Digital KarnakUniversity of California Santa Cruz
Digital KarnakRelated Features
Originally built by Thutmose III – 1479 BCE to 1425 BCE
Modified by Amenhotep II – 1427 BCE to 1401 BCE
Other works initiated by Thutmose III:
Akhmenu, Contra Temple, Wadjet Hall, 7th Pylon, Thutmose III Shrine, Enclosures and Gates, Sacred Lake, 6th Pylon and Court, 5th Pylon and Court, Obelisks of 7th Pylon, Station of the King and Corridor, Obelisks of Festival Hall Center Pair, Central Bark Shrine, Palace of Ma’at, Obelisks of Wadjet Hall, Pylon and Festival Court of Thutmose II, East Exterior WallOther works initiated by Amenhotep II:
Edifice of Amenhotep II, Station of the King and Corridor, Wadjet Hall, Amenhotep II Shrine, Pylon and Festival Court of Thutmose IIIntroduction
A long corridor led from the Wadjet hall and the court of the fifth pylon to the southwest entrance door of the Akhmenu temple. A series of rooms and a small chapel, a “station of the king,” lined the corridor on its south side.
Measurements: The corridor from Pylon V to the Akhmenu stretched approximately 76 m long. The chapel measured 15.5 x 9m.
Phases of Construction
Thutmose III
As part of his expansion of the temple to include the new Akhmenu festival hall, Thutmose III added or began construction on a corridor and a suite of rooms along the wide hall on the temple’s south side.
The function of these rooms remains uncertain. When excavated in modern times, one of the rooms was found filled with black granite statues of Sekhmet or Mut.
Construction materials: limestone faced in sandstone
About the reconstruction model of Thutmose III
The model of the corridor and the rooms lining its south side were based on the published plan of precint by Carlotti (2001: pl. 1). The original height of these rooms was not available, so these walls were scaled to the same level as the “station of the king,” described below.
Amenhotep II
Amenhotep II may have finished construction on a part of this corridor, a small shrine called the “station of the king.” The building, as reconstructed by one scholar, would have consisted of a small rectangular chamber surrounded by a three-sided portico of square columns. Low screen walls with three standing Osiride statues lined the exterior of each portico. The whole building was roofed and perched on a 1m high sandstone platform. The remains of the building found at Karnak show it was inscribed by Amenhotep II, suggesting he constructed it himself (possibly on the location of an earlier building) or decorated the previously existing shrine.
This building may have served as a location for the king or the bark of the god to rest while watching or participating in cult rituals.
Construction materials: stone
About the reconstruction model of Amenhotep II
The model of the station of the king is based on the plan and axial drawings by Van Siclen (1986: pl. 15).
Documentation
Barguet, Paul. (1962),Le temple d’Amon-Rê à Karnak; essai d’exégèse. Le Caire: Impr. de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, xix, 368 p..
Carlotti, Jean-François. (2001),L’Akh-menou de Thoutmosis III à Karnak : etude architecturale. Paris: Recherche sur les civilisations
Van Siclen, Charles. (1986),The Alabaster Shrine of King Amenhotep II. Brooklyn Museum Archaeological Expedition to the Precinct of the Goddess Mut at South Karnak. San Antonio: Brooklyn Museumvol. 1