Ramesseum from the air - showing pylons and secondary buildings

The Ramesseum is the memorial temple (or mortuary temple) of Pharaoh Ramesses II ("Ramesses the Great", also spelt "Ramses" and "Rameses"). It is located in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor. The name – or at least its French form, Rhamesséion – was coined by Jean-François Champollion, who visited the ruins of the site in 1829 and first identified the hieroglyphs making up Ramesses's names and titles on the walls. It was originally called the House of millions of years of Usermaatra-setepenra that unites with Thebes-the-city in the domain of Amon.^[1] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x683, 112 KB) Ramesseum from the air I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x683, 112 KB) Ramesseum from the air I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Pharaoh was the ancient Egyptian name for the office of kingship. ... Usermaatre-setepenre The Justice of Re is Powerful, Chosen of Re Nomen Ramesses (meryamun) Born of Re, (Beloved of Amun) Horus name Kanakht Merymaa Nebty name Mekkemetwafkhasut Golden Horus Userrenput-aanehktu Consort(s) Isetnofret, Nefertari Maathorneferure Issues Bintanath, Khaemweset, Merneptah, Amun-her-khepsef, Meritamen see also: List of children of... Thebes Thebes (, ThÄ“bai) is the Greek designation of the ancient Egyptian niwt (The) City and niwt-rst (The) Southern City. It is located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile (). Thebes was the capital of Waset, the fourth Upper Egyptian nome... For the record label, see Necropolis Records. ... Map of Upper and Lower Egypt Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt. ... The Nile (Arabic: , transliteration: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. ... The River Nile at Luxor Pharaonic statue in Luxor Temple Hot-air ballooning in Luxor Luxor (Arabic: الأقصر ) is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt and the capital of the Al Uqsur governorate, population approximately 200,000. ... now. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... It has been suggested that Hieroglyph (French Wiki article) be merged into this article or section. ...

Ramesses II

Ramesseum: Hypostyle hall

Main article: Ramesses II

Ramesses II was a 19th dynasty pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled for 67 years during the 13th century BC, the apogee of Ancient Egypt's power and glory. This extraordinarily long reign, the wealth available in the state coffers, and, undeniably, the pharaoh's personal vanity meant that Ramesses, of all the ancient rulers, left what is perhaps the most indelible mark on the country. His legacy can be seen most clearly in the archaeological record – in the many buildings that Ramesses modified, usurped, or constructed from the ground up. View of Ramesseum, Luxor. ... View of Ramesseum, Luxor. ... Usermaatre-setepenre The Justice of Re is Powerful, Chosen of Re Nomen Ramesses (meryamun) Born of Re, (Beloved of Amun) Horus name Kanakht Merymaa Nebty name Mekkemetwafkhasut Golden Horus Userrenput-aanehktu Consort(s) Isetnofret, Nefertari Maathorneferure Issues Bintanath, Khaemweset, Merneptah, Amun-her-khepsef, Meritamen see also: List of children of... Known rulers, in the History of Egypt, for the Nineteenth Dynasty. ... This bronze ritual wine vessel, dating from the Shang Dynasty in the 13th century BC, is housed at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. ... Khafres Pyramid (4th dynasty) and Great Sphinx of Giza (c. ...

The "other" granite head

Most splendid of these, in accordance with New Kingdom Royal burial practices, would have been his memorial temple – a place of worship dedicated to pharaoh, god on earth, where his memory would have been kept alive after his passing from this world. Surviving records indicate that work on the project began shortly after the start of his reign and continued for 20 years. Download high resolution version (528x702, 65 KB)Granite head of Ramses II; Ramesseum, Luxor, Egypt. ... Download high resolution version (528x702, 65 KB)Granite head of Ramses II; Ramesseum, Luxor, Egypt. ... The New Kingdom is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BCE and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt. ...

The design of Ramesses's mortuary temple abides by the standard canons of New Kingdom temple architecture. Oriented northwest and southeast, the temple itself comprised two stone pylons (gateways, some 60 m wide), one after the other, each leading into a courtyard. Beyond the second courtyard, at the centre of the complex, was a covered 48-column hypostyle hall, surrounding the inner sanctuary. Pylon is the Greek term for a monumental gate or door built in front of an Egyptian temple. ... In architecture, a hypostyle hall has a flat ceiling which is supported by columns, as in the Hall of Columns at Karnak. ...

An enormous pylon (gateways, some 60 m wide) stood before the first court, with the royal palace at the left and the gigantic statue of the king looming up at the back.^[2] Pylon is the Greek term for a monumental gate or door built in front of an Egyptian temple. ...

