Malkata
Location | Luxor, Luxor Governorate, Egypt |
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Region | Upper Egypt |
Coordinates | 25°42′55″N 32°35′28″E / 25.71528°N 32.59111°E |
Type | Palace complex |
Part of | Theban Necropolis, Thebes |
History | |
Periods | New Kingdom of Egypt |
Associated with | |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | Georges Daressy (1888) The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1910–1920) University Museum of Pennsylvania (1970s) The Archaeological Mission of Waseda University (1985) |
Malkata (or Malqata;
Palace of Amenhotep III
Malkata in hieroglyphs | ||||||||||
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Pn-ṯḥn-Jtn The Dazzling Aten |
There are various structures in the desert, consisting of several residential palaces, a temple of Amun, a festival hall, elite villas, houses for the relatives of the royal family, apartments for attendants, and a desert altar termed the Kom al-Samak, all of which were constructed of mud bricks.
The palace was built in the 14th century BC and its ancient name was
To the east of the palace a large ceremonial lake was dug. The palace area was connected to the Nile through a system of canals, which end in a large harbour or quay, now called Birket Habu.
Layout of the palace
The palace contained many audience halls, central halls, courtyards, villas, smaller palace complexes for the royal family, and apartments for officials. The harbor and canal connected the palace with the Nile, allowing easy travel across the river to the city of Thebes, which was situated on the eastern bank. There is little evidence of this lake today and little but the foundations of the palace itself remain.
The royal apartment featured a bedroom, a dressing room, a private audience chamber, and a harem, which, after the reign of Amenhotep III, was used simply for storage. The palace had a central courtyard, and across from the pharaoh's rooms were apartments for his daughters and son. His Great Royal Wife, Tiye, had her own smaller palace complex diagonally across from the pharaoh's. The palace grounds contained gardens and a large pleasure lake.
Remains exist of a temple of Amun to the north of the palace, within the complex. A "desert altar" on the outskirts of the ruins has also been excavated. Remains of a temple to the goddess Isis lie south of the main palace complex.
Malqata was managed by a veritable army of servants and staff. Remains of kitchens near the royal chamber have been found, as well as servant quarters. The palace resembled a complete city, with officials in charge of different sections, such as the gardens and the different apartments and quarters.
Palace decorations
Fragments of plastered wall paintings have given archaeologists a glimpse of how the palace was decorated. Various paintings of the goddess Nekhbet made up the ceiling of the royal bedchamber. The walls were decorated with scenes of wildlife - flowers, reeds, and animals in the marshes, as well as decorative geometric designs, complete with rosettes. Ornate wooden columns painted to resemble lilies supported the ceilings. In the palace archaeologists also found some paintings of the great royal wife, Tiye. Rare traces of original wall paintings are still visible on site, despite the badly ruined state of the mudbrick walls.
History of the palace
The palace seems to have been begun by
Malqata was abandoned by
Tutankhamen's successor, Ay, probably inhabited the palace briefly, and pharaoh Horemheb after him as well, but by the ascension of Ramesses II, it was simply a minor residence, as the capital was moved to Pi-Ramesses in the far north.
Excavations
The palace ruins were "rediscovered" several times: in 1888 by
Deir el-Shelwit
Temple of Isis
Just south of the palace there is a temple devoted to Isis which was built in the Roman period. The modern name for this temple is Deir al-Shalwi.
Roman settlement and cemetery
Excavations of the area by the Waseda team unearthed the remains of a Roman settlement and cemetery, finding remains from the times of Trajan and Hadrian.
Malkata today
Next to the site is a modern village. Here there is a tiny church and monastery dedicated to Saint Theodore Stratelates, also called Tawdros (or Tadros) of Shotep (AD 281-319).
See also
- Malqata Menat
- Aten (city), also known as The Dazzling Aten.
References
- Fletcher, J. Egypt's Sun King: Amenhotep III, 2000
- Uphill, Eric P.: Egyptian Towns and Cities. Shire Egyptology Series 8 (1988).