Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III

Welcome to the site of the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep the Third, a place that once stood as the grandest and most opulent religious complex in all of ancient Egypt. Amenhotep the Third, known as 'The Magnificent,' ruled during…

You are standing before the Colossi of Memnon, the most iconic and enduring symbols of Amenhotep the Third's reign. These two massive quartzite statues, each rising about eighteen meters high, represent the seated pharaoh…

Behind the Colossi of Memnon lay the first pylon, a massive gateway that marked the transition from the mundane world into the sacred space of the temple. While the mud-brick and stone of the pylons have mostly dissolved or been…

Beyond the second pylon lay the great Peristyle Court, a massive open courtyard surrounded by a forest of papyrus-bundle columns. This was the most spectacular part of the temple, designed to house hundreds of statues of the…

In the northern part of the temple complex lay a unique feature: a large open-air solar altar dedicated to the sun god, Re-Horakhty. Amenhotep the Third's reign saw an increasing emphasis on solar religion, which would later…

At the westernmost end of the temple, furthest from the river, lay the most sacred and restricted area: the Hypostyle Hall and the inner sanctuary. This was the dwelling place of the god's cult statue and the site of the…

In the last two decades, the site of Amenhotep the Third's temple has undergone a dramatic transformation. What was once seen as a largely empty field is now one of the most active and exciting archaeological zones in the world. …

Our journey through the ruins of Amenhotep the Third's mortuary temple has been a walk through the fragments of a vanished empire. We have stood before the enduring Colossi of Memnon, walked the ghostly axis of the great pylons,…