Osirid statues

As is customary, the pylons and outer walls were decorated with scenes commemorating pharaoh's military victories and leaving due record of his dedication to, and kinship with, the gods. In Ramesses's case, much importance is placed on the Battle of Kadesh (ca. 1285 BC); more intriguingly, however, one block atop the first pylon records his pillaging, in the eighth year of his reign, a city called "Shalem", which may or may not have been Jerusalem. Row of osirid statues. ... Row of osirid statues. ... Typical depiction of Osiris Osiris (Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is variously transliterated Asar, Aser, Ausar, Wesir, or Ausare) is the Egyptian god of life, death, and fertility. ... Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ... Combatants New Kingdom of Egypt Hittite Empire Commanders Ramesses II Muwatalli Strength ca. ... (Redirected from 1285 BC) Centuries: 14th century BC - 13th century BC - 12th century BC Decades: 1330s BC 1320s BC 1310s BC 1300s BC 1290s BC - 1280s BC - 1270s BC 1260s BC 1250s BC 1240s BC 1230s BC Events and Trends 1285 BC - Battle of Kadesh: Rameses II, Pharaoh of Egypt... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ...

The scenes of the great pharaoh and his army triumphing over the Hittite forces fleeing before Kadesh, represented in line with the canons of the "epic poem of Pentaur", can still be made out of the pylon.^[2] Kadesh (the most popular spelling; more accurately Qadesh) was an ancient city of the Levant, located on the Orontes River, probably identical to the remains at Tell Nebi Mend, about 24 km southwest of Hims (ca. ...

Only fragments of the base and torso remain of the syenite statue of the enthroned pharaoh, 17 meters high and weighing more than 1000 tons.

Remains of the second court include part of the internal facade of the pylon and a portion of the Osiride portico on the right.^[2] Scenes of war and the rout the Hittites at Kadesh are repeated on the walls.^[2] In the upper registers, feast and honor of the phallic god Min, god of fertility.^[2] On the opposite side of the court the few Osiride pillars and columns still left can furnish an idea of the original grandeur.^[2] Scattered remains of the two statues of the seated king can also be seen, one in pink granite and the other in black granite, which once flanked the entrance to the temple.^[2] Thirty-nine out of the forty-eight columns in the great hypostyle hall (m 41x 31) still stand in the central rows. They are decorated with the usual scenes of the king before various gods. Part of the ceiling decorated with gold stars on a blue ground has also been preserved.^[2] The sons and daughters of Ramesses appear in the procession on the few walls left. The sanctuary was composed of three consecutive rooms, with eight columns and the tetrastyle cell.^[2] Part of the first room, with the ceiling decorated with astral scenes, and few remains of the second room are all that is left.^[2] Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was... Min can be: // Abbreviation for minimum function in mathematics. ... Temple of Hephaestus, an Doric Greek temple in Athens with the original entrance facing east, 449 BC (western face depicted) For other uses, see Temple (disambiguation). ... In architecture, a hypostyle hall has a flat ceiling which is supported by columns, as in the Hall of Columns at Karnak. ...

Adjacent to the north of the hypostyle hall was a smaller temple; this was dedicated to Ramesses's mother, Tuya, and his beloved chief wife, Nefertari. To the south of the first courtyard stood the temple palace. The complex was surrounded by various storerooms, granaries, workshops, and other ancillary buildings, some built as late as Roman times. A tuya is a flat-topped, steep-sided volcano, which has been built up on the surface of a plateau. ... A picture of Nefertari taken in her Abu Simbel temple. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ...

A temple of Seti I, of which nothing is now left but the foundations, once stood to the right of the hypostyle hall. It consisted of a peristyle court with two chapel shrines. The entire complex was enclosed in mud brick walls which started at the gigantic southeast pylon. Menmaatre Eternal is the Strength of Re[1] Nomen Seti Merenptah He of the god Seth, beloved of Ptah[2] Horus name Kanakht Khaemwaset-Seankhtawy Nebty name Wehemmesut Sekhemkhepesh Derpedjetpesdjet Golden Horus Wehemkhau Weserpedjutemtawnebu[3] Consort(s) Queen Tuya Issues Ramesses II, Tia, Henutmire (?) Father Ramesses I Mother Sitre Died...

