The The upper court. The visitor should now walk round to the Hathor Chapel, which stands to the south of the Punt Colonnade, corresponding in situation to the Anubis Chapel, which has already been seen on the north side of the temple. We first enter a hall, the columns of which are now for the most part destroyed. Some of these had Hathor capitals (see Dendereh, p. 32). On the wall to our right (28) there are some interesting festival scenes. In the bottom row soldiers, carrying branches of trees as well as their arms, run forward to the sound of the tom-tom. At the right end two men dance and others beat castanets. Above are the festal boats, upon which are vacant thrones under canopies, which will be occupied by the king and queen. Farther to the left (29) Thothmes IIIrd presents a sacred oar to Hathor. On the adjoining wall (30) Hatshepsut, whose name is changed to that of Thothmes IInd, dances before Hathor; and farther along (31) the goddess, in the form of a cow, licks the hand of the enthroned Pharaoh. This scene is repeated (32) on the opposite side of the doorway. Passing through this doorway we enter the inner chambers. The first of these rooms is a small two-pillared hall, from which four little shrines lead off. On the right wall as we enter (33) Thothmes IIIrd is seen offering a curious symbol to Hathor. On the next wall (34) there is an erased figure of Hatshepsut making offerings to Hathor. On the left side of the entrance doorway (35) an erased figure of Hatshepsut is seen offering harvest sheaves decorated with feathers to Hathor. On the adjoining wall (36) the lion-headed goddess Urthekau offers her necklace to an enthroned figure of AmenRa. A fine doorway, with Hathor totems painted on either side, leads into the inner sanctuary. Here on either side (37) there is a fine figure of the Hathor cow standing under a canopy in its sacred barque, heaps of offerings being placed before it by erased figures of Hatshepsut, in front of whom is the nude boydeity Aha, son of Horus. We then enter the innermost vaulted shrine. On either side (38) the Hathor cow is seen, and Hatshepsut is shown drinking from its udder. At the end wall (39) is a figure of the queen between Amen-Ra and Hathor. In this shrine there probably stood a figure of a Hathor cow, such as that found in the temple of Nebhapetra. We now return to the middle court and ascend the ramp which leads up the hill. At the top of this a granite doorway, erected by Hatshepsut, whose name has been replaced by that of Thothmes IIIrd, is passed, and we find ourselves in the upper court of the temple. Before us is a series of niches in the wall, and in the middle is the doorway leading to the inner sanctuary. On either side of the court are chambers in which the mortuary services were performed. We may first enter the doorway upon our right. Inside this doorway, on the left (40), there is a figure of Hatshepsut, altered to Thothmes IInd, standing between Harmachis and Amen-Ra, to which gods this portion of the temple seems to have been dedicated. In a niche in the opposite wall (41) a little figure of Amen-Ra is seen. In the middle of the hall, on our left, there is a great limestone altar, at the far side of which are steps leading up to it. This altar was dedicated to Harmachis, the great sun-god of Heliopolis, who in the form of Aton became the sole god of Egypt in the reign of Akhnaton (p. 161). There is a little shrine leading off this hall to the right of the altar; but its close proximity to the place where Harmachis was worshipped caused it to suffer heavily under Akhnaton, who, believing that Harmachis was the only god, destroyed all the figures of other gods carved upon its walls. As Thothmes IIIrd had already erased the figure of Hatshepsut in it, we now find only few of the reliefs intact. Entering, we see on the right and left walls the figures of Hatshepsut (erased by Thothmes IIIrd) and those of the gods (erased by Akhnaton). On the end wall (42) there is a well-preserved figure of Thothmes Ist, and an erased figure of Hatshepsut adoring at a shrine in which is a standard or totem of Wepwet. A recess leads off to the left. On the right wall of this Thothmes Ist and Queen Senseneb, his mother, make offerings to an erased figure of Anubis. On the left wall Queen Aahmes, mother of Hatshepsut, and an erased figure of Hatshepsut herself, make offerings to an erased figure of Amen-Ra. On the end wall an erased Anubis salutes the erased Hatshepsut. The representations of Senseneb, Thothmes Ist, and Aahmes in this shrine indicate that the souls of Hatshepsut's ancestors were here adored, and her royal descent celebrated. The colour upon the walls is wonderfully fresh, but it has been somewhat spoilt by a coating of varnish, which has turned yellow with time. On Returning to the court, we may enter the second door upon our right, which admits us to a shrine dedicated to Min-Amen. the right and left walls are large erased figures of Hatshepsut and figures of Thothmes IIIrd (not erased) offering to Min and AmenRa. On the end wall (43) there is a damaged scene showing Hatshepsut, whose name has been changed to that of Thothmes I Ind, embracing Min. Crossing to the other side of the court we may notice on the east wall (44) a troop of soldiers bearing festal standards, &c. Some are leading panthers along, and others carry the two portable thrones of Hatshepsut and Thothmes IIIrd. We may then enter the chapel on our left, i.e. the second door on the south side of the court, which was set apart for the funeral services in honour of