CAHIERS DE

KARNAK

15
C F E E T K

Centre franco-égyptien d'étude des temples de Karnak

Cairo
2015
Centre franco-égyptien d’étude des temples de Karnak

MAE-USR 3172 du CNRS

Cahiers de

KARNAK 15
2015

Presses du Ministère des Antiquités d’Égypte

 sommaire

Michel Azim (†), Luc Gabolde

Le dispositif à escalier, puits et canalisation situé au nord-ouest du lac sacré : une ḏȝḏȝ(.t) ? ...................... 1-21

Sébastien Biston-Moulin
Un nouvel exemplaire de la Stèle de la restauration de Toutânkhamon à Karnak ......................................23-38

Sébastien Biston-Moulin
À propos de deux documents d’Ahmosis à Karnak. Karnak Varia (§ 1-2) ..................................................39-49

Mansour Boraik, Christophe Thiers

Une chapelle consacrée à Khonsou sur le dromos entre le temple de Mout et le Nil ?................................ 51-62

Stéphanie Boulet
Étude céramologique préliminaire des campagnes de fouille de la chapelle d’Osiris Ounnefer Neb-Djefaou
2013-2014 .....................................................................................................................................................63-79

Laurent Coulon, Damien Laisney

Les édiices des divines adoratrices Nitocris et Ânkhnesnéferibrê au nord-ouest des temples de Karnak (secteur
de Naga Malgata) ........................................................................................................................................81-171

Gabriella Dembitz
Une scène d’offrande de Maât au nom de Pinedjem Ier sur la statue colossale dite de Ramsès II à Karnak.
Karnak Varia (§ 3) ................................................................................................................................... 173-180

Benjamin Durand
Un four métallurgique d’époque ptolémaïque dans les annexes du temple de Ptah à Karnak ..................181-188

Aurélia Masson
Toward a New Interpretation of the Fire at North-Karnak? A Study of the Ceramic from the Building
NKF35 ..................................................................................................................................................... 189-213

III
 Cahiers de K arnaK 15

Frédéric Payraudeau
The Chapel of Osiris Nebdjet/Padedankh in North-Karnak. An Epigraphic Survey .............................. 215-235

Renaud Pietri
Remarques sur un remploi du temple de Khonsou et sur les hipponymes royaux au Nouvel Empire ..... 237-242

Mohamed Raafat Abbas

The Triumph Scene and Text of Merenptah at Karnak ............................................................................243-252

Jean Revez, Peter J. Brand

The Notion of Prime Space in the Layout of the Column Decoration in the Great Hypostyle Hall at
Karnak ..................................................................................................................................................... 253-310

Hourig Sourouzian
Le mystérieux sphinx de Karnak retrouvé à Alexandrie ..........................................................................311-326

Aurélie Terrier
Ébauche d’un système de classiication pour les portes de temples. Étude de cas dans l’enceinte d’Amon-Rê à
Karnak ..................................................................................................................................................... 327-346

Christophe Thiers
Membra disiecta ptolemaica (III) ............................................................................................................ 347-356

Anaïs Tillier
Un linteau au nom d’Auguste. Karnak Varia (§ 4) ................................................................................... 357-369

English Summaries .................................................................................................................................371-375

IV
 the notion of prime spaCe in the Layout of the CoLumn deCoration
in the Great hypostyLe haLL at K arnaK*

Jean revez, Peter J. brand1

t
he 134 Giant CoLumns of the Great Karnak Hypostyle Hall present the largest and most complex scheme
of column decoration from any monument ever built in pharaonic Egypt. Twelve great columns in
its central nave surpass 20 meters in height and are capped by huge open papyrus blossom capitals.
122 smaller papyrus columns in the north and south wings, with closed-bud papyrus capitals, reach 13 meters
in height (ig. 1). This majestic forest of columns overwhelms viewers with its bewildering array of carved relief
scenes and hieroglyphic inscriptions covering every surface of the shafts and capitals. As originally envisaged
by their authors, Sety I and Ramesses II, the decorative scheme for these columns was much less elaborate than
it later became. Today, however, a patchwork of inscriptions blankets most of the columns. The density of these
inscriptions is due to Ramesses II and his successors Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI and the High Priest Herihor.
Disregarding the balance between inscribed and blank surfaces, which allow reliefs to be seen to advantage,
Ramesses II and Ramesses IV illed these empty spaces - and even some that had previously received deco-
ration - with new inscriptions: hundreds of additional cult scenes, friezes of royal cartouches, and stereotyped
hieroglyphic texts with royal titulary and divine epithets. Two highly complex yet crucial questions must be
answered if we are ever to understand the decorative program of this vast monument fully: (1) how and why
did successive pharaohs repeatedly augment and rework the column decoration in the Great Hall and; (2) what
conceptual priorities and ideological values governed their repeated interventions. Our epigraphic study and
recording of the monument in recent years indicates that the relative value of individual locations within the
thicket of columns, especially in relationship to the two main processional axes, was a vital consideration to
every pharaoh who carved decoration in any location within the vast ediice.
Prime space (as for instance, in the term “prime ofice space”) is a notion often used in contemporary real
estate business to deine architectural space of superior grade that is highly sought-after because of its excep-
* This article is an extended version of our paper presented at the 64th ARCE Annual Meeting held in Cincinnati in April 2013. It is
worth mentioning that our study will focus exclusively on stereotyped decoration, an expression that refers to the numerous bandeau
texts, friezes of cartouches, rekhyet-birds and plant-motifs that adorn most of the surfaces of each column, as opposed to the main
scenes located in the central registers only. Those scenes show a much greater deal of variety in their content and are thus classiied
as non-stereotyped or non-standardized decoration. We would like to thank E. Feleg for assisting us in the production of igures for
the current article.
1 Both authors are co-directors of the joint University of Memphis-Université du Québec à Montréal Project in Karnak (www.
[Link]/hypostyle). This project is made possible through the generous inancial support of the National Endowment for the
Humanities, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the American Research Center in Egypt’s Antiquities
Endowment Fund and the University of Memphis’ Department of History. We would like also to extend our gratitude to the Centre
franco-égyptien d’étude des temples de Karnak (CFEETK, MAE-CNRS USR 3172) and the Ministry for Antiquities of Egypt for
their invaluable collaboration and assistance over the years, especially during our 2011 and 2013 missions.

Cahiers de Karnak 15, 2015, p. 253-310.

 j ean r evez, peter j. brand

tional location. In commercial real estate terminology, the term class refers to the quality of property and can
be subdivided into four categories, ranging from class C to class A+. An example of the latter grade might
be described as a “landmark quality, high-rise building with prime central business district location.”2 While
applying such a modern concept to Ancient Egyptian practices at irst may justiiably be considered anachro-
nistic, it is nonetheless quite clear that the artists who decorated pharaonic monuments had a clear understan-
ding of the relative value of the different parts of buildings in relation to their degree of exposure and visibility
in prestigious locations, especially along the processional axis.3 In this respect, the 134 gigantic columns that
once stood inside the Ramesside Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak offer an excellent case
study (plan A). The aim of the present article is irst to deine what spaces inside the Hall, and on each indivi-
dual column, were perceived as having the highest priority, on the principle that the areas inside the building
and the sections of the columns that were the irst to be decorated with scenes and inscriptions were likely
deemed by the Ancient Egyptians to be the most valuable.4 We will also use three related criteria to deine the
concept of “prime space” in relation to certain epigraphic characteristics of the column stereotyped decoration
in the Great Hypostyle Hall: (1) evidence for recarving, a practice that demonstrates that prized space can be
repurposed; (2) the varying quality of workmanship; and (3) the exceptional nature of certain decorative motifs
that stand out from an otherwise very uniform program of decoration. Prime space will thus be deined as
existing along two complementary axes: a vertical one (the value of a given decorated space on the surface of
a column in relation to its height above ground level) and a horizontal one (the value of decorated space on a
given column in relation to its geographical location inside the Hall as deined by its visibility from one of the
two main processional axes of the building).5

1. The Chronology of the Decorative Program on the Abaci

Although they may be considered to a large extent as a uniied whole, we will analyze separately the deco-
ration of the columns and the abaci that rested upon them, since these two features were the object of distinct
studies during the two ield seasons of the Karnak Hypostyle Hall Project in the spring of 2011 and the spring
of 2013, when both the University of Memphis and the Université du Québec à Montréal organized a joint
mission in Karnak, under the co-direction of Peter Brand and Jean Revez.6 We will begin our analysis with the
decoration of the abaci.

2 [Link] On the luctuating property value of skyscrapers, see S. watts, “Tall Building Economics,”
in D. Parker, A. Wood (eds.), The Tall Buildings Reference Book, London, 2013, p. 49-70. For a survey of various types of prestigious
ofice towers and their relation to their respective environments, see E. firLey, J. GimbaL, La tour et la ville. Manuel de la grande
hauteur, Marseille, 2011. On the importance of location and design of ofice buildings, see A.E. Kohn, P. K atz (eds.), Building Type
Basics for Ofice Buildings, New York, 2002, p. 4-5.
3 Spatial constraints were another factor the Ancient Egyptians had to address when laying out surface decoration on the monuments.
See D.w. LarKin, “Making Egyptian Temple Decoration Fit the Available Space,” in S.E. Thomson, P. Der Manuelian (eds.), Egypt
and Beyond. Essays Presented to Leonard H. Lesko upon his Retirement from the Wilbour Chair of Egyptology at Brown Univer-
sity June 2005, Providence, 2008, p. 209-225.
4 Cf. D. arnoLd, Wandrelief und Raumfunktion in ägyptischen Tempeln des neuen Reiches, Berlin, 1962; P.J. brand, The Monuments
of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis, PdÄ 16, 2000, § 3.83.
5 Here again a certain parallel can be drawn with the real estate business: property values vary considerably inside tall buildings,
where the price per square foot increases dramatically on the higher loors which are considered more desirable due to the scenic
vistas they offer.
6 For reports on the irst of these two ield missions see: J. r evez, P. brand, “Le programme décoratif des colonnes de la grande
salle hypostyle de Karnak: bilan de la mission canado-américaine de 2011,” BSFE 184, 2012, p. 10-38; P.J. brand, J. r evez, J. K ar-
KowsKi, E. Laroze, C. GobeiL, “The Karnak Hypostyle Hall Project. Report on the 2011 Field Season of the University of Memphis
& the Université du Québec à Montréal,” Karnak 14, 2013, p. 193-229. For a general presentation of the Hypostyle Hall Project’s
current initiative to record and study the columns, see: P. brand, E. Laroze, J. r evez, “Le projet américano-canadien des colonnes
de la salle hypostyle de Karnak. Objectifs globaux et méthodologie,” JSSEA 38, 2011-2012, p. 17-34; [Link]
hypostyle/ield_reports.htm.

