The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, also known as Kom el-Hettân, was built by the main architect Amenhotep, son of Habu, for the Pharaoh Amenhotep III during the 18th Dynasty in the New Kingdom. The mortuary temple is located on the Western bank of the Nile river, across from the Eastern bank city of Luxor. During its time, the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III was the largest funerary complex in Thebes that was built. Currently, only parts of the mortuary temple's layout remains, as well as the Colossi of Memnon, which are two large stone statues placed at the entrance measuring 18 meters high. Because the mortuary temple was built relatively close to the river, the annual flooding caused the site to decay at a more rapid rate over time. The Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Project have helped conserve the site as well as possible.
Excavation history
Dr. Hourig Sourouzian was the main excavator in the early 2000s and the site was visited by Dr. Zahi Hawass, although the mortuary temple was previously excavated in the late 1900s as well. Laurent Bavay examined the pottery found at the site from the 1999-2002 excavation seasons. The Hypostyle Hall was cleared by Myriam Seco Álvarez.
Temple layout
The temple faced to the East, which is most likely due to the sun rising in the East, since Amenhotep III revered the sun god Amun-Re. At the front of the mortuary temple, the Colossi of Memnon can be found, and as one enters, the long Hypostyle Hall leads to the Peristyle Sun Court, and the whole area is surrounded by three pylons, also known as gates. The Sun court is divided into the North and South halves and consisted of statues of both Amenhotep III and the gods. The North side had statues made of brown quartzite from Lower Egypt, while the South side had red granite from Aswan in Upper Egypt.
Major findings and their significance
Some of the pottery examined by Laurent Bavay were ring-based cups, beer jars, and wine amphorae, which were mainly found in the Peristyle Sun Court and Third Pylon. Some stelae were found at the entrance of the Sun Court, which may have described the pharaoh's building accomplishments. There are hundreds of freestanding statues, sphinxes, and massive stelae throughout the mortuary temple. Some of these include: numerous statues of Sekhmet, animals, Egyptian gods, and Amenhotep III as a god. Dr. Betsy Brian suggests that Amenhotep III may have organized the animal and Sekhmet statues into maps of the heavens, therefore bringing the heavens to Earth. As for the white hippopotamus, archaeologists are unsure of what it represents since there are no written documents or evidence that suggest its purpose, although some have guessed that it was used as some form of ritual. Some Sekhmet statues are standing, some are sitting, while some are holding a papyrus scepter on left hand, and the symbol of life on the right hand. Why are there hundreds of Sekhmet statues? Jean Yoyotte suggests that the goddess Sekhmet is given importance because not only is she the "mistress of drunkenness", but she provides healing qualities, which are meant to cure any illnesses of Amenhotep III. Also, she played an important role in the royal jubilee in order to "protect the sun-king against the enemies of the sun". Having building materials from both Upper and Lower Egypt was a way Amenhotep III established sema-tawy of both lands. He also establishes Ma'at over Islet by having the statues of fauna, and therefore having control over them, as well as having depictions of bounded Egyptian enemies by some of the many statues of himself. The whole temple also symbolizes a mound and the "emergence of the world from the primeval waters of creation" every time the Nile river flooded the temple, since the Egyptians believed that the Earth was formed by a mound emerging from the water. Amenhotep III wanted to be revered as a god on Earth, not just in the afterlife once he is dead. He builds this enormous mortuary temple to leave a legacy that he was a living god who ruled on Earth.
The Temple's future
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Mansour Boraik, Ali el-Asfar and Ibrahim Soliman want to bring back the artifacts and findings from the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III to the original site, since they are dispersed in different museums. They hope to form an open-air museum and to eventually bring awareness of the importance of on-site conservation.