A cache of papyri and ostraca dating back to the third intermediate period (11th to 8th centuries BC) indicates that the temple was also the site of an important scribal school. Papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus at Kew Gardens, London Papyrus is an early form of paper produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. ... An ostracon with Pericles name written on it (c. ... David and Saul (1885) by Julius Kronberg. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) Ruins of the training grounds at Olympia, Greece. ... This is about scribe, the profession. ...

And neither was this a virgin plot when Ramesses had the first stone put in place: beneath the hypostyle hall, modern archaeologists have found a shaft tomb from the Middle Kingdom, yielding a rich hoard of religious and funerary artefacts. A shaft tomb or shaft grave is a type of burial structure formed from a deep and narrow shaft sunk into natural rock. ...

Remains

Unlike the massive stone temples that Ramesses ordered carved from the face of the Nubian mountains at Abu Simbel, the inexorable passage of three millennia was not kind to his "temple of a million years" at Thebes. This was mostly due to its location on the very edge of the Nile floodplain, with the annual inundation gradually undermining the foundations of this temple, and its neighbours. Neglect and the arrival of new faiths also took their toll: for example, in the early years of the Common Era, the temple was put into service as a Christian church. Nubia is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan. ... Model showing the relative positions of the Abu Simbel temples before and after relocation Categories: Ancient Egypt stubs | Wonders of the World ... Gravel floodplain of a glacial river near the Snow Mountains in Alaska, 1902. ... Era Vulgaris redirects here. ... St. ...

This is all standard fare for a temple of its kind built at the time it was. Leaving aside the escalation of scale – whereby each successive New Kingdom pharaoh strove to outdo his predecessors in volume and scope – the Ramesseum is largely cast in the same mould as Ramesses III's Medinet Habu or the ruined temple of Amenhotep III that stood behind the "Colossi of Memnon" a kilometre or so away. Instead, the significance that the Ramesseum enjoys today owes more to the time and manner of its rediscovery by Europeans. Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, from the air. ... Amenhotep IIIs mortuary temple from the air The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III is located in the Theban necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposiet Luxor in Egypt. ... Amenhotep Hekawaset Amun is Satisfied, Ruler of Thebes[1] Reign 1388 BC – 1351 BC/1350 BC Praenomen Nebmaatre The Lord of Truth is Re[2] Horus name Kanakht Emkhaimaat The strong bull, appearing in truth Nebty name Semenhepusegerehtawy One establishing laws, pacifying the two lands Golden Horus Aakhepesh-husetiu Great... The Colossi of Memnon The Colossi of Memnon (known to locals as el-Colossat, or es-Salamat) are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For the past 3400 years they have stood in the Theban necropolis, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ...

Excavation and Studies

The Ozymandias Colossus

The origins of modern Egyptology can be traced to the arrival in Egypt of Napoleon Bonaparte in the summer of 1798. While undeniably an invasion by an alien imperialist power, this was nonetheless an invasion of its times, informed by Enlightenment ideas: alongside Napoleon's troops went men of science, the same whose toil under the desert sun would later yield the seminal 23-volume Description de l'Égypte. Two French engineers, Jean-Baptiste Prosper Jollois and Édouard de Villiers du Terrage, were assigned to study the Ramesseum site, and it was with much fanfare that they identified it with the "Tomb of Ozymandias" or "Palace of Memnon" of which Diodorus of Sicily had written in the 1st century BC. Download high resolution version (860x801, 111 KB)Fallen colossus of Ramses II; Ramesseum, Luxor. ... Download high resolution version (860x801, 111 KB)Fallen colossus of Ramses II; Ramesseum, Luxor. ... The Great Sphinx of Giza against Khafres Pyramid at the Giza pyramid complex. ... Napoléon I, Emperor of the French (born Napoleone di Buonaparte, changed his name to Napoléon Bonaparte)[1] (15 August 1769; Ajaccio, Corsica – 5 May 1821; Saint Helena) was a general during the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from... 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... ... Description de lEgypte is the title of several books. ... Jean-Baptiste Prosper Jollois (1776 – 1842) was a French engineer who together with Édouard de Villiers du Terrage journeyed with Napoleon to Egypt, and prepared the Description de lEgypte. ... Édouard de Villiers du Terrage (1780–1855) was a French engineer who together with Jean-Baptiste Prosper Jollois journeyed with Napoleon to Egypt, and prepared the Categories: 1780 births | 1855 deaths | Egyptologists ... Diodorus Siculus (c. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 1st century BC started on January 1, 100 BC and ended on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero. ...