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 prime spaCe in the Layout of the CoLumn deCoration in the Great hypostyLe haLL

1.1. The Decoration of the abaci under Sety I

Once Sety I had completed the construction of the Hypostyle Hall, the king set out to decorate the northern
and then the central part of the building.7 As far as the abaci are concerned, it is possible to distinguish two
separate phases of decoration under Sety I:
Phase 1 (plan B): The cartouches still visible on the abaci of the twelve great columns of the central east-west
axis of the Hypostyle Hall present certain characteristics that are to be found nowhere else in the ediice. A
irst unusual feature is the way the epithet mr(y)-Ỉmn,“beloved of Amun,” is sometimes written outside of the
cartouche, , as we found on abacus 8 North, , and on many other abaci located atop columns
in row 7 to 12. Secondly, we also noticed that the king is regularly referred to as ḥqȝ, , “ruler” of a place
(“Thebes,” , or “Heliopolis,” ) or a concept (“Maat,” ), as on abacus 4 East where Sety is Mn-Mȝʿt-Rʿ
mr(y) Ỉmn-Rʿ ḥqȝ Wȝst . Finally, another distinctive feature is the way the theomorphic igure of the
god Seth (whose hieroglyphic sign is incorporated in the prenomen of Sety) sometimes wears the Red Crown,
, in nomen cartouches as shown for instance on Abacus 1 East, , but only in the northern row
of columns.
It may well be that these graphic singularities engraved on the abaci atop of the great central columns are
due to the fact that this area of the Hall was the irst one to be decorated by the king’s artists, who would have
probably taken advantage of the mud brick ramps and embankments still in place after their use in erecting the
huge columns.8
Phase 2 (plan C9): Sety I would then have proceeded to decorate the abaci located in the Northern part of the
Hall, where none of the cartouches engraved there show the peculiarities observed in the central nave of the
Hall. Sety’s usual prenomen is Mn-Mȝʿt-Rʿ, but here the pharaoh added various epithets to this name, such as
tỉt-Rʿ, , “image of Re,” ỉwʿt(y)-Rʿ, , “the heir of Ra,” and ỉrỉ.n-Rʿ, , “the one whom Re has created.”

1.2. The decoration of the abaci under Ramesses II

In the case of Ramesses II, it is the orthographic variants as well as the type of engraving that allows us to
determine the general chronology of the successive phases of the decorative program of this king. One can
distinguish between four phases of decoration on the abaci:
Phase 1 (plan D): There are about 20 abaci that present characteristics of phase 1 of the decoration program
of Ramesses II. They are located on the irst row directly to the south of the main East-West axis of the Hall
and on the irst row of columns located on both sides of the secondary North-South axis in the Southern part
of the Hall.
During this phase, Ramesses II uses the Rʿ-ms-sw mr(y)-Ỉmn form of his nomen that prior to year 21 only

7 For the most recent analysis of the procedure Sety I used to construct and decorate the Great Hypostyle Hall, see P.J. brand,
W.J. murnane†, The Great Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun at Karnak, Vol. I, Pt. 2, Translation and Commentary, SAOC 20,
forthcoming, Chapter 1. Hereafter, P.J. brand, W.J. murnane†, GHHK I.2.
8 P.J. brand, The Monuments of Seti I, p. 193-194; P.J. brand, W.J. murnane†, GHHK I.2, chapter 1. In fact, the unique orthography
and epithets associated with these 12 abaci – which are entirely different from those on the 61 smaller columns in the northern wing
that this king decorated – adds weight to the other arguments we have previously made in favor of the conclusion that Sety decorated
these 12 abaci and the interior surfaces of the clerestory before any other reliefs inside the Great Hypostyle Hall were created. See
P.J. brand, The Monuments of Seti I, plan 3.
9 Columns inscribed by Ramesses II and others on which the abaci are now either totally defaced or are entirely missing are left blank
in this diagram, as well as in all others. Note that abaci that originally stood atop columns 74, 89, 98, 121-123, 129-131 and 133 in the
northern wing are no longer in situ although fragments of many of them remain in the yards around Karnak and are being recorded
by the Hypostyle Hall Project. See P.J. brand, J. r evez et al., Karnak 14, 2013, p. 193-229.

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 j ean r evez, peter j. brand

appears in Upper Egypt during his irst regnal year (ig. 2).10 The orthographic variant used here is Rʿ-ms-sw
mr(y)-Ỉmn, , with the regular use of in the middle part of the cartouche and of + at the end.
His prenomen Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ usually included the epithets of tỉt-Rʿ, ỉwʿt(y)-Rʿ or ỉrỉ.n-Rʿ (ig. 3) – as seen, for
example, in the case of abacus 25 North – choices modeled after the epithets employed by his father
Sety I on abaci in the northern wing. In rare instances, Ramesses’ prenomen might include the epithet stp.n-
Rʿ which he later adopted to the exclusion of all others.11 In every case during this earliest stage, the type of
engraving is always raised relief.
Phase 2 (plan E):
During the second year of his reign, Ramesses began to carve his inscriptions in sunk rather than raised relief
and he now adopted the long form of his prenomen Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ with the epithet stp.n-Rʿ, “the one that Re
has chosen,” , that remained an invariable and permanent feature of his name until the end of his
reign. At this point, the king often abandoned the use of in favor of its theomorphic equivalent in writing
his nomen. He also continued to use the nomen form Rʿ-ms-sw, perhaps because his craftsmen chose not to
“update” designs the draftsmen had already laid out in paint. Yet once he had adopted the long prenomen in
year 2, his nomen form was almost always transcribed as Rʿ-ms-s in all parts of Upper Egypt and
Nubia south of Abydos until year 21, with only rare exceptions and this general rule also holds true for all the
wall, column and architrave decoration in the Great Hypostyle Hall, making the Rʿ-ms-sw form on the abaci
during phase 2 anomalous. Ramesses II now proceeded to inscribe the long form of his prenomen on all the
abaci that still remained undecorated in the southern part of the Hall. The cartouches belonging to this second
phase of decoration are those on the closed-bud papyrus columns located to the east and west of the main
North-South axis, marked in red on the plan E.
Phase 3 (plan F): At this point of the decorative program, all the abaci in the southern half of the Hall would
have been engraved with the cartouches of Ramesses II. The king next proceeded to erase and recarve those of
his own cartouches that he had originally inscribed in raised relief during phase 1, situated along the secondary
North-South axis of the Hall and along the irst row of the closed-bud papyrus columns standing just south of
the major East-West axis (see igs. 2-3). As he had done with his own early raised relief decoration, and that of
his father Sety I, carved on the walls in the south wing of the Great Hypostyle Hall, Ramesses II next ordered
his sculptors to convert the cartouches on these abaci from raised into sunk relief. At the same time, he com-
manded that a new spelling variant to his nomen Rʿ-ms-s-mr(y)-Ỉmn, written with the addition of

10 For the two forms of Ramesses II’s nomen, Rʿ-ms-s and Rʿ-ms-sw and their chronological implications, see: P.J. brand, W.J. mur-
nane†, GHHK I.2, chapter 2 and appendix B (where all the orthographic variants present on the interior walls are given). See also
K.A. K itChen, “Aspects of Ramesside Egypt,” in W.F. Reineke (ed.), Acts of the 1st International Congress of Egyptology, Berlin,
1979, p. 383-389; id., “The Titularies of Ramesside Kings as Expression of Their Ideal Kingship,” ASAE 71, 1987, p. 131-141;
A. spaLinGer, “Early Writings of Ramesses II’s Names,” CdE 83, 2008, p. 75-89; O. GoeLet, S. isKander, “The Epigraphic Record
in the Temple of Ramesses II at Abydos Preliminary Report,” JARCE 48, 2012, p. 143-183. The orthography of each of the two
forms could and did vary considerably in terms of the glyphs chosen and their arrangement in cartouches in both the vertical and
horizontal format. In a forthcoming article, P.J. Brand and E. Feleg will re-examine the many variants of Ramesses II’s cartouches
in orthographic, epigraphic and paleographic terms, especially during the irst two decades of the reign. See: P.J. brand, R. feLeG,
“Cartouche Variants of Ramesses II” (forthcoming).
It should be noted that the phenomenon is more complex than Kitchen and others have noted. Although Rʿ-ms-sw and Rʿ-ms-s
luctuated frequently in Upper Egypt during the irst year or so of the reign with Rʿ-ms-s becoming overwhelmingly the “standard”
form - but not the invariable one - thereafter until year 21 when Rʿ-ms-sw became the deinitive form, we have now encountered
examples of Rʿ-ms-s and Rʿ-ms-sw co-existing in decoration dated after year 1 and prior to year 21 when the prenomen was in its
inal form Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Rʿ. Moreover, this “rule” did not hold true for Abydos and regions further north. For a different view
of the Abydos examples and their chronology, see O. GoeLet, S. isKander, op. cit., p. 143-183; and for a discussion of the presence of
Rʿ-ms-sw in the Ramesside Forecourt at Luxor see R.E. feLeG, “Features of the Early Relief Decoration of Ramesses II at the Kar-
nak Hypostyle Hall and the Ramesside Forecourt at Luxor Temple,” M.A. thesis, University of Memphis, 2011, p. 51-54. Ms. Feleg
is now preparing a doctoral dissertation on the architecture and relief decoration in the Ramesside forecourt of Luxor Temple.
11 So stp.n-Rʿ occasionally appears as the prenomen epithet in abaci decoration of both Sety I (Abaci 10S, 97E, 97W, 99N, 106S,
109N) and Ramesses II before his 2nd regnal year (Abaci 35W, 62N, 68E, 70E, 70W).

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 prime spaCe in the Layout of the CoLumn deCoration in the Great hypostyLe haLL

at the end should replace the older form Rʿ-ms-sw that had been written with the + glyphs.12

Phase 4 (plan G): A second and inal group of palimpsest texts occur on the abaci in the irst row of columns
running from East to West located directly to the North of the Central East-West axis of the Hall. Sety I had
originally decorated these abaci in raised relief with his own cartouches, but his son Ramesses II now erased
his father’s names and replaced them with his own in sunk relief. Ramesses carried out this operation much
later than his earliest campaigns of decoration in the Hall (all of which dated to his irst three years on the
throne). Judging by the standardized orthography of his nomen as Rʿ-ms-sw mr(y)-Ỉmn, - transcribed
henceforth with the characteristic - plant at the end of the pharaoh’s name, but without the addition of as
a phonetic complement, viz: , seen on the abaci early in his reign - along with the deinitive form of
his prenomen written Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Rʿ with appearing instead of (ig. 4). Note also that the
theomorphic sign regularly appears in this nomen variant, instead of the previous version which was usually
spelled out with phonetic signs only.

2. The Study of the chronology of the decorative program of the columns

In the irst part of this paper, we have attempted to reconstruct the chronology of the decoration of the abaci;
we will now proceed to do the same with the columns themselves.

