History of the Karnak Temple complex
The history of the
Middle Kingdom
By the time the
The major construction of this era was the laying out of the Middle Kingdom court.
New Kingdom
The New Kingdom saw the relatively modest temple expanded into a huge state religious centre, as the wealth of Egypt increased.
Eighteenth Dynasty
Major expansion of the temple complex took place during the Eighteenth Dynasty.[5] Amenhotep I constructed a barque shrine and a gateway.[5] Thutmose I erected an enclosure wall around the Middle Kingdom temple, connecting the Fourth and Fifth pylons, which comprise the earliest part of the temple still standing in situ. They contain fourteen papyrus columns and the two obelisks of Hatshepsut, which were later hidden from view by walls set up by Thutmose III. Thutmose II laid out a Festival Courtyard at the front of the temple, removed by later construction, but block of which have been recovered from the fill in the Third Pylon.[5] Under Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, another enclosure wall fortified with towers was erected, and the nearby Sacred Lake was either constructed or enlarged.[6] During the reign of Thutmose III, the main temple itself was extended by 50% with the addition of a building called the Akh-menu. This is normally translated as "the most glorious of monuments", but there is an alternative translation. According to Gardiner's Egyptian Grammar, the word akh can mean either glory or blessed/living spirit (For instance, Akhenaten is often translated as "living spirit of Aten"). So an alternative translation is "monument to living spirit". It is now known as the Festival Hall of Thutmose III, which is seemingly decorated to echo a huge tent shrine, complete with awnings and tent poles.[7]
In this temple, the
Nineteenth Dynasty
Construction of the
The last rulers of this dynasty added little to the temple complex.
Twentieth Dynasty
As the power of the Egyptian Empire declined, construction declined in all of Thebes, and this is reflected in the building work carried out during this time. The
After this, the later kings of the period added little to the overall complex, and concentrated on the Temple of Khonsu. The fading power of the dynasty is illustrated by the depiction of the
Third Intermediate Period
In the
Twenty second Dynasty
The
Twenty-fifth Dynasty
Taharqa is the only king that made additions to the complex, building the Edifice of Tarhaqa to the forecourt between the First and Second Pylons. This meant that the Avenue of Sphinxes was moved to the sides of the court, where they are still located.[10] He also added a colonnade to the Precinct of Montu
Late Period
Thirtieth Dynasty
The last major change to the temple's layout was the addition of the First pylon and the massive enclosure walls that surround the whole Karnak complex, both constructed by Nectanebo I, completing the layout started by the kings of the 22nd Dynasty.[11]
Final developments
Ptolemaic
Roman period
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Christian era
In 323 AD,
Rediscovery
Greek and Roman accounts
References to the complex are found in Herodotus’, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo and presumably Hecataeus of Abdera and Manetho, but we only retain fragments of their works, though none of these authors relates more than rudimentary information about the complex. Strabo states that Thebes at the time of his visit is nothing more than a collection of smaller villages, though its once grandness could still be imagined.
European rediscovery
Thebes' exact placement was unknown in medieval Europe, though both Herodotus and Strabo gave the exact location of Thebes and how long up the
The Karnak temple complex is first described by an unknown Venetian in 1589, though his account relates no name for the complex. This account, housed in the
Karnak ("Carnac") as a village name, and name of the complex, is first attested in 1668, when two Capuchin missionary brothers, Protais and Charles François d'Orléans, travelled though the area. Protais' writing about their travel was published by Melchisédech Thévenot (Relations de divers voyages curieux, 1670s–1696 editions) and Johann Michael Vansleb (The Present State of Egypt, 1678).
The first drawing of Karnak, rather inaccurate and frequently confusing when viewed with modern eyes, is found in Paul Lucas' travel account of 1704, Voyage du Sieur paul Lucas au Levant. He had travelled in Egypt between 1699 and 1703. The drawing shows a mixture of the Precinct of Amun-Re and the Precinct of Montu, based on a complex confined by the three huge Ptolemaic gateways of Ptolemy III Euergetes / Ptolemy IV Philopator, and the massive 113m long, 43m high and 15m thick, first Pylon of the Precinct of Amun-Re.
Karnak was visited and described in succession by
Modern archaeology
In April 2018, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery of the shrine of god Osiris- Ptah Neb, dating back to the 25th dynasty. According to archaeologist Essam Nagy, the material remains from the area contained clay pots, the lower part of a sitting statue and part of a stone panel showing an offering table filled with a sheep and a goose which werethe symbols of the god Amun.[14][15][16]
References
- ^ a b c Blyth, 1996, p.7
- ^ Blyth, 1996, p.9
- ^ Blyth, 1996, p.10
- ^ Kemp, 1989 , p.188
- ^ a b c Strudwick & Strudwick (1999), p.51
- ^ Simpson, pp. 128–131
- ^ Kemp, 1989, p.202
- ^ Blyth, 2007, p.164
- ^ Strudwick & Strudwick (1999), p.61
- ^ a b c d Strudwick & Strudwick (1999), p.63
- ^ Strudwick & Strudwick, 1999, p.64
- ^ Blyth, 2006, p.226
- ^ Blyth, 2006, p.234
- ^ "Archaeologists find bust of Roman emperor in Egypt dig in Aswan". Arab News. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ DPA, Daily Sabah with (22 April 2018). "Archeologists find Roman emperor bust, ancient shrine in Egypt". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Shrine to Osiris and bust of Roman emperor found in Egypt". digitaljournal.com. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
Bibliography
- Blyth, Elizabeth (2006). Karnak: Evolution of a Temple. Oxford: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-40487-8.
- Kemp, Barry (1989). Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. Oxford: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-06346-9.
- Smith, W. Stevenson (1998). The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt. Rev. by William Kelly Simpson (3rd ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-07747-5.
- Strudwick, Nigel & Helen (1999). Thebes in Egypt: A Guide to the Tombs and Temples of Ancient Luxor. Ithaca, New York. ISBN 0-8014-8616-5.)
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