We are off to Deir el-Bahari and the funerary Temple of Hatshepsut. This is the incredibly impressive and modern looking temple that I saw so prominently from the hot air balloon. Designed by the architect Senenmut, in the 18th-dynasty, it was constructed sometime after Hatshepsut came to power in 1479BCE. Hatshepsut’s temple is partially built into the mountains where the goddess who presided over this necropolis lived and whose progressive rock falls from the cliffs were largely responsible for much of its destruction. |
The temple was uncovered in 1894-96AD and underwent a partial restoration. A fuller restoration that included the third terrace, sanctuary and retaining wall was begun in 1968.
The Temple of Hatshepsut was modeled after the nearby mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II, who built the first structure at Deir el-Bahari. His temple was a completely innovative concept in that it served as both tomb and temple — though the pharaoh would not have actually been buried in the complex, but rather in a tomb cut into the rock of the cliffs behind it. While Senenmut’s design for Hatshepsut’s temple mirrored that of Mentuhotep II, it was on a much grander scale. |
The temple faces east and consists of a series of vast terraces — all three levels exemplify the traditional Egyptian value of symmetry. In addition, Senenmut’s design marked another leap forward in Egyptian architecture — it blended organically with the surrounding landscape and towering cliffs. So new and revolutionary was this design concept that the temple was called Djeser-djeseru “more splendid than splendid.”
Originally a tree-lined avenue of 100 sphinxes and obelisks led up to the temple, with ramps connecting terrace to terrace. This temple along with its neighboring ones built by King Mentuhotep II and Thutmose III were linked by a half-mile long causeway to valley temples with docking facilities along the Nile.
Queen Hatshepsut, as you may remember, was the daughter of Thutmose I, who also fathered her step brother Thutmose II, whom she married before she was 20 years old. During that time Hatshepsut was elevated to the position of God’s Wife of Amun, the highest honor a woman could attain in Egypt after the position of queen. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter. Thutmose II fathered a son, with his lesser wife Isis, named Thutmose III and who was named his father’s successor. Thutmose II died while his son was still a child, so Hatshepsut became regent, controlling the affairs of state until Thutmose III came of age. |
In the seventh year of her regency, she broke tradition and crowned herself pharaoh of Egypt. Her reign was one of the most prosperous and peaceful in Egypt’s history, characterized by successful trade, a booming economy, and many public works projects that employed laborers. At either end of the second level colonnade were two temples: The Temple of Hathor and the Temple of Anubis. As a woman in a position of power, Hatshepsut had a special relationship with the goddess Hathor. A temple to Anubis, the guardian and guide to the underworld of the dead, seems to be a common feature in mortuary temples. |
The Punt Colonnade depicts Hatshepsut’s glorious expedition, in 1463 BCE, to the mysterious “land of the gods” — Punt — to bring back incense trees. This land was known to the Egyptians since the Early Dynastic Period (3150-2613 BCE) but either the route had been forgotten or more recent pharaohs didn't consider an expedition worth their time and resources. Most likely Punt is what we know today as Somalia. Her ability to launch such an expedition was testimony to her ambition in reviving the traditions and glory of the past as well as the wealth of the country under her rule.
Meanwhile, her stepson Thutmose III had grown up, was leading the armies of Egypt on successful conquests of other lands, and was restless to rule in his own right. In fact, he is considered one the great military leaders in the history of ancient Egypt and remembered still as the Napoleon of Egypt.
In 1457 BCE, he led his armies to victory at the Battle of Megiddo, and afterwards Hatshepsut’s name disappears from historical record. Thutmose III assumed the position of pharaoh and had all evidence of Hatshepsut’s reign destroyed by having her image and name cut from all public records and monuments. He then took the bold step to backdate his reign to the death of his father, and all of Hatshepsut’s accomplishments as pharaoh were ascribed to him. | Old Kingdom of Egypt 2613-2181 BCE New Kingdom 1570-1069 BCE Third Intermediate Period 1069-525 BCE Ptolemaic Dynasty 323 - 30 BCE |
Expunging Hatshepsut’s name on earth was, according to Egyptian belief, to condemn that person to non-existence. Because one needed to be remembered in order to continue one’s eternal journey in the afterlife. Scholars believe that his actions had less to do with Hatshepsut personally, and more to do with eradicating any overt evidence of a strong female pharaoh, because traditionally all rulers were male … and the “god forbid” women in the future emulated Hatshepsut!
Besides the damage to the temple by Thutmose III, who replaced her images with his own and buried her statues nearby, it was also desecrated by the later pharaoh Akhenaten (1353-1336BCE). By Akenaten’s time, Hatshepsut had been forgotten, so his angst wasn’t with her being a female pharaoh, but with her god. The ramp to the third level brought us to the three most significant areas: Royal Cult Chapel, Solar Cult Chapel, and the Sanctuary of Amun-Re. The latter is cut into the mountain itself. |
The Sanctuary of Amun-Re is through a granite portal off the Peristyle Courtyard. It is composed of interconnected room: Barque Hall, Statue Room, two chapels dedicated to the Theban triad, and the innermost Sanctuary. In its day, the Sanctuary was only accessible to the pharaoh and the priests responsible for performing the prescribed rituals.
Still later, Hatshepsut’s Temple became a Christian convent. Ironically, the Christian’s use of the temple guaranteed that it would not be further destroyed.
Hatshepsut’s name remained unknown up until the mid-19th century when excavations nearby unearthed the statues of her broken by Thutmose III. However, it wasn’t until later when Jean-Francois Champollion, who published his translation of the Rosetta Stone in 1824, visited Hatshepsut’s temple was it realized that the hieroglyphs referenced a female pharaoh during the New Kingdom of Egypt.
How and when Hatshepsut died was a mystery until recently. She was not buried in her mortuary temple, but in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. From a tooth in a box in her tomb, her identity was confirmed, and scientific methods have determined that she died in her 50s from an abscess following the tooth’s extraction.
Many of the statues of Queen Hatshepsut and the sphinxes that once stood in the temple have been reconstructed from the thousands of smashed fragments found. Some of these will be on exhibit at the new G.E.M. when it opens and others can be found elsewhere in the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York — I’ve most likely seen at least one there in the past.
Hatshepsut’s name remained unknown up until the mid-19th century when excavations nearby unearthed the statues of her broken by Thutmose III. However, it wasn’t until later when Jean-Francois Champollion, who published his translation of the Rosetta Stone in 1824, visited Hatshepsut’s temple was it realized that the hieroglyphs referenced a female pharaoh during the New Kingdom of Egypt.
How and when Hatshepsut died was a mystery until recently. She was not buried in her mortuary temple, but in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. From a tooth in a box in her tomb, her identity was confirmed, and scientific methods have determined that she died in her 50s from an abscess following the tooth’s extraction.
Many of the statues of Queen Hatshepsut and the sphinxes that once stood in the temple have been reconstructed from the thousands of smashed fragments found. Some of these will be on exhibit at the new G.E.M. when it opens and others can be found elsewhere in the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York — I’ve most likely seen at least one there in the past.