2.1. The Column Decoration under Sety I

Except for decoration on the clerestory roof, architraves, and the abaci inside the central nave,13 Sety I’s ear-
liest bas-reliefs in the Hall are located inside the northern gate and on the internal side of the northern wall,
eastern half. In this area of the ediice, there are traces of palimpsest relief that display recarving for essentially
esthetic reasons, that is, in order to harmonize the proportions of faces and limbs.14 The same observation can
now be made for the decoration of Sety I on some of the columns standing near the northern gateway. On either
side of the North-South secondary axis, on the columns closest to the northern gate, traces of recarving are
visible on some igures of pharaoh and the gods in Sety I’s ritual scenes.15 As on the east section of the north
interior wall of the Hall, this recutting is minor and may be termed “cosmetic” in that its purpose was to reine
the proportions of the limbs and bodies of the main igures in some of the scenes.16
Aside from these occasional cosmetic palimpsests clustered at the northernmost end of the North-South axis,
Sety I’s column decoration throughout the northern wing is generally uniform, both on the iconographic and
epigraphic planes. His reliefs are always raised, the spelling of his name is fairly standard, with few variants

12 See n. 11. Some if not all of the sunk relief abaci cartouches from phase two, carved with the then obsolete nomen form Rʿ-ms-sw,
were “updated” to the current Rʿ-ms-s form by plastering over the ending -sw and replacing it with -ss in paint. This can be seen in
the case of abaci 45 north and 63 south where these surfaces were protected from the elements by overhanging architraves. In most
cases, however, the original paint and plaster has long since vanished, making it unclear how extensive such corrections were to the
nomen cartouches carved during phase 2 on the abaci in the south wing.
13 P.J. brand, The Monuments of Seti I, p. 195-196 and plan 3.
14 On the north gate proper, Sety I ordered his sculptors to recarve his igure from an upright stance to one with a pronounced stoop.
See: the epiGraphiC survey, The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I, OIP 107, RIK 4, 1986, p. 77-79; P.J. brand, op. cit., p. 202-206;
P.J. brand, w.j. murnane†, GHHK I.2, chapter 2; and contra J.-Fr. CarLotti, Ph. martinez, “Nouvelles observations architectura-
les et épigraphiques sur la grande salle hypostyle du temple d’Amon-Rê à Karnak,” Karnak 14, 2013, p. 231-277.
15 Column scenes that exhibit recutting close to the north gateway are: 93a, 111a, 120a, 121a, 129a. Here the letter “a” designates
column scenes of Sety I, in contrast to those of Ramesses II (“b”) and Ramesses IV (“c”). In cases where one of these kings has a
second scene on a column, it is designated a’, b’ and c’ respectively. See H.H. neLson, Key Plans Showing the Locations of Theban
Temple Decorations, OIP 56, 1941, pl. 3.
16 This is unlike some of the reliefs on the interior jambs of the north gateway where Sety I’s igure has sometimes been drastically
recarved to alter the iconography of his igure from an upright stance to a bowing pose. See brand, The Monuments of Seti I, p. 202-
206; P.J. brand, W.J. murnane†, GHHK I.2, commentary to pl. 187.

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(see below) and the king always stands with his torso inclined forwards, in an attitude of apparent piety towards
the gods he is worshipping (ig. 5). Unlike many of the wall scenes in the Great Hypostyle Hall’s northern wing,
he never appears kneeling before the gods in column scenes.17 On most of the 61 columns of the north wing,
Sety had only a single scene engraved so that it faced one of the two processional axes which “governed” it
(diagram 1). Exceptions are those columns located at the intersection of both processional axes, which contain
two scenes, each facing one axis (plan H).
By the time Sety I’s reign came to an end,18 he had decorated all 61 of the smaller, closed-bud papyriform
columns in the lateral aisle of the northern wing, but his artisans had not yet engraved either the 12 large open-
bud papyriform columns in the central colonnade (except for their abaci) or any of the smaller columns of the
lateral aisle of the southern wing. It now seems very likely that Sety’s artisans had drafted the decoration of
the twelve great columns and some of the closed-bud papyriform columns in southern half as painted cartoons,
but the king died before his sculptors had time to carve any of them in relief.19 A similar parallel can be found
in the southern wing of the Temple of Sety I in Abydos where the artists had painted most of the decoration
on the walls with polychrome colors, which had served as a temporary substitute for relief under Sety I, which

17 Nor does Sety I kneel in column scenes from the inner hypostyle hall of his Abydos temple: A.M. CaLverLey, M.F. broome, The
Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos, Vol. IV, London, 1958, pls. 67-78. The king does, however, kneel on the four square pillars in
the hall immediately west of Amun-Re’s bark sanctuary in Sety’s Gurnah cult temple. See P.J. brand, The Monuments of Seti I,
p. 235-236; PM II2, 414-415 (Room XVI).
18 It now seems very probable that Sety I ruled for between 8 and 9 full years on the throne based on J. van dijK’s convincing re-dating
of the king’s Gebel Barkal stela from year 11 to year 2: “The Date of the Gebel Barkal Stela of Seti I,” in D. Aston, et al. (eds.), Under
the Potter’s Tree: Studies on Ancient Egypt Presented to Janine Bourriau on the Occasion of her 70th Birthday, OLA 204, 2011,
p. 325-332. A reading of regnal year 2 on the dateline of the stela is credible. Van Dijk, citing P. Brand’s doctoral thesis, has already
noted that Sety’s igure does not bow on the lunette scene as was common for reliefs of the king beginning around year 4 and is
almost universal for reliefs created towards the end of his reign at Karnak, Gurnah and Abydos. One should add that the artistic style
of the king’s igure, with its narrow shoulders and slightly protruding belly, is more in keeping with the post-Amarna style found
early in his reign (see P.J. brand, op. cit., p. 3-8), a discrepancy that had always given pause in accepting Reisner’s traditional read-
ing of year 11. It is also worth mentioning that Sety’s descriptions of his building projects, particularly for Amun-Re at Thebes, do
not correspond well with what he actually accomplished there: viz. the Karnak Hypostyle Hall and his Gurnah cult temple. Perhaps
less convincing is van Dijk’s assertion that the wine deposited in the tomb from the year 8 vintage proves that the king probably
died on III šmw 27 of his 9th regnal year, shortly after it began because no jar dockets dating to a year 9 vintage have been found,
suggesting that it was not yet available when the tomb was stocked (see J. van dijK, op. cit., p. 330-331 with references in n. 20).
In addition to the threefold inscription from Sety I’s Kanais rock temple dating to III šmw 20, the two year nine stelae from Aswan
suggest that the king reigned well into year nine and probably into the irst days of a hypothetical year 10 based on the fact that
Ramesses II’s probable accession date of III šmw day 27 (cf. P.J. brand, op. cit., p. 302-305) comes a mere 3 days after Sety I’s likely
accession date of III šmw day 24 (ibid., p. 301-302). This means that the inal year of the old king’s reign ended very shortly after it
began. This is simply too brief for the king to have accomplished all that he appears to have done in his regnal year 9, i.e. his visit
and decree at Kanais and the commissioning of multiple obelisks and colossi at Aswan, including the production of giant transport
barges, under the supervision of then Crown Prince Ramesses. Moreover, the date of the Kanis inscription, III šmw 20, would come
at the end of year 9, not at the beginning (as implied by van Dijk who only says that Sety’s accession lay somewhere within the period
of III to IV šmw (see J. van dijK, op. cit., p. 331, n. 22). See P.J. brand, “The ‘Lost’ Obelisks and Colossi of Seti I,” JARCE 34, 1997,
p. 101-114; id., Monuments of Seti I, p. 271-274, 279-281, 308. Extending the reign briely into year 10 would account for these issues
which have previously been raised in connection with the length of Sety I’s reign, especially with respect to a longer 14-15 year reign
for the king argued by Kitchen and others (P.J. brand, op. cit., p. 305-309). Moreover, it seems more likely than ever that Sety I did
not rule jointly with Ramesses II for any length of time as co-regents (or “regents” to use Spalinger’s terminology (so A. spaLinGer,
“Traces of the Early Career of Ramesses II,” JNES 38, 1979, p. 271-286; id., The Great Dedicatory Inscription of Ramesses II,
Leiden, 2009, p. 1-17). Ramesses remained crown prince (ỉry-pʿt) with neither the cartouche nor regalia of a pharaoh until Sety I had
died.
19 It seems clear that the two scenes on each of the twelve great columns and one or two scenes on the smaller columns in the south
wing lying adjacent to the North-South axis there – all of which Ramesses II inscribed during his earliest phase of decoration after
he assumed the throne from Sety I – were originally laid out as painted cartoons prior to Sety’s death. The tendency for the king’s
igure to be represented in a bowing posture (typical of Sety I’s reign but unusual for Ramesses II (see P.J. brand, The Monuments
of Seti I, p. 3-18) along with the tendency for the king’s names and titles to be inscribed in a fashion more typical of Sety than
Ramesses, all suggests this. For changes to the style and design of temple ritual scenes between the reigns of Sety I and Ramesses II,
see B. Lurson, “La Conception du décor d’un temple au début du règne de Ramsès II: Analyse du deuxième registre de la moitié
sud du mur ouest de la grande salle hypostyle de Karnak,” JEA 91, 2005, p. 107-123; R.E. feLeG, “Early Relief Decoration of
Ramesses II,” and in her forthcoming dissertation on the Ramesside Forecourt at Luxor Temple.

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the sculptors later used as a cartoon model for carving them during the earliest years of Ramesses II’s reign.20

2.2. The decoration of the columns under Ramesses II

In the case of Ramesses II, his irst couple of years on the throne saw many changes in the spelling of his
name and the style of engraving his sculptors employed.21
Phase 1 (plan I): Although he subsequently converted them into sunk relief, distinct traces of Ramesses II’s
earliest phase of decoration in raised relief persist on the 12 large columns of the central nave; on the irst row
of columns located just south of the main East-West processional way; and on the two rows of columns lining
the secondary South-North axis in the southern half of the Hall. As was the case with the decoration on the
abaci, the irst columns in the Hall that Ramesses II carved in relief upon his accession were located along both
processional ways. In all three aforementioned zones, the reliefs were initially carved in raised relief with the
shorter form of his prenomen, but he later ordered them to be converted into sunk relief with the long form of
the prenomen sometime after he adopted his long prenomen in regnal year 2. Traces of this earliest phase of
raised relief are evident in palimpsest cartouches on the large column 5b of the central colonnade, where his
prenomen is simply Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ without the later epithet stp.n-Rʿ (ig. 6).22
During this initial phase of Ramesses’ work on the columns, the decorative scheme of both the larger co-
lumns and smaller columns located along the axes was relatively simple, comparable to the decorative format
on closed-bud papyrus columns of early Ramesside buildings such as Gurnah Temple, Ramesses II’s forecourt
at Luxor Temple and the Ramesseum, and on the open-blossom papyrus columns in the irst hypostyle hall of
the latter temple. On the twelve great columns at Karnak, it originally consisted of: (1) two scenes in the main
central register facing the principal axis; (2) friezes of cartouches, vegetation and cobra motifs on the lower
reaches of the column shafts; (3) small bandeau texts situated just above these motifs;23 and (4) of the friezes of
cartouches near the top of the main shaft; and (5) papyrus plant and cartouche motifs on the open-bud capitals
(diagram 2).24 On the smaller columns, the initial program consisted of (1) one or sometimes two ritual scenes
facing the axis; (2) rekhyet-birds adoring royal cartouches and plant motives near the base of each columns;
and (3) a frieze of alternating cartouches and uraei at the top of the close-bud capitals. The decorative formats
were thus largely identical to Sety I’s column decoration (diagram 1).
Phase 2 (plan J): It was probably during his second or third regnal year that Ramesses II’s craftsmen carved
the initial decoration on the remaining columns in the south wing of the Hypostyle Hall using the same res-
trained decorative scheme. By this time, Ramesses II had abandoned the use of raised relief and his craftsmen
sculpted all of the decoration from phase 2 exclusively in sunk relief. Here we ind no evidence of palimpsests.
Now, too, the king had also adopted the inal, long version of his prenomen, Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Rʿ. In the
column scenes, his prenomen sometimes employs the -sign for the phrase Wsr-Mȝʿt, while his nomen Rʿ-
ms-s mr(y)-Ỉmn is typically written , with the theomorphic , and with the phonetic complements
(Gardiner-list S29) and (Gardiner-list O34) at the end of the cartouche.
20 Cf. J. baines, “Techniques of Decoration in the Hall of Barques in the Temple of Sethos I at Abydos,” JEA 75, 1989, p. 13-30;
P.J. brand, op. cit., chapter 3, p. 161, 164.
21 Ibid., p. 34-36; K. seeLe, The Coregency of Ramses II with Seti I and the Date of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, Chicago,
1940, p. 27-31; W.J. murnane, “The Earlier Reign of Ramesses II and His Coregency with Sety I,” JNES 34, 1975, p. 158-161;
P.J. brand, W.J. murnane†, GHHK I.2, chapter 2, § 2.4.
22 The same is true for all the prenomen cartouches originally carved in raised relief.
23 Our ield mission of 2013 has led us to realize that Ramesses II completed more column decoration during his phase 1 than we
had initially reported (J. r evez, P. brand, BSFE 184, 2012, p. 25-27). A preliminary report on our work in 2013 will appear in a
future issue.
24 This pattern of decoration is similar, but not identical, to the stereotyped decoration of Tutankhamun and Sety I on the 14 columns
of the Luxor Temple Colonnade Hall prior to later interventions of Ramesses II, Merenptah and Sety II (see the epiGraphiC survey,
The Facade, Portals, Upper Register Scenes, Columns, Marginalia, and Statuary in the Colonnade Hall, OIP 116, RILT 2, 1998,
pls. 178-179) and Ramesses II’s reliefs on the open papyrus-blossom capitals of the axial columns in the irst hypostyle hall of the
Ramesseum (subsequently embellished with additions by Ramesses III [PM II2, 439; J.-Cl. Goyon, H. eL-aChirie, Le Ramesseum I.
Nef centrale de l’Hypostyle (N), Cairo, 1973, pls. XVIII, XXV, XXVII, XXIX, XXXI, XXXIII, XXXV, XXXVII]).

