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1. Karnak before the time of Thothmes I., B.C. 1633.

From Mariette, Karnak, Pl. VI.

2. Karnak during the reign of Thothmes I. 3. Karnak during the reign of Queen Hatshepset, B.C. 16co.

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pronaos of the temple at Denderah was built by the people of that town. At the end of this avenue, to the right, is a road which leads to the so-called Temple of Mut,* which was also approached by an avenue of sphinxes. Within the enclosure there stood originally two temples, both of which were dedicated to Amen, built during the reign of Amenophis III.; Rameses II. erected two obelisks in front of the larger temple. To the north-west of these a smaller temple was built in Ptolemaic times, and the ruins on one side of it show that the small temples which stood there were either founded or restored by Rameses II., Osorkon, Thekeleth, Sabaco, Nectanebus I., and the Ptolemies. Behind the temple enclosure are the remains of a temple dedicated to Ptah of Memphis by Thothmes III.; the three doors behind it and the courts into which they lead were added by Sabaco, Tirhakah, and the Ptolemies.

Returning to the end of the avenue of sphinxes which leads from Luxor to Karnak, a second smaller avenue orna mented with a row of ram-headed sphinxes on each side is entered; at the end of it stands the splendid pylon built by Ptolemy IX, Euergetes II. Passing through the door, a smaller avenue of sphinxes leading to the temple built by

* In the Temple of Mut, by permission of the authorities, Miss Margaret Benson carried out some excavations, and in the first court discovered an almost perfect black granite squatting statue of a scribe called Amen-em-hat. On the front were several lines of well cut hieroglyphics containing prayers to the various great gods of Thebes, and the cartouches on it of Amenophis II. show that the deceased flourished during the first half of the XVIIIth dynasty, about B.C. 1550. The statue is about two feet high, and probably stood in a prominent place in the temple with which he was associated. This site had been dug through more than once by Mariette and by natives, and Miss Benson's "find" indicates that the neighbouring ground should be explored once again. Further excavations by Miss Benson brought to light about forty Sekhet figures, and cartouches of Rameses II., Rameses III., Rameses IV., Rameses VI., and Shishak I. inscribed upon statues and walls.

Rameses III. is reached; the smali avenue of sphinxes and eight of its columns were added by Rameses XIII. This temple was dedicated to Khonsu, and appears to have been built upon the site of an ancient temple of the time of Amenophis III. To the west of this temple is a smaller temple built by Ptolemy IX, Euergetes II.

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(south) side are the ruins of a temple built by Rameses III., and on the left are those of another built by Seti II. This court or hall was the work of Shashanq, the first king of the XXIInd dynasty. On each side of the steps leading through the second pylon was a colossal

statue of Rameses II.; that on the right hand has now disappeared. Passing through this pylon, the famous "Hall of Columns" is entered. The twelve columns forming the double row in the middle are about sixty feet high and about thirty-five feet in circumference; the other columns,

PLAN OF KARNAK-4.

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Karnak during the reign of Thothmes III., B.C. 1600.
From Mariette, Karnak, Pl. VI.

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122 in number, are about forty feet high and twenty-seven feet in circumference. Rameses I. set up one column, Seti I., the builder of this hall, set up seventy-nine, and the remaining fifty-four were set up by Rameses II. It

is thought that this hall was originally roofed over. At the end of it is the third propylon, which was built by Amenophis III., and served as the entrance to the temple until the time of Rameses I. Between this and the next pylon is a narrow passage, in the middle of which stood two obelisks which were set up by Thothmes I.; the southern one is still standing, and bears the names of this king, but the northern one has fallen,* and its fragments show that Thothmes III. caused his name to be carved on it. At the southern end of this passage are the remains of a gate built by Rameses IX. The fourth and fifth pylons were built by Thothmes I. Between them stood fourteen columns, six of which were set up by Thothmes I., and eight by Amenophis II., and two granite obelisks; one of the obelisks still stands. They were hewn out of the granite quarry by the command of Hatshepset,† the daughter of Thothmes I., and sister and wife of Thothmes II. and aunt of Thothmes III. This able woman set them up in honour of "father Åmen,” and she relates in the inscriptions on the base of the standing obelisk that she covered their tops with tchām, i.e., gold containing a large proportion of silver, so that they could be seen from a very great distance, and that she had them hewn and brought down to Thebes in about seven months. These obelisks were brought into their chamber from the south side, and were 98 and 105 feet high respectively; the masonry round their bases is of the time of Thothines III.

The sixth pylon and the two walls which flank it on the north and south are the work of Thothmes III.,

* It was standing when Pococke visited Egypt in 1737-1739.

"Scarcely had the royal brother and husband of Hashop (sic) closed his eyes, when the proud queen threw aside her woman's veil, and appeared in all the splendour of Pharaoh, as a born king. For she laid aside her woman's dress, clothed herself in man's attire, and adorned herself with the crown and insignia of royalty." (Brugsch's Egypt under the Pharaohs, Vol. I., p. 349.)

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