Medinet habu ramses 3 biography wikipedia

Aside from its size and architectural and artistic importance, the mortuary temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III , including the Battle of the Delta.

Ramesses iii dna

The first European to describe the temple in modern literature was Vivant Denon , who visited it in — Initial excavation of the temple took place sporadically between and , under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities. During these decades the main temple was cleared, and a large number of the Greco-Roman period buildings, including a substantial Byzantine Church in the second court, were destroyed without notes or records being taken.

The further excavation, recording and conservation of the temple has been facilitated in chief part by the Architectural and Epigraphic Surveys of the University of Chicago Oriental Institute , almost continuously since The temple, some m ft long, is of orthodox design, and closely resembles the nearby mortuary temple of Ramesses II the Ramesseum.

The temple precinct measures approximately m ft. The original entrance is through a fortified gate-house, known as a migdol a common architectural feature of Asiatic fortresses of the time. The first pylon leads into an open courtyard, lined with colossal statues of Ramesses III as Osiris on one side, and uncarved columns on the other.

The second pylon leads into a peristyle hall, again featuring columns in the shape of Ramesses. The third pylon is reached by continuing up a ramp that leads through a columned portico and then opens into a large hypostyle hall which has lost its roof.

Ramses iii moses

Reliefs and actual heads of foreign captives were also found placed within the temple, perhaps in an attempt to symbolise the king's control over Syria and Nubia. In the Greco-Roman and Byzantine period, there was a church inside the temple structure, which has since been removed. Some of the carvings in the main wall of the temple have been altered by Christian carvings.

The royal palace was directly connected with the first courtyard of the temple via the "Window of Appearances". The Medinet Habu king list is a procession celebrating the festival of Min , with the names of nine pharaohs.