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Phase 3 (plan K): It was probably soon after his craftsmen had inished decorating the remaining columns in
the south wing during phase 2 that he ordered them to rework his earliest column reliefs from phase 1. During
this third phase, they transformed his now obsolete raised relief carvings into sunk relief and “updated” his
cartouche names with the now standardized forms Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Rʿ and Rʿ-ms-s-mr(y)-Ỉmn.25 At roughly
the same time, Ramesses II also inserted additional stereotyped decoration above and below the scenes on the
great columns of the central aisle. A new frieze of vertical cartouches was positioned just above the scenes,
resting on –signs and crowned by sun disks lanked by a pair of ostrich feathers, but without the inter-
mixing of uraeus serpents as on the older frieze of cartouches carved near the top of the column shafts during
phase 1. In a blank space beneath the ritual scenes on the great columns, the king also added a pair of large
vertical cartouches facing the main axis directly lanked by horizontal bands with his Horus name followed by
nsw-bỉty + prenomen on one side and sȝ Rʿ + nomen on the other so that the lat ends of both cartouches met at
the opposite side of the column (diagram 3). These large bandeaux are almost identical to those Ramesses II
added below the scenes on the 14 columns of the Colonnade Hall in Luxor temple, suggesting that the two sets
of inscriptions are related in time and purpose.26
In all these new marginal inscriptions from phase 3 on the twelve great columns, Ramesses II’s prenomen
Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Rʿ features the compound hieroglyph for Wsr-Mȝʿt, and his nomen form is Rʿ-ms-s writ-
ten with , all of which indicates that the sculptors carved these inscriptions at some point after his irst regnal
year but before his 21st year.
Phase 4 (plan L): At some point after his 21st regnal year, Ramesses II usurped the ritual scenes and stereoty-
ped decoration of Sety I on the irst row of columns (nos. 74-80) standing north of the central nave converting
his father’s raised relief into sunken carvings (diagram 4). This intervention was part of a larger program of
his expropriation of earlier reliefs of Horemheb, Ramesses I and Sety I along the main East-West processional
axis of Karnak extending from the façade and passageway of the Second Pylon through the Hypostyle Hall and
probably into the passageway of the Third Pylon, sometime after year 21.27
Sometime after year 21, but probably not coeval with his usurpations along the main axis, Ramesses II also
inserted a series of horizontal bandeau texts in the blank spaces under the scenes on all 122 of the smaller
columns in the north and south wings (diagram 4). Each of these texts gives a string of his royal cartouche names
preceded by appropriate titles. Closing epithets refer to him as beloved (mry) of various gods. Paleographically,
these bandeau texts are distinctive due to their deep carving and by the form of Ramesses II’s nomen cartouche
as Rʿ-ms-sw, , which invariably uses theomorphic signs to transcribe the names of Re and Amun
and the phonetic ending written without the complement . The form Rʿ-ms-s, which was most common in
Upper Egypt prior to his 21st regnal year, was now obsolete.28 Note, however, that the Rʿ-ms-sw cartouches now
lack the phonetic complement at the end of the cartouche as is typical of horizontally arranged examples
from the abaci. The radical difference between the horizontal bandeau texts and the usurpations of Sety I’s
decoration in row 74-80 - in terms of both the paleography and the quality and deepness of the carving – almost
certainly indicates that they represent two separate campaigns of decoration, but it is not clear which came irst.

25 Compare similar conversions of his own raised relief wall decoration, and that of his father Sety I, in the south wing of the Hall
into sunk relief at approximately the same time. See P.J. brand, W.J. murnane†, GHHK I.2, chapter 2, §§2.6-2.7.
26 the epiGraphiC survey, RILT 2, pls. 178-179.
27 Cf. K. seeLe, Coregency, p. 7-12; W.J. murnane, “Egyptian Monuments and Historical Memory. New Light on the Ancients’ ‘Uses
of the Past’ from the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak,” KMT 5, 1994, p. 15-24; W.J. murnane† et al., “The Karnak Hypostyle Hall
Project (1992-2002),” ASAE 78, 2004, p. 79-127; P.J. brand, The Monuments of Seti I, p. 194, 195-96, on usurpation of east-west axis
of Hall. Elsewhere, Ramesses II’s workmen normally only recut the cartouches of his predecessors along this route.
28 Cf. K.A. K itChen, in W.F. Reineke (ed.), Acts of the 1st International Congress of Egyptology, p. 383-389; K itChen, ASAE 71, 1987,
p. 131-141; A. spaLinGer, CdE 83, 2008, p. 75-89; O. GoeLet, S. isKander, JARCE 48, 2012, p. 143-183; albeit with observable excep-
tions at the Luxor Forecourt and elsewhere, cf. R.E. feLeG, “Features of the Early Relief Decoration of Ramesses II at the Karnak
Hypostyle Hall and the Ramesside Forecourt at Luxor Temple,” M.A. thesis, University of Memphis, 2011, p. 51-54; and P.J. brand,
R.E. feLeG, “Cartouche Variants of Ramesses II,” forthcoming.

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2. 3. The decoration of the columns after Ramesses II

None of Ramesses II’s successors made further interventions in the column decoration of the Great Hypostyle
Hall until the 20th dynasty, when Ramesses IV undertook a hugely ambitious program of additional decora-
tion on the Hypostyle Hall’s columns. In so doing, he radically transformed the building’s appearance. Only
his death prevented him from completing the project, but his inscriptions now appear on the majority of the
columns. Whereas previously, most of the columns had only one scene, Ramesses IV added two more, thereby
completely encompassing them with ritual vignettes (plan M).29 To those axial columns that had two tableaux
already, he inserted a third so that most of them now had three scenes and a couple even had four (diagram 5).30
On the small columns, above the scene, and over the geometric “bundle pattern” that covered the upper half of
the column shafts under Sety I and Ramesses II, the king superimposed three layers of stereotyped horizontal
bandeau texts interspersed with two friezes of vertical cartouches (diagram 6).31 Finally, Ramesses IV inserted
large cartouches over the triangular leaf pattern at the base of many of the small columns (diagram 6). On the
twelve great columns, these cartouches were even larger and were interspersed with serekhs bearing his Horus
name (diagram 7).32 Not satisied with the hieroglyphic spelling of his cartouche names on the large columns,
Ramesses IV ordered them to be recut in such a way as to emphasize the ideogram representing Amun-Re in
his prenomen, .33
Later, Ramesses VI usurped dozens of these cartouches near the base of many of the columns but he left
untouched many hundreds more of Ramesses IV’s cartouches that appear in the scenes and stereotyped deco-
ration on the middle and upper portions of the shafts and capitals (diagram 7-8). The inal intervention in the
column decoration came during the “reign” of the High Priest of Amun-Re Herihor, who carved his titles at the
base of some columns (diagram 9).34

Large Cartouches of Ramesses IV and VI at the base of the columns

Turning our attention to the study of the large cartouches Ramesses IV inscribed over the triangular papyrus
leaf motif near the bases of many of the column shafts inside the Hall - which he subsequently recarved with
different hieroglyphic orthographies of his nomen and prenomen before Ramesses VI later usurped many of
them - it soon becomes apparent that both of these pharaohs gave precedence to the most prestigious and visible
locations along the two main processional axes of the Hall during each successive phase in which their sculp-
tors carved and recarved these cartouches. In this way, these 20th dynasty rulers followed the same pattern as
their 19th dynasty ancestors Sety I and Ramesses II by carefully selecting and giving priority to prime loca-
tions for their decoration.35 Although we have not yet fully determined all of the exact orthographic variants of
these recarved cartouches, it is already quite clear that there were as many as three stages of carving on the 12
great columns and one or two on the 122 smaller ones.36 During the earliest phase, Ramesses IV carved his car-
touches on the columns lining both of the processional ways (plan N). On the 122 closed-bud papyrus columns,
the most common forms of the nomen in this phase are Rʿ-ms-s ḥqȝ-Mȝʿt-Rʿ mr(y)-Ỉmn and Rʿ-ms-s

29 PM II2, 50-51; H.H. neLson, Key Plans, pl. 3, nos. 1-134; L.A. Christophe, Temple d’Amon à Karnak : les divinités des colonnes de
la Grande Salle hypostyle et leurs épithètes, Cairo, 1955; and most recently P. brand, J. r evez et al., Karnak 14, 2013, p. 193-229;
J. r evez, P. brand, BSFE 184, 2012, p. 10-38.
30 Axial columns with only one scene added by Ramesses IV: columns 1-12, 63, 71, 77, 78, 81-88; Axial columns with two scenes
added by Ramesses IV (and thus resulting in a total of four scenes) columns 62 and 64, cf. neLson, Key Plans, pl. 3, and n. 30 above.
31 Cf. J. r evez, P. brand, op. cit., ig. 10.
32 Ibid., ig. 9.
33 See W.J. murnane et al., ASAE 78, 2004, p. 108 (§4.4).
34 A.M. roth, “Some New Texts of Herihor and Ramesses IV in the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak,” JNES 42, 1983, p. 43-53.
35 These large cartouches were investigated by R. Feleg and A. Shahat. Their indings will appear in a preliminary report in prepara-
tion.
36 Ramesses IV recarved his cartouches on the small columns lying along the north-south axis to amend the form and orthography
of his nomen and prenomen. He also reworked those on columns 37, 46 and 55, lying adjacent to each other in the south-east
quadrant, to enlarge them and change their orientation, but otherwise did not alter their orthographies. Ramesses VI only usurped
his predecessors large cartouches on the 12 great columns of the central nave which Ramesses IV had previously amended himself.

