top of page
Sources:1. Borla, Mathilde : Les Statuettes Funéraires du Musée Égyptien de Turin In: Dossiers d'Archeologie
2003
2. KMT, vol. 14, pt. 1
3. Meskell, Lynn: Intimate archaeologies : the case of Kha and Merit. IN: World Archaeology, Vol. 29,
No. 3, Intimate relationships (Feb. 1998), p. 363-379.
4. Shaw, Ian, Nicholson, Paul: British Museum dictionary of ancient Egypt
London: British Museum Press, 1995.
5. Reeves, Nicholas: Ancient Egypt : the great discoveries : a year-by-year chronicle
London : Thames & Hudson, 2000.
6. Vassilika, Eleni: The tomb of Kha : the architect
Torino : Fondazione Museo delle Antichita Egizie, 2010.
7. Russo, Barbara: Kha (TT 8) and his colleagues : the gifts in his funerary equipment and related
artefacts from Western Thebes
London : Golden House Publications, 2012.
8 https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1107/1107.5831.pdf
9. Raffaella Bianucci, Michael E. Habicht, Stephen Buckley, Joann Fletcher, Roger Seiler, Lena M.
Öhrström, Eleni Vassilika, Thomas Böni, Frank J. Rühl. "Shedding New Light on the 18th Dynasty
Mummies of the Royal Architect Kha and His Spouse Merit", in PLOS-One, July 22, 2015
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131916
Images of Deir el-Medina:
past & present
The temple of Amun of Ramesses II
The temple complex is located on the northern side of the settlement of Deir el-Medina.
The small building of the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the goddess Hathor stands within the mud-brick wall. Opposite the Hathor temple, across the valley to the east, are the remains of a temple dedicated to Amun and the other members of the Theban triad (Mut and Khonsu) stand. The temple was built by Ramesses II (1279-1212 BC).
My aim was to compare Ann Bomann's plans and detailed descriptions using her text published in 1991 pp. 47-48 with the remains of the cult buildings at Deir el-Medina in February 2007. The results together with the photographs can be found below.
The temple consisted of a forecourt, outer and inner halls, pronaos and a sanctuary. A flight of steps led to the forecourt. Its floor was once paved. Beyond the forecourt were two limestone steps leading to the entrance of the outer hall.
The Outer Hall was the forecourt of the temple during the first phase of construction. Later
the temple was enlarged and it became an outer hall. It had benches on both the north and south walls. The hall had two central columns. The benches and the two columns have disappeared. The outer hall measured 6.40 by 5.20 m. In front of the doorway to the inner hall there were steps in the form of tiers that spanned the width of the outer hall.
A limestone threshold, made up of two unequally cut slabs, has architrave grooves and a pivot hole on the right. There may have been a single-panelled door leading to the inner hall.
A flight of six steps, running between balustrades with rounded tops, leads to the pronaos. At the top of the steps there were columns on either side.
The sanctuary was divided into three parts. The dimensions of the shrines were 2 m long and 1.90 m wide.
View of the flight of six steps
looking west towards the entrance
into the pronaos. The floor of the
inner hall can be seen through the
doorway.
Standing in the pronaos and looking west, you can see the enclosure wall of the main Ptolemaic temple - its northern part - and on the right the chapels north of the enclosure wall.
Standing in the pronaos and looking south-west you can see the enclosure wall of the main temple - its southern part - and on the left the western cemetery of Deir el-Medina.
The text on this page was written by Lenka Peacock
Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock
Sources:
1. Wilkinson, R. H. : The complete temples of Ancient Egypt.
London : Thames & Hudson, 2000.
2. Bomann, Ann H.: The private chapel in ancient Egypt : a study of the chapels in the workmen's village at el Amarna with special reference to Deir el-Medina and other sites.
London : Kegan Paul International, 1991. pp. 47-48
bottom of page