The 'Younger Memnon

The next visitor of note was Giovanni Belzoni, a showman and engineer of Italian origin and, latterly, an archaeologist and antiques dealer. Belzoni's travels took him in 1815 to Cairo, where he sold Mehemet Ali a hydraulic engine of his own invention. There he met British Consul General Henry Salt, who hired his services to collect from the temple in Thebes the so-called 'Younger Memnon', one of two colossal granite heads depicting Ramesses II, and transport it to England. Thanks to Belzoni's hydraulics and his skill as an engineer (Napoleon's men had failed in the same endeavour a decade or so earlier), the 7-ton stone head arrived in London in 1818, where it was dubbed "The Younger Memnon" and, some years later, given pride of place in the British Museum. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1200x1600, 640 KB) Description: The British Museum, Room 4 - Colossal bust of Ramesses II, the Younger Memnon From the Ramesseum, Thebes, Egypt 19th Dynasty, about 1250 BC One of the largest pieces of Egyptian sculpture in the British Museum Weighing 7. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1200x1600, 640 KB) Description: The British Museum, Room 4 - Colossal bust of Ramesses II, the Younger Memnon From the Ramesseum, Thebes, Egypt 19th Dynasty, about 1250 BC One of the largest pieces of Egyptian sculpture in the British Museum Weighing 7. ... Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1778 - December 3, 1823) was an Italian explorer of Egyptian antiquities. ... April 5-12: Mount Tambora explodes, changing climate. ... Nickname: Egypt: Site of Cairo (top center) Coordinates: Government  - Governor Dr. Abdul Azim Wazir Area  - City 214 km²  (82. ... See Mehemet Ali (Turkey) for the Turkish foreign minister and regent. ... Henry Salt (June 14, 1780 – October 30, 1827) was an English artist, traveler, diplomat, and Egyptologist. ... The Younger Memnon statue is one of two colossal granite heads from the Ancient Egyptian mortuary temple called the Ramesseum at Thebes, depicting the pharaoh Ramesses II wearing the nemes head-dress with a cobra diadem on top. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... The British Museum in London is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ...

It was against the backdrop of intense excitement surrounding the statue's arrival, and having heard wondrous tales of other, less transportable treasures still in the desert, that the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley penned his sonnet "Ozymandias". In particular, one massive fallen statue at the Ramesseum is now inextricably linked with Shelley, because of the cartouche on its shoulder bearing Ramesses's throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re, the first part of which Diodorus transliterated into Greek as "Ozymandias". While Shelley's "vast and trunkless legs of stone" owe more to poetic license than to archaeology, the "half sunk... shattered visage" lying on the sand is an accurate description of part of the wrecked statue. The hands, and the feet, lie nearby. Were it still standing, the Ozymandias colossus would tower 18 meters above the ground, rivalling the Colossi of Memnon and the statues of Ramesses carved into the mountain at Abu Simbel. Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822; pronounced ) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest lyrical poets of the English language. ... OZYMANDIAS I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. ... In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oblong enclosure with a vertical line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu. ... The Colossi of Memnon The Colossi of Memnon (known to locals as el-Colossat, or es-Salamat) are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For the past 3400 years they have stood in the Theban necropolis, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor. ...

Pictures from the Ramesseum

Temple of Ramesses II, Luxor Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1062, 445 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ramesses II Ramesseum Ancient Egyptian architecture ...	Temple of Ramesses II, Luxor Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1056, 358 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ramesses II Ramesseum Ancient Egyptian architecture ...	Temple of Ramesses II, Luxor Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1062x1600, 373 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ramesses II Ramesseum Ancient Egyptian architecture ...	Temple of Ramesses II, Luxor Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1062, 316 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ramesses II Ramesseum Ancient Egyptian architecture ...
Temple of Ramesses II, Luxor Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1062x1600, 261 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ramesses II Ancient Egyptian architecture ...	Temple of Ramesses II, Luxor Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1062, 322 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ramesses II Ramesseum Ancient Egyptian architecture ...	Temple of Ramesses II, Luxor Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1062, 272 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ramesses II Ramesseum Ancient Egyptian architecture ...	Temple of Ramesses II, Luxor Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2496x1664, 508 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ramesses II Ramesseum Ancient Egyptian architecture Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera...

References

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ... March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (67th in leap years). ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Ramesseum

• Association pour la sauvegarde du Ramesséum (particularly the "virtual restoration")
• Plan of the Ramesseum site (University College London)
• The Younger Memnon (British Museum)
• Ozymandias (Shelley)

Coordinates: 25°43′40″N, 32°36′38″E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...