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mȝʿty mr(y) Ỉmn while the prenomen is usually ḥqȝ-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Ỉmn written or . On
the twelve great columns, his cartouche rings were surmounted by elaborate ȝtf-crowns and were interspersed
with his Horus name ʿnḫ m Mȝʿ.t, . On the smaller, closed-bud columns, only the cartouches appear,
now capped by a sun disk with double ostrich plumes lanked by uraei.
In the second phase, Ramesses IV added additional cartouches over the triangular papyrus leaf patterns at
the bottom of most of the remaining columns (plan O), but now with a new hieroglyphic spelling of his names:
ḥqȝ-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Ỉmn or , and Rʿ-ms-s mȝʿty mr(y) Ỉmn with the ending sometimes
arranged as . About the same time, he recarved his earlier large cartouches along both axes to “update”
their orthography to match the new examples (plan O). Most signiicantly, he created unique orthographies of
the cartouches on the twelve large columns of the central East-West axis.37
Finally, Ramesses VI followed suit by carving his own cartouche names and Horus names over those of
Ramesses IV, but only along the main processional ways (plan P). His nomen is: Rʿ-ms-s Ỉmn-(ḫr)-ḫpš.(f)
nṯr ḥqȝ Ỉwn , prenomen: Nb-Mȝʿt-Rʿ mr(y) Ỉmn , and Horus name: kȝ nḫt ʿȝ nʿtw sʿnḫ tȝwy
. After each alteration of the previous stage, the workmen used plaster inill to suppress the older
version and then proceeded to carve the new name. In some cases, traces of this plaster still adhere. Thus, both
pharaohs proceeded to carve their names initially only on the axial columns. Interestingly enough, Ramesses
IV, who never had time to decorate the southwestern quadrant of the Hall, managed nevertheless to inscribe
two large cartouches at the base of column 69, on the precise section of its circumference that is visible from
the processional axis (ig. 7).

3. The Quality of the Workmanship: the Case of the Main East-West Axis

If the parameter of time (i.e., notion of priority) and of location (the principle of visibility and prestige) are
key factors deining what constitutes prime space in the decoration of pharaonic monuments, the degree of
care the craftsmen put into carving and painting scenes and inscriptions on monumental surfaces is another,
albeit less inluential, criterion. A relevant case in point is the evidence for the varying quality of workmanship
in Ramesses II’s later decoration on columns 74-80, the irst row of closed-bud papyrus columns running just
north of and parallel to the twelve great columns along the main East-West processional axis of the Hall. We
can discern a clear pattern here: the craftsmen executed decoration facing the main processional way with
greater inesse, whereas their efforts on surfaces that are hidden from view from the main axis of the monument
betray a general sloppiness and neglect due both to haste and the fact that these reliefs were less visible.
Two examples will sufice to illustrate this point. The irst concerns the care with which Ramesses II’s sculp-
tors erased Sety I’s cartouche names and re-inscribed them with his own on the abaci atop columns 74-80. For
instance, a glance at abacus 76 South, facing the main East-West axis, shows Ramesses II’s prenomen engraved
with great inesse. Quite different are some of the cartouches facing the opposite direction. On abacus 75 North
(ig. 8), the pharaoh’s workmen did not bother to inish carving his name fully; so, only the very beginning of
(Gardiner List N35) in the epithet stp.n-Rʿ was chiseled. The same observation holds true for abacus 80
North (ig. 9), where the sculptors’ negligence was even greater; here they omitted stp.n-Rʿ entirely. It is true
that in both cases, an artist could have simply completed his master’s name in paint over the ine layer of white
plaster that covered the lat surface at the end of the cartouche where it had not been recarved. This could have
been an acceptable solution in so far as the abaci inscriptions were located high above the ground, far away
from any mortal viewers’ scrutiny (if not from the gods themselves).38 Nevertheless, these pieces of data tend

37 As irst noted by W.J. murnane et al., ASAE 78, 2004, p. 107-109 and ig. 12A, 12B. For a more detailed account of these complex
orthographies and successive recarvings of the large cartouches found on the small columns of Ramesses IV and VI see our forth-
coming report on the 2013 season of the Karnak Hypostyle Hall Project.
38 Indeed, in the south wing, at least some abaci carved in sunk relief with the obsolete nomen during the second phase
of Ramesses II’s decoration of the abaci were later corrected to in paint after the extraneous signs and were illed
in with plaster and replaced by painted . See n. 13 above.

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to show that artists were not afraid to cut corners when they recarved the surfaces of abaci that were less per-
ceptible to observers on the ground, especially under time constraints during what was probably a mad rush to
complete large amounts of new relief decoration that the king ordered to be added to many existing monuments
at Karnak in preparation for one of his Sed-festivals. The lower visibility of these reliefs situated away from
the main access, which rested 13 meters above the ground, further induced the craftsmen to rush through their
work, the incomplete prenomen cartouche carved on 75 North being eloquent testimony to this phenomenon.39
The other signiicant example that illustrates the difference in the treatment of the decoration concerns the
rekhyet-bird motifs with royal cartouches that adorn the bottom part of the aforementioned row of columns
74-80. Here again, Ramesses II transformed his father’s raised relief decoration into sunk relief and at the same
time surcharged Sety I’s cartouches with his own.40 On column 75, for example, the sections of the columns
visible from the main axis were once again neatly recut. Palimpsest traces of Sety I’s erased bas-relief decora-
tion are discernible only under close epigraphic scrutiny (ig. 10), whereas sections of the column that were not
clearly in sight from the processional ways were only partially recut. So, for example, craftsmen left the
-signs in Sety I’s distinctive raised relief beneath his cartouches even as they recarved the royal names and
rekhyet-birds in sunk relief for Ramesses II (ig. 11). 41
It is worthwhile to ponder over the motives that led Ramesses II to recut Sety’s reliefs in this precise location.
It is quite clear he recarved all the columns and abaci in row 74-80 along with the south face of the architraves
above them, an observation that had not escaped the attention of previous scholars including L.A. Chris-
tophe in the early 1960s,42 and later W.J. Murnane43 and V. Rondot.44 Of singular importance is the fact that
Ramesses II re-inscribed the entire southern face of architrave no. 10, originally authored by his father, with a
wholly new text.45 In two instances on the south face of this architrave - oriented towards the main East-West
axis - Ramesses II refers to his Sed-festivals: nsw nḫt ʿšȝw ḥbw-sd wr bỉȝwt, “the mighty king, plentiful of Sed-

39 Ramesses II’s usurpations along the east-west axis of Karnak Temple between the Second Pylon and Third Pylon was likely part of
a much larger campaign of new decoration to existing monuments in Karnak, Luxor and elsewhere in Thebes often executed rapidly
in preparation for one of the king’s jubilees. Compare the crude and hasty workmanship of these reliefs with similarly maladroit
examples from side chambers Ramesses II decorated during the same period in Sety I’s Gurnah temple. See P. brand, “Ideology
and Politics of the Early Ramesside Kings (13th Century B.C.): A Historical Approach,” in Prozesse des Wandels in historischen
Spannungsfeldrn Nordostafrikas/Westasiens: Akten zum 2. Symposium des SFB 295, Mainz, 15.10.-17.10.2001, Würzburg, 2005,
p. 23-38; id., “Veils, Votives and Marginalia: the Use of Sacred Space at Karnak and Luxor,” in P.F. Dorman, B.M. Bryan (eds.),
Sacred Space and Sacred Function in Ancient Thebes, SAOC 61, 2006, p. 52-59. By contrast, the pharaoh’s artisans took consider-
ably more care with inscriptions in highly visible and prestigious locations such as the marginal texts that Ramesses added to either
side of the central inscriptions on his two Luxor Temple obelisks sometime shortly after his year 30 (P. brand, in Prozesse des
Wandels, p. 23-38). For the obelisk’s inscriptions with commentary, see KRI II, 598-605; RITANC II, 392-400; RITA II, 392-400;
A. spaLinGer, “Ramesses II at Luxor: Mental Gymnastics,” Orientalia 79, 2010, p. 425-479.
40 Note that Ramesses II recarved and usurped all of Sety’s decoration on the columns and abaci in row 74-80, in each case convert-
ing it to sunk relief and inscribing his cartouches as and , the standard orthographies common during most of
the second half of his reign.
41 During our 2013 ield season, these -signs were recorded by graduate students N. Moreau and C. Caron. Comparable survivals
of suppressed and converted raised relief decoration, both Sety I’s and Ramesses II’s own early raised work, are visible throughout
large portions of the interior walls in the south wing of the Great Hypostyle Hall where the later king recarved raised decoration
into sunk relief (See P.J. brand, W.J. murnane†, GHHK I.2). The same phenomenon occurs with older raised relief decoration that
Ramesses II converted to sunk relief in blocks reused in the 20th dynasty Khonsu Temple at Karnak. See the epiGraphiC survey,
“2010-2011 Annual Report,” Chicago, 2011, p. 42-44; J.L. K impton, J.B. mCCLain, K. vértes, W.R. johnson, “Preliminary Report
on the Work of the Epigraphic Survey in the Temple of Khonsu at Karnak, 2008-2009,” JARCE 46, 2010, p. 113-124; J.B. mCCLain,
J.L. K impton, K. aLberts, K. vértes, W.R. johnson, “Preliminary Report on the Work of the Epigraphic Survey in the Temple of
Khonsu at Karnak, 2009-2010,” JARCE 47, 2011, p. 159-179; id., “Preliminary Report on the Work of the Epigraphic Survey in the
Temple of Khonsu at Karnak, 2010-2012,” JARCE 48, 2012, p. 237-260.
42 L.A. Christophe, “La face sud des architraves surmontant les colonnes 74-80 de la grande salle hypostyle de Karnak,” BIFAO 60,
1960, p. 69-82.
43 W.J. murnane, JNES 34, 1975, p. 180.
44 V. rondot, La grande salle hypostyle de Karnak. Les architraves, Paris, 1997, p. 26-32, pl. 5, architrave no. 10.
45 Cf. KRI II, 557: 1-10; KRITA II, 360-361; KRITANC II, 360-361; and V. rondot, op. cit., p. 29-32, pl. 5.