Hatshepsut. This chapel is modelled on the form of the Old Kingdom mastaba chapels, the arrangement being much the same as that, for example, in the chapel of Aba (p. 173). Against the end wall stood the stela, but this is now destroyed. The vaulted masonry roof should be noticed. To right and left as we enter (45 and 46) butchers are seen cutting up the meat which is to be sacrificed before the stela. On the right wall (47) there are well-preserved rows of servants bringing all manner of offerings towards the stela. On the opposite wall a similar scene is represented, and the visitor may particularly notice the servants who lead along a crane with its beak tied to its neck. This method of securing a crane is well known: the bird has to thrust its head forward in order to obtain the impetus to begin to fly, and this being rendered impossible, it can only walk. On this wall, just below the point at which the roofed portion begins (48), there is a series of small figures, some kneeling, and some pouring out libations. This represents the well-known funeral service performed by the "Reader-priests," which occurs constantly on the Old Kingdom monuments, and continues throughout Pharaonic times. At the end of the wall, on either side of the chamber, is an erased figure of Hatshepsut seated upon the throne, symbolical of the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. This symbol, so commonly seen, consists of the intertwining of lotus and papyrus stalks, each held by a figure of the Nile-god Hapi. Returning through the court we now visit the next shrine on our left, dedicated to Amen-Ra. Here we have figures of Hatshepsut (whose cartouches have been converted into those of Thothmes Ist and Thothmes I Ind) and Thothmes IIIrd offering to the gods. On our left (49) Hatshepsut is embraced by the goddess Uazet. On the adjoining wall (50) the queen offers cups of wine to MinAmen, and on the next wall (51) the queen on the left and Thothmes IIIrd on the right offer the symbol of fine linen to Amen-Ra. The visitor should now enter the main sanctuary of the temple, which opens from the middle of the west wall of the court. Before its granite doorway is a portico built in Ptolemaic times. Here, in a rough red - paint inscription, mention is made of Amenhotep IIIrd and of Amenhotep, son of Hapu, the wise man of that reign. Entering the first chamber we may notice at the bottom of the wall on the left (52) some well-drawn ducks and other birds supposed to be in a lake. To one side are the squares which represent the irrigated fields. High above this Hatshepsut kneels, and beside her stands her daughter Raneferu. They present offerings to a much-damaged barque of Amen-Ra. On the right wall (53) Hatshepsut, Thothmes IIIrd, and the Princess Raneferu sacrifice to this barque, behind which stood Thothmes Ist, Queen Aahmes, and the little Princess Batineferu. We pass on through the next chamber and reach the innermost shrine, which was entirely rebuilt in Ptolemaic times. On the left and right are various ill-proportioned figures of gods, those on the left wall (54) being led by the deified philosopher Imhotep, and those on the right (55) by the deified Amenhotep, son of Hap (p. 276). Itu would seem that in Ptolemaic times the priests no longer remembered that this building was the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, but regarded it as some mystical sanctuary connected with these two great wise men. A few yards to the north of the Lower Court there is the tomb in which one hundred and sixty-three mummies of priests were found in the year 1891. These are now in the Cairo Museum. In the valley to the south of the temple, behind the hill of Shêkh abd' el Gûrneh, is the tomb in which the great find of royal mummies was made in 1881 (p. 191). The his tory of the temple. CHAPTER XI DÊR EL MEDINEH-THE TOMBS OF THE QUEENS DER EL MEDINEH TH HE temple of Dêr el Medineh, though of small size, is a building of considerable beauty; and visitors should not fail to see it. From Luxor one takes the road which passes the colossi, and at the edge of the desert one leaves the rest-house of the Department of Antiquities on the left, and takes the road which runs straight ahead into the desert. This road presently bends to the right, and passes round behind the hill known as Gurnet Murrai; and the little temple is then reached. From it a pathway leads over the hills to the south to the Tombs of the Queens. Although the present building dates from Ptolemaic times, the site seems to have a much longer history. In the reign of Amenhotep IIIrd (B.C. 1411-1375) there lived a master builder named Amenhotep, the son of Hapu, who was famous for his religious and philosophical teaching. When he died he was buried somewhere in the necropolis of Thebes, and a chapel was erected for the benefit of his soul. In the year B.C. 1380 Amenhotep IIIrd called a meeting of various officials in this chapel, and issued a decree establishing services here for all time. Now the temple of Dêr el Medineh, which was founded by Ptolemy IVth Philopator, has often been thought to have been built upon the ruins of a chapel connected with this Amenhotep; for in the temple there is an inscription which states that the name of this wise man shall abide for ever, and that his sayings shall not perish. In spite of many arguments to the contrary, it is quite possible that the existing temple stands upon the ruins of this chapel which was dedicated to the soul of the old philosopher; and, moreover, it is possible that the tomb of Amenhotep was in the immediate |