Akhmenu

Introduction

The Akhmenu was a large, rectangular temple located in the eastern part of Karnak, just outside of the original early 18th Dynasty temple complex. Entrance to the building was gained through a main door in the temple’s southwest corner, as well as through a door (only recently discovered) in the center of the building’s west wall. The southwest entrance led to a line of nine small chambers to the south and to a short vestibule on the north. A small room north of the entrance corridor, known as the “hall of ancestors,” was the location of a type of king list; sixty-one kings, the royal ancestors of Thutmose III, were depicted seated and receiving offerings from the king. The earliest preserved king names listed refer to 4th Dynasty rulers of Egypt.

The temple’s main pillared hall (the heret-ib) was covered with a beautifully painted blue ceiling with yellow stars. The roof was supported by two rows of uniquely shaped columns representing the poles of a portable tent. At the north of the hall stood three chapels decorated with relief scenes of cult rituals and processions, including the procession of royal statues (the wehem-ankh). Inside the largest of these shrines stood a quartzite triad of Thutmose III with the gods Amun and Mut.

The southeast sector of the building, dedicated to the god Sokar, consisted of a suite of rooms leading onto a hall with eight fluted columns. The block of rooms just north of the Sokar suite were dedicated to the ithyphallic form of the god Amun and to the king himself.

Depictions of exotic flora and fauna sighted by the king on his military campaign are inscribed onto the walls of the famous “botanical room,” located in the temple’s northeast section. The “botanical room,” fittingly adorned by four papyrus columns, led into the Akhmenu’s main sanctuary. Eight niches lined the sides of the sanctuary’s walls; each originally held a statue, possibly of the Theban Ennead. A larger niche in the rear was left for the placement of the naos.

A stairway accessed from the northeast corner of the pillared hall led up to a solar shrine on the roof of the temple. A Heliopolitan-type solar altar, shaped like a series of hetep symbols, stood within this solar sanctuary.

It is possible that the building overlaid an earlier temple on the same location dated to the reign of Hatshepsut or to the co-regency of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III.

Measurements: The building is 40m deep by 77.5m wide. The main pillared hall spans 40m.

Phases of Construction

Thutmose III

Thutmose III began construction on the Akhmenu in the 23rd year of his reign and it was completed 7 years later. Inscriptions in the “botanical room” record that decoration of the temple began 2 years after initial construction. The large pillared hall commemorates the jubilee of Thutmose III, likely celebrated in his year 30.

Texts within the hall describe the building as a “mansion of millions of years,” a type of building that in part was dedicated to the cult of the divine king. Many of the mortuary temples on Thebes’ west bank were given this same title. The temple appears to have served as a locus of cult for worship of the king’s royal ancestors, the divine king Thutmose III, the god Amun (unified with the king), as well as solar and underworld deities.

Later changes to the Akhmenu were minimal. The upper solar shrine was altered and decorated in the Ramesside period. A new stairway may have been added at this time as well. Decoration in the rooms dedicated to the king and the ithyphallic Amun was altered during the reign of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE.

Construction materials: sandstone

About the reconstruction model of Thutmose III

Documentation

Beaux, Nathalie. (1993),L’architecture des niches du sanctuaire d’Amon dans le temple de l’Akh-menou à Karnak. Cahiers de Karnak. vol. IX , 101-107.

Pécoil, Jean-François. (2000),L’Akh-menou de Thoutmosis III à Karnak : la Heret-ib et les chapelles attenantes : relevés épigraphiques. Paris: Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, 32, 122 de pl..

Carlotti, Jean-François. (2001),L’Akh-menou de Thoutmosis III à Karnak : etude architecturale. Paris: Recherche sur les civilisations

Carlotti, Jean-François. (1995),Contribution à l’ étude métrologique de quelques monuments du temple d’Amon-Rê à Karnak. Cahiers de Karnak. vol. X , 65-127.

cbd gummies for heart | gummy bears with cbd | medallion cbd gummies | cbd gummies vs hemp | cbd enhancement gummies | mr nice guys cbd gummies | canna river cbd gummies | bliss cbd gummies review | gummies for sleep cbd | ragen cbd gummies | cbd gummies for diabetic | cbd gummies high | mayom bialik cbd gummies | cbd 10 mg gummies | male enhancement for size | smx male enhancement formula | do penis enlarger pills work | penis enlargement piils | everest male enhancement | fxm male enhancement scam | penis enlargement in georgia | best penis enlargement routine | penis enlarger that works | male enhancement best results | liborection male enhancement | men labido gummies | supaman male enhancement | butt enhancer cream male | existenz male enhancement | king cobra gummies near me | green leaf male enhancement | keto gummies safety concerns | where to buy keto flo gummies | best new diet pill | 1 rated diet pill | purple diet pill | keto luxe acv ingredients | a safe diet pill | atrafen diet pills | mach 5 keto gummies | keto blast gummies results | keto gummies maggie beer | black diamond diet pills | top weight loss pills reviews | bliss keto acv gummies 500mg | snopes keto gummies | keto drops plus acv gummies | goxtra acv keto gummies | mr q male enhancement | dr oz keto gummie | cbd gummies rite aid | dr oz gummies male enhancement | vita keto fuel acv gummies | cbd delights 3000 gummies | extreme penis enlargement | ez burn keto gummy | green dr cbd gummies | male cup shap enhancement | is impact keto gummies a scam | 410 cbd gummies | penis enlargement malaysia | weight loss gummies walmart | keoni cbd gummies cost | vert3x perk male enhancement | bh apple cider vinegar gummies | sativa and cbd gummies | hoe to enlarge penis | lipozene diet pills | cbd gummies yumi | v8 super energy male enhancer | ripped keto plus acv gummies | gental grove cbd gummies | enlarge penis cream | super health v2 keto gummies | life stream cbd gummies | penis enlargement testimonial | how to take keto diet pills | cbd gummies detroit | bee male enhancement | luke combs weight loss gummy | acv cbd gummies | penis enlargement teqniques | jean coutu keto gummies | cbd gummies images | penis enlargement best product | pro acv keto gummies | cbd armymen gummies |