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festivals, great of marvels,”46 and sȝ Rʿ wḥm ḥbw-sd, “the Son of Re who repeats Sed-festivals,” (ig. 12).47 As
no further references to jubilees occur anywhere else on the architraves of the Hypostyle Hall, it is very temp-
ting to conclude that Ramesses II inserted this new text on architrave no. 10 in the context of one of his Sed-
festival celebrations (he had at least a dozen).48 The post-year 21 dating of the nomen orthography ,
“Ramessu beloved of Amun,” inscribed with and the theomorphic variants of both and , its well with
this conclusion.49
If this hypothesis proves correct, the king’s desire to link his name with that of Ptah – a god closely connec-
ted with the celebration of Sed-festivals through his avatar Ptah-Tatenen50 – becomes even clearer in this light.
Several important documents from Karnak dated to the middle years of his reign lesh out the crucial connec-
tion between Ptah-Tatenen, the Sed-festivals and the pharaoh himself.51 These include the First Hittite Marriage
Stela52 and the so-called Blessing of Ptah Decree53 that were both carved on the Ninth Pylon at Karnak and in
other locations in Upper Egypt and Nubia. A badly damaged stela of Ramesses II that had lain in storage in the
Sheikh Labib magazine at Karnak for some time has just been published. Here, a deity whose name is lost (but
who was probably Amun-Re) offers the king ḥbw-sd wrw ʿšȝw mỉ ỉt.k Ptḥ-tȝ-Ṯnn, “great and numerous Sed-
festivals like your father Ptah-Tatenen (line 15).”54 All three inscriptions are dated respectively to years 34, 35
and 37, a period of time during which Ramesses II celebrated his second and third jubilees. It is thus tempting
to infer that his reappropriation of Sety I’s decoration along the primary processional way of the Hall (as well
as his other usurpations of reliefs along this same axis from the façade of the Second Pylon through the central
nave and clerestory) took place during the irst half of Ramesses II’s third decade of rule.

4. Geographical Markers: Deining a Subtle Concept

Equally interesting, but slightly different in nature, are small epigraphic anomalies that periodically inter-
rupt the monotonous layout and sequential frequency of the stereotyped decoration. Such peculiarities – with
careful attention to the orthography of stereotyped texts – can be spotted quite easily inside the Hypostyle Hall
where redundancy is a key feature of the generally standardized and seemingly lackluster decoration. Such
deviations from the normal pattern of stereotyped texts and artistic motifs (best illustrated by the cartouche
friezes and heraldic plant motifs) could simply be understood as unimportant inconsistencies (and thus pro-
ducts of human error) in the implementation of a decorative program executed on a huge scale.55 Upon closer
examination, however, one has the distinct feeling that these irregularities (or “outliers”) are not always the
result of mere accident, but are, in fact, deliberate variations relecting purposeful decisions by the scribes and
artisans that convey, perhaps, semiotic nuance to knowledgeable viewers that are, nevertheless, ambiguous and
often dificult to comprehend today. How one ought to interpret these subtle epigraphic cues remains tricky,
and often depends on their context. Should an anomaly within an otherwise uniform sequence of motifs be

46 ibid., p. 30.
47 Ibid., p. 31.
48 Cf. KRI II, 377-398; KRITA II, 208-226; KRITANC II, 233-258; L. habaChi, “The Jubilees of Ramesses II and Amenophis III with
Reference to Certain Aspects of their Celebration,” ZÄS 97, 1971, p. 64-72, pls. V-VII.
49 Usually dated to year 21, according to the spelling of the name in the Hittite Treaty (K.A. K itChen, in W.F. Reineke [ed.], Acts of the
1st International Congress of Egyptology, 384, and n. 11, p. 388) of the reign of the king, but it may be here even later, as mentions
of jubilees may indicate a date after year 30.
50 H.A. sChLöGL, Der Gott Tatenen nach Texten und Bildern des Neuen Reiches, OBO 29, 1980, esp. p. 56-63 for Ramesses II’s reign.
51 The king’s Horus name,“Lord of Jubilees like his father Ptah-Tatenen” became standard from the time of the Second Jubilee,
years 33-34, cf. KRI II, 384-385; KRITA II, 213-14; RITANC II, 238-241; L. habaChi, op. cit., p. 66 and n. 21.
52 KRI II 233-256; KRITA II, 86-96; KRITANC II, 146-157.
53 KRI II 258-281; KRITA II, 99-110; KRITANC II, 159-163.
54 Ch. Labarta, “Une stèle de Ramsès II au magasin Cheikh Labib de Karnak,” Karnak 14, 2013, p. 425-436, esp. ig. 2-3, p. 435-436.
55 A very rough estimate of the overall number of cartouches carved on the columns inside the Hall would be no less than 15,000!

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regarded as accidental or intentional? Can it be ascribed to a personal choice by the scribe or sculptor?56 Was
it merely an oversight?57 Or, were such anomalies the product of deliberate plans and intentions that now often
escape us?58 Such ineluctable questions cannot be answered deinitively, even though it is, at times, possible to
make a case for one interpretation over another.59
As opposed to accidental abnormalities that are fortuitous and meaningless60, geographical markers are often
subtle yet deliberate discrepancies aimed at drawing the attention of the viewer on the peculiar position of any
given architectural, iconographic or textual feature in relation to the overall layout of a monument. In order to
avoid the problem of misinterpreting such hypothetical “geographical markers,” it is crucial to analyze these
abnormalities, not in isolation, but within both the larger framework of similar oddities (e.g., scribal errors), and
within the context of the overall decorative program of a monument (viz.: the textual and iconographic patterns
from which each anomaly departs). This will allow us to determine whether such isolated exceptions – iden-
tiied singly or as a group of anomalies – are simply random, fortuitous and therefore meaningless departures
from the expected decorative pattern; or whether such aberrations in monumental decoration possess a deeper
signiicance subject to meaningful interpretation, as we believe the next set of examples will show.

5. The case of the North-South secondary axis (North Wing)

5.1. Sety I
Cases where epigraphic peculiarities seem intentional can be gleaned from columns lining the North-South
secondary axis of the Hall, in its northern half. At irst glance, the stereotyped friezes of Sety I’s royal car-
touches that adorn the uppermost part of the closed-bud capitals (just beneath the abaci) of all the columns in
the northern section of the Hypostyle Hall appear wholly redundant in form and appearance.61 While the stan-
dard variant of the king’s nomen cartouche in the Great Hypostyle Hall is almost everywhere Stẖy-mr.n-Ỉmn,
56 See O. Goelet and S. Iskander’s interpretation of the unusual variants in Ramesses II’s cartouche names carved in the earliest years
of his reign in his Abydos Temple: O. GoeLet, S. isKander, JARCE 48, 2012, p. 143-183.
57 Human error and minor mistakes are common enough in monumental inscriptions to make this a reasonable explanation in some,
if not all, cases. E.g., a relief of Sety I on the south half of the west interior wall of the Karnak Hypostyle Hall which Ramesses II
usurped and converted to sunk relief. Initially, his craftsmen erroneously recarved Sety I’s cartouche in sunk relief before realizing
their mistake and altering it for a second time to Ramesses II’s name. W. murnane, JNES 34, 1975, p. 180; P.J. brand, W.J. mur-
nane†, GHHK I.2, pl. 33, forthcoming.
58 In contrast to Goelet and Iskander, Spalinger argues that the numerous variants of Ramesses II’s cartouche names at the beginning
of Ramesses II’s reign were part of a deliberate program of experimentation authorized by the king; A. spaLinGer, CdE 83, 2008,
p. 82-89, a view that we also hold. See P.J. brand, R.E. feLeG, forthcoming.
59 One must nevertheless bear in mind that certain anomalies may actually postdate pharaonic times, since the modern reassembly
of about a dozen columns in the north wing of the Hall by G. Legrain at the beginning of the 20th Century led at times to some
unsuitable matching of drums. Cf. L.A. Christophe, Les divinités des colonnes, p. 4-5. Another example (not mentioned by the
author) of an error in the reconstruction of a column can be detected at the top of the closed-bud papyrus capital of column 102
where Sety I had originally carved the frieze of uraeus serpents and cartouches, as he did elsewhere in the north wing; Ramesses II
later surcharged his father’s cartouches, replacing them with his own prenomen Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Rʿ and his nomen Rʿ-ms-sw
mr(y)-Ỉmn. This capital has in fact most probably been misplaced and should more likely have lain on top of column 74, no longer
in situ. Thus, one can not consider this unique occurrence of a recarved cartouche of Ramesses II along the northern half of the
North-South processional way as an ‘outlier’.
60 A good case in point is the southern face of column 20, where Ramesses II’s nomen inside a cartouche in one of the rekhyet-bird
motifs is misspelled Rʿ-ms-n-mr(y)-Ỉmn (ig.13-13a), with the (Gardiner-list N35) sign erroneously substituted for the
expected (Gardiner-list O34). Here, the similar horizontal shape of the lat hieroglyph at the bottom of the cartouche explains
why the artist confused one sign for the other, perhaps as a result of the sculptor misinterpreting the draftsman’s cartoon, or the latter
misinterpreting a hieratic original. Likewise, in several of the wall scenes in the Hall where the sculptors have confused similarly
shaped, often lat, signs, probably due to misreading of an original hieratic ligature. Cf. P.J. brand, W.J. murnane†, GHHK I.2,
pls. 22, n. a; p. 82, n. a; 86, n. a; p. 96, n. b; p. 104, n. c; p. 139, n. b; p. 140, n. d; p. 153, n. a; p. 195, n. a; p. 199, n. r; p. 205, n. h;
p. 214, n. a; and p. 235, n. a. Whatever the cause, this aberrant orthography evidently does not reveal any deeper theological, political
or geographic symbolism that might be gleaned from this unique case.
61 These cobra and cartouche friezes atop the 122 smaller columns were studied during our 2013 ield season by graduate students
J. Bouchard and S. Ficalora.

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“Sety whom Amun loves,” it is exceptionally Stẖy-mr.n-Ptḥ, “Sety whom Ptah loves,” in some of the occur-
rences on columns 111 and 112 (ig. 14). Signiicantly, this epithet associated with Ptah’s name is attested only
once inside all the scenes carved on the columns erected in the eastern half of the Hall by Sety I. The column
with this unique occurrence just happens to be no. 111 (ig. 15), precisely one of the two columns where this
epithet appears at their top as well. One explanation for the appearance of nomen cartouches with the epithet
mr.n-Ptḥ on these particular columns turns on their location within the Hypostyle Hall. Both columns (plan Q)
lie at roughly the midpoint of the North-South processional axis leading to the north gateway which then conti-
nues outside of the Hall as a sacred way leading northward towards the temple of Ptah, situated next to the
northern enclosure wall of the Amun-Re precinct (ig. 16).62 It is tempting to associate these rare occurrences
of Sety’s nomen epithet mr.n-Ptḥ with the god’s temple lying just to the north of the Great Hypostyle Hall.
Early in his reign, Sety I restored a stela erected by Thutmosis III in the temple of Ptah that Akhenaten had
defaced.63 Sety also set up a new stela next to the temple.64 One must also bear in mind that Sety carved images
of Ptah and Amun-Re on the exterior west jamb of the central doorway of the north wall of the Hypostyle Hall
(ig. 17).65 These two deities also happen to be the two most important gods attested inside the Karnak temple
of Ptah.66 Finally, on the interior faces of both the east and west jambs of the Hall’s northern gateway, Sety I’s
craftsmen systematically carved his nomen with the variant Stẖy-mr.n-Ptḥ as well,67 whereas everywhere else
on the adjoining north interior wall, his cartouches are invariably Stẖy-mr.n-Ỉmn.68 All these pieces of evidence
illustrate this Ramesside pharaoh’s conscious will to associate his name with that of the Memphite god Ptah
at speciic locations within the Great Hypostyle Hall that are geographically oriented towards Ptah’s Karnak
shrine at the northern edge of the main precinct of Karnak.69

