The Ramesseum Temple

The Dynasty XIX temples of Rameses II are scattered throughout the whole of Egypt, but this, his mortuary temple on the West Bank of Thebes, is probably the most famous. It was Champollion who first gave it the commonly used name of ‘The Ramesseum’. It is situated on the east side of the road at Sheikh ‘Abd el-Qurna.

At one time the waters of the inundation must have reached almost to the temple’s east-facing first pylon and this has contributed to the collapsed condition of this structure we see today. It is still possible, however, to climb up the side of the pylon and stand on the top, which gives a good overview of the temple and the cultivated area towards the river. The outer face was originally carved with scenes of Rameses before various gods in the traditional style. The inner face has reliefs of the Battle of Kadesh, the pharaoh’s most famous battle against the Hittites, which includes a record of the year the battle was fought (year 5 of his reign).

The first court had two columned porticos, but now these are also in a derelict condition. The portico on the southern side led into a small palace which has now largely vanished. On the western side of the first court a gigantic seated colossus of Rameses II, once approximately 20m high, has fallen to the ground and now lies face down, in fragments. It was the romantic aspect of this massive granite statue which inspired the English poet Shelley to write his famous ‘Ozymandias’ in 1817, the name presumably taken from Rameses’ prenomen, Usermaatre.

The second court is on a higher level than the first court and was also surrounded on each side by a portico of columns. In front of the second pylon a row of four Osirid pillars are decorated with scenes of Rameses offering to a variety of gods. The portico on the western side similarly has Osirid statues against its columns and the base of another colossal statue of the pharaoh on its southern side. There were originally a pair of colossi here but only the black granite head of the northern statue remains in the court today, set up in front of the ramps leading to the hypostyle hall. The rear wall of the portico shows the king offering to various deities and receiving Heb Sed symbols from the Theban Triad. Eleven princes, sons of Rameses, are also depicted on this wall.

Three doors lead into the hypostyle hall, its roof supported by 48 elegant papyrus columns which have recently been cleaned to show their original colours and decoration. On the entrance wall (east) of the hypostyle the reliefs once more show Rameses’ military exploits such as his victory in the Battle of Tunip and the capture of the city of Dapur in year 8 of his reign. The king’s mother Tuya, his wife Nefertari and some of his children are also depicted here. The wall on the western side of the hypostyle hall shows Rameses taking part in various ritual functions before the deities and many of his children are again depicted in the registers below. The temple buildings are surrounded by an array of mudbrick storehouses which surprisingly survive in good condition. It is suggested that a chapel of a scribal school was situated among these buildings. Many of these magazines still retain their vaulted ceilings and were probably ignored by those who later re-used the blocks from the stone walls. The whole temple complex is enclosed by a mudbrick wall.

The Ramesseum has been undergoing extensive excavation and restoration by teams of French and Egyptian archaeologists for the past few decades.