt: A Guide to the Tombs and Temples of Ancient
Luxor |
Strudwick, Nigel & Helen |
1999 |
Cornell University Press |
ISBN 0 8014 8616 5 |
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