5.2. Ramesses IV
The third king to participate in the decoration of the Hypostyle Hall on a large scale was Ramesses IV. He,
like Sety I and Ramesses II before him, seemed to have wished to highlight the importance of the North-South
processional way in the northern section of the Hall, but in a slightly different manner than his two illustrious
predecessors.
Ramesses IV commanded his artisans to inscribe two friezes of vertical cartouches interspersed with three
horizontal bandeaux with his royal names and titles inscribed in alternating layers on the upper half of each
lateral columns over the original geometric “papyrus bundle” pattern (diagram 6).70 The variant he most com-
monly used to spell his prenomen throughout the Hall is ḥqȝ-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Ỉmn, , using the -sign
for the phonogram n (Gardiner List N35) in the stp.n-Ỉmn epithet (ig. 18). Yet, in certain cases, he used the
variant of his name, with the characteristic Lower Egyptian Red Crown glyph (Gardiner List S3)
symbolic of the North instead (ig. 19). One would naturally expect the latter variant to be used almost exclusi-

62 A more anomalous case is the main scene on column 115 where Sety I worships Amun-Kamutef and Amunet, although his nomen
has the epithet mr-n-Ptḥ. A possible northern connection is the fact that the king dons the Red Crown.
63 CGC 34013 (KIU 555 from the Karnak project ([Link] P. LaCau, Stèles du Nouvel Empire, CGC,
Cairo, 1909, p. 27, pl. IX; P.J. brand, The Monuments of Seti I, 84; Chr. thiers, “Le temple de Ptah à Karnak: Remarques pré-
liminaires,” in H. Beinlich (ed.), 9. Ägyptologische Tempeltagung: Kultabbildung und Kultrealität, Wiesbaden, 2013, p. 323. For
a complete bibliography see A. K LuG, Königliche Stelen in der Zeit von Ahmose bis Amenophis III, MonAeg 8, 2002, p. 511-512.
64 P.J. brand, The Monuments of Seti I, p. 221, igs. 107 and 109; Chr. thiers, op. cit., p. 323.
65 the epiGraphiC survey, Battle Reliefs of Sety I, pl. 19, right.
66 Chr. thiers, op. cit., p. 327.
67 H.H. neLson, GHHK I.1, pls. 182-187.
68 Elsewhere inside the Hall, isolated examples of Sety I’s nomen with the epithet mr.n-Ptḥ appear in three scenes from the north
half of the east wall, but here there does not seem to be any connection with Ptah or his nearby temple. In fact, the king worships
Amun-Re (GHHK I.1, pls. 203, 217) or Khonsu (ibid., pl. 206). Yet in an adjoining scene where he does venerate Ptah, his nomen is
Stẖy-mr.n-Ỉmn (ibid., pl. 205, left).
69 In fact, the standard nomen epithet for Sety I on most of his other monuments was mr.n-Ptḥ. This includes reliefs in Theban
monuments such as his Gurnah Temple and his other inscriptions at Karnak. See P.J. brand, The Monuments of Seti I, p. 31-34;
Chr. Loeben, “À propos de la graphie du nom de Séthi I à Karnak,” Karnak 8, 1987, p. 225-228.
70 Ramesses IV’s marginal inscriptions were studied in the 2013 season by graduate student P. Poiron.

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vely in the northern half of the Hall, which in fact is the case, since no occurrence of the -sign is to be seen
71
in his cartouches in the southern wing of the monument. Even so, it appears that Ramesses IV did not carve
his cartouches randomly, since the -signs, carved in both friezes of vertical cartouches and in all
three horizontal bandeaux, are concentrated on the irst row of columns located on either side of the secondary
North-South axis (plan R).72 Here again, the distinctive in Ramesses IV’s prenomen distinguishes the axial
columns along both processional ways from the rest of the columns in the northern wing which display the
usual variant with . Whether the idea of geographical North, indicated by the -sign, is meant to allude
to the temple of Ptah north of the Hypostyle Hall speciically, is a matter open to [Link] is also worth
mentioning that Ramesses IV also added a frieze of his cartouches on the interior jambs of both the northern
and southern gates of the Hall, but here he used the earlier form of his prenomen Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Ỉmn which
is not found in his decoration of the columns.73
All in all, the fact that the two major kings involved in the decoration of the Hypostyle Hall (Sety I and
Ramesses IV) made tacit reference to the temple of Ptah along the northern secondary axis hardly seems
accidental and weighs heavily in favor of interpreting these inscriptional cues as geographical markers, which
in turn are only a prelude to more explicit connections between both monuments, as illustrated by the paved
roadway that was laid down to link them during the Late Period.74

6. Geographical Markers: the case of the North-South secondary axis (South Wing)

Although it was Ramesses IV who left posterity with the largest corpus of column decoration in the Great
Hypostyle Hall, the undecorated column surfaces his predecessors had left for him to ill with new inscrip-
tions when he ascended the throne were certainly not prime space. Between them, Sety I and Ramesses II had
monopolized the most valuable sections of the columns by placing their ritual scenes so that they faced the
processional ways directly. Thus Ramesses IV had no other alternative but to add his ritual scenes to those por-
tions of columns that were still available, namely surfaces oriented away from the two main axes and therefore
largely invisible from them.75 So, while Ramesses IV carved many more scenes on the columns than Sety I and
Ramesses II combined, ironically none of them occupied prime space.
Ramesses IV decided to compensate for this handicap by carving his cartouches on portions of columns that
were in full view from the axes, with the drawback that he had to adjoin them amid pre-existing decoration of

71 On some larger abaci on top of northern columns of the central colonnade, the Red Crown sometimes appears as well on the head
of the Seth-ideogram.
72 The n-crown sign is used systematically in all ive registers of cols. 76, 77, 78, 84, 85, 93, 94, 111 and 112. On columns 103, 120 and
129, this sign appears in the middle and lower bandeaux, as well as in the upper and lower friezes. One would also expect evidence
for the n-crown in the upper bandeau, but the cartouches are unfortunately no longer legible there. The n-wave sign does appear in
the upper bandeau of columns 102, 120 and 121, but both these sections of column may not belong there originally, as they were
reerected by Legrain. As for column 130, it is no longer in situ.
73 GHHK I.1, pls. 57, 61, 184, 187. See translation and commentary on these scenes in brand, murnane†, GHHK I.2. On both sides
of the south gate, and on the east jamb of the north, only the ostrich plumes surmounting these cartouches remain, while only the
upper half of the cartouches survive on the west jamb of the northern gate. The Wsr-Mȝʿt-Rʿ stp.n-Ỉmn prenomen variant is only
attested in the irst year of Ramesses IV’s reign, suggesting that these cartouche friezes were his earliest inscriptions in the Great
Hypostyle Hall, a prelude to a much larger program to come once he had adopted his later prenomen ḥqȝ-Mȝʿt-Rʿ-stp.n-Ỉmn. For the
two stages of his cartouche names see K.A. K itChen, ASAE 71, 1987, p. 137-138; Al.J. peden, The Reign of Ramesses IV, Warmin-
ster, 1994, p. 15. On the practice by Ramesside kings of carving bandeau texts on the occasion of royal visits to speciic temples see
K.A. K itChen, “A Note on Bandeau Texts in New Kingdom Temples,” in F. Junge (ed.), Studien zu Sprache und Religion Ägyptens:
Zu Ehren von Wolfhart Westendorf überreicht von seinen Freunden und Schülern, I: Sprache, Göttingen, 1984, p. 547–53.
74 Cf. L. CouLon, C. defernez, “La chapelle d’Osiris Ounnefer Neb-Djefaou à Karnak. Rapport préliminaire des fouilles et travaux
2000-2004,” BIFAO 104, 2004, p. 136, ig. 1 for location of alleyway. Its exact date has not been clearly established; it was irst
thought to have been put up during the Ptolemaic period (ibid., p. 149), but might actually be of earlier time, probably of the Saite
Dynasty (L. CouLon, in BIFAO 106, 2006, p. 380). In any case, it seems very likely that at least a dirt pathway already existed there
during the Third Intermediate Period (ibid).
75 L.A. Christophe, Les divinités des colonnes.

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his 19th dynasty predecessors. Thus, he inserted no fewer than 60 small cartouches, along with a few titles and
epithets, in the negative spaces or voids within several ritual scenes of Ramesses II lying along the two rows
of columns just east of the North-South axis in the southern half of the Hall (plan S; ig. 20).76 Often, these
were wedged into whatever empty space that was available, with the result that the orientation and position of
these cartouches and epithets varies widely. As was the case with his substitution of the -sign variant for
in some of his prenomen cartouches on columns in the north wing (see supra section 5.2), the largest
concentrations of Ramesses IV’s small cartouches inside Ramesses II’s scenes appear on the row of columns
immediately adjacent to the processional way.77 As a group, they constitute a kind of miniature program of
monumental gloss to Ramesses II’s decoration along the North-South axis, but one that was much smaller in
scope than Ramesses IV’s other adjunctions of relief decoration on the columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall
(see supra section 2.3).
In the previous section, we suggested a link between some geographical markers on the northern half of
the secondary North-South axis inside the Hypostyle Hall and the temple of Ptah lying north of the building.
Looking southward from the Hall, is there another monument that would likewise have served as a point of
reference in relation to the southern wing of the North-South processional way? What immediately comes to
mind is the 20th dynasty Temple of Khonsu in the South-West corner of Amun-Re’s Karnak precinct (ig. 16).
Currently, the Epigraphic Survey is recording inscribed blocks lying under the pavement and foundations of the
existing temple which Ramesses III built by reusing great quantities of inscribed blocks from dismantled 18th
and early 19th dynasty monuments,78 including what was likely an earlier structure dedicated to Khonsu with
reliefs by various 18th dynasty pharaohs as well as Sety I and Ramesses II.79
The implicit connection between the Temple of Khonsu and the Great Hypostyle Hall, both geographically
speaking and in regard to certain afinities between their decorative style and program, had previously been
noted by E.F. Wente80 and A.M. Roth.81 Despite adding marginal decoration and bandeau text at various points
throughout Karnak, especially in the nearby Cour de la Cachette, Ramesses IV devoted most of his energies at
Karnak to the Hypostyle Hall and to the Temple of Khonsu. Likewise, these are the only two monuments that
Herihor decorated in any systematic fashion. At the Temple of Khonsu, Ramesses IV ornamented the walls of
the ambulatory passage surrounding the central bark shrine with inely ornamented relief decoration, a program
that remained incomplete at his death. He also inscribed portions of the main sanctuary lying immediately
north of the bark shrine.82 It thus comes as no surprise that Ramesses IV wished to link the Temple of Khonsu
to the Great Hypostyle Hall by inscribing his cartouches along the eastern side of the southern half of the pro-
cessional way of the latter monument. His sudden death would explain why he never continued this decorative

76 Columns nos. 17-18, 26-27, 35-36, 44-45, 53-54, 62, 64, 71-72. See section written by N. Moreau and C. Caron in 2013 Field Season
Report. Ramesses IV did not inscribe his cartouches on the rows of columns immediately to the west of the aforementioned axis.
For reasons dificult to grasp, the whole of the southwestern quadrant of the hall was left undecorated by the king. As verbally sug-
gested to us by J.B. McClain, one has the strong feeling that the easy solution adopted by the artists in order to insert the cartouches
of Ramesses IV on the aforementioned columns may have been dictated by haste, as the result, say, of an impromptu visit of the
pharaoh at the temple (a modern parallel could be made with the expedience in which roads are rehabilitated just before the passage
of the presidential cortège during an off-the-cuff journey in town).
77 Although located along the main axis, it comes to no surprise that none of the king’s cartouches contain the Red Crown , since
they were carved in the southern end of the monument.
78 Some of these blocks came from cult temples of Amenhotep III and Ay/Horemheb on the west bank. Cf. W.R. johnson, An Asiatic
Battle Scene of Tutankhamun from Thebes: a Late Amarna Antecedent of the Ramesside Battle-Narrative Tradition, Ph.D. diss.,
University of Chicago, 1992; the epiGraphiC survey, The Temple of Khonsu, Vol. I, OIP 100, 1979, p. XVI, pls. 42, 48, 61, 72, 74,
77, 100, 101, 110; the epiGraphiC survey, The Temple of Khonsu, Vol. II, OIP 103, 1981, p. XVII, pls. 116A, 117A, 118A, 121B,
122A, 141, 142B, 144C, 178, 202B-D, 207; S. biCKeL, “Amenhotep III à Karnak. L’étude des blocs épars,” BSFE 167, 2006, p. 12-32.
79 J.L. K impton, J.B. mCCLain, K. vértes, W.R. johnson, JARCE 46, 2010, p. 113-124; J.B. mCCLain, J.L. K impton, K. aLberts,
K. vértes, W.R. johnson, JARCE 47, 2011, p. 159-179; id., JARCE 48, 2012, p. 237-260.
80 the epiGraphiC survey, The Temple of Khonsu, Vol. I, p. X.
81 A.M. roth, JNES 42, 1983, p. 43-53.
82 Al.J. peden, The Reign of Ramesses IV, p. 39.

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program on the opposite, western side of the axis in the south-west quadrant.83 Adding his cartouches inside
Ramesses II’s scenes along the secondary axis was an easy way out, perhaps as a “short cut’’ at the beginning
of his reign to place his mark on the hypostyle hall prior to the much more ambitious, but time-consuming task
of beginning what would later become a comprehensive program of systematic decoration throughout the Hall.
By inserting his name into column scenes belonging to his prestigious forefather Ramesses II, Ramesses IV
desired to associate himself with a king who had himself established close ties with the god Khonsu, as we can
see through the role this god played in the Bentresh Stela narrative.84 Inside the Hypostyle Hall, in the large,
deeply cut horizontal bandeau texts Ramesses II inserted below the main scenes on each of the 122 smaller
closed-bud papyrus columns, the king described himself as “beloved,” mr(y), of a variety of deities.85 On 17
occasions, his cartouches are followed by the epithet mr(y) Ḫnsw “beloved of Khonsu,” the third highest num-
ber of occurrences after Amun and Mut (plan T).86 Although these horizontal bandeaux were carved on each
of the 122 smaller columns that stood inside the Hall, all 17 instances naming Khonsu occur in the southern
wing,87 in order, most likely, to symbolize the connection of this part of the monument with the nearby Temple
of Khonsu.88 Most interestingly, inside the latter temple, evidence from a signiicant number of reused blocks
found underneath the pavement appear to show that Ramesses II both modiied the existing 18th Dynasty deco-
rative program and initiated a new scheme of his own in whatever structure or structures dedicated to Khonsu
existed in the south-west quadrant of the Amun-Re precinct at Karnak prior to Ramesses III’s temple.89

7. Conclusions

Our study of the column and abaci decoration in the Great Hypostyle Hall during our epigraphic missions in
the spring ield seasons of 2011 and 2013 leads us to the following conclusions:
Sety I, Ramesses II and Ramesses IV each prioritized their column and abaci decoration according to the
principle of the visibility of the decoration from each of the two main processional axes. They considered these
processional ways, and the column surfaces that were in view of them (or at least facing towards them), to be
“prime space,” and each pharaoh avidly sought after these most attractive surfaces and gave them temporal
priority in drafting and carving their column decoration. Sety I, who surely imagined that he would live to see
his grand project of decoration throughout the Great Hypostyle Hall completed in his own lifetime, proceeded
to carve scenes and stereotyped ornamentation on all the smaller closed-bud papyrus columns in the north
wing before his death, probably early in his 10th regnal year. Although he failed to carve reliefs on the twelve
great columns of the central nave or on any of the smaller ones in the south wing, it now seems likely that he
did lay out their decoration as painted cartoons. In turn, his successor Ramesses II gave irst priority to sculp-
ting reliefs on the axial columns of the central nave and along the south half of the North-South axis during
the earliest part of his reign. Thus, when Ramesses IV decided to insert additional ritual scenes on those parts
of the columns left blank by his predecessors, he found only the least desirable sections - invisible from the

83 Likewise, Ramesses IV did not have the time either to complete the decoration inside the temple of Khonsu, as shown by the
uninished western wall of the barque sanctuary. Cf. L.A. Christophe, “L’offrande solennelle de Ramsès IV à la triade thébaine dans
le temple de Khonsou à Karnak,” BIFAO 48, 1948, p. 39.
84 KRI II, 284-287; A.M. roth, op. cit., p. 47.
85 Cf. L.A. Christophe, Les divinités des colonnes, p. 45-48 for a list of the deities and their epithets with the horizontal bandeaux
of Ramesses II, raging from the Theban Triad, with an exceptional mention of Mut-Bastet, to Wadjet, Ptah, Monthu, Nekhbet, Re-
Horakhty, Shu and Atum. In some cases, there was apparently no room for a divine epithet so a variant or elipse of the formula dỉ
ʿnḫ (mỉ Rʿ) was inserted in its place.
86 Ibid., p. 45-46, 48.
87 Ibid., p. 45, 48.
88 Columns 13, 18, 23, 33, 34, 36, 39, 42, 44, 51, 59, 63, [64], 65, 66, 69. Note that these occurrences are distributed throughout the
south wing, not just along the north-south axial way.
89 J.L. K impton et al., JARCE 46, 2010, p. 120-124. Of the 26 reused blocks attributed to Ramesses II, seven represent Khonsu, a fairly
high proportion that illustrates the king’s desire to worship that deity.

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two processional axes - still available. Yet in adding large cartouches near the bases of many columns, and 60
smaller ones within scenes of Ramesses II in the south wing, he prioritized locations visible from the axes. It
is clear, then, that these processional ways were considered to be prime space and were the most sought after.
The importance of processional axes as the focal point of the artists’ care in accomplishing their best quality
of workmanship inside the Hall also comes as no surprise, considering their signiicance in cosmology90 and
rituals.91 Reliefs located along, or visible from, these axes were thus consistently of higher quality in terms of
their technical execution under Ramesses II and IV. Likewise, these were also the column surfaces most likely
to be recut by later pharaohs after the original engraving of scenes and inscriptions. We can thus observe that
both Sety I and Ramesses II irst decorated the columns and abaci lining the processional ways and that it is
precisely those columns that Ramesses II later recarved. Later, during the 20th dynasty, Ramesses IV and
Ramesses VI proceeded to inscribe their cartouches at a large scale on precisely those rows of columns lining
the North-South and East-West axes of the Hall.
Processional ways were also used as geographical markers that served to reference spatial connections between
the Great Hypostyle Hall and the nearby temples of Ptah (north) and Khonsu (south) standing elsewhere inside
the Karnak precinct of Amun-Re and linked to the Hall (at least in the case of Ptah’s temple) by processional
ways. Axial colonnades in buildings like the Great Hypostyle Hall were thus understood not only as conver-
gence points, but also as transitional spaces linking together different monuments that were part of a larger
religious precinct or landscape.92 Though it is a moot point, due to a lack of clear evidence, as to what actions
actually took place inside the Hall during ceremonies in terms of the low and directional motion of the pro-
cessional ceremonies centered around the movement of sacred barks,93 we have attempted to deine the spatial
arrangement of the column decoration in terms of its connectivity with monuments located outside the Hall.
Geographical markers are common features in Ancient Egypt, as demonstrated by other more explicit cases
found elsewhere in Karnak, with the insertion for instance of the depiction of an ‘Osirian mound’ on Ramesses
II’s enclosure wall in the vicinity of the ptolemaic ‘Osirian Catacombs’ (ig. 21).94 Likewise, the inclusion of the
name or image of a speciic god like Ptah or Khonsu in a scene or in a royal epithet in the decorative program
of a given monument can establish a theological link with a nearby temple dedicated to the deity in question.
It is also quite clear that the decoration on each individual column in the Great Hall was not executed at one
point in time, but during various stages. There are at least seven phases of carving and recarving carried out by
ive different rulers (Sety I, Ramesses II, Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI and Herihor) on most of the columns. Not
surprisingly, due to his very long reign, Ramesses II distinguished himself with the magnitude and number of
his interventions, with no fewer than four distinct phases of his decoration. Ramesses IV was also very ambi-
tious in embellishing the columns, but in his case, more research is needed in order to subdivide his underta-
kings into more clearly descrete stages even though it is clear there were multiple phases.
We have also observed that the most valuable space available on any given column is located just below the
middle height of the shaft, where ritual scenes possessing the most unique and original decorative content were
carved. At that height - well above eye level but not too far above the ground - the spaces facing each proces-
sional way were the most sought after, Sety I and Ramesses II amply demonstrating this principle by choosing

90 On this question, see most recently L. GaboLde, “Mise au point du temple d’Amon-Rê à Karnak en direction du lever du soleil au
solstice d’hiver,” Karnak 13, 2010, p. 243-256.
91 For the physical design of Ramesside divine and royal barks and their use inside the Hall, Chr. K arLshausen, L’iconographie de
la barque processionnelle divine en Égypte au Nouvel Empire, OLA 182, 2009, passim; E.A. suLLivan, “Visualising the size and
movement of the portable festival barks at Karnak temple,” BMSAES 19, 2012, p. 25-28.
92 These questions were raised recently during a three-day colloquium entitled Die Architektur des Weges - Gestalte Bewegung im
gebauten Raum and held under the auspices of the DAI in Berlin in February 2012. To our knowledge, no proceedings of this sym-
posium have ever been published.
93 See K. eaton, “Types of Cult-Image Carried in Divine Barques and the Logistics of Performing Temple Ritual in the New King-
dom,” ZÄS 134, 2007, p. 15-25; E.A. suLLivan, BMSAES 19, 2012, p. 25-28.
94 KIU 2395 from the Karnak project ([Link] L. CouLon, Fr. LeCLère, S. marChand, “‘Catacombes’
osiriennes de Ptolémée IV à Karnak. Rapport préliminaire de la campagne de fouilles 1993,” Karnak 10, 1995, p. 222, pl. XII.

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these locations for their scenes.95 Returning to our initial comparison with modern real estate classiications for
the desirability of ofice space, the locations of scenes which lie along or facing towards the processional axes,
would be categorized as Class A+.96 Also very valuable, but to a lesser extent, were column surfaces positioned
just above the base (near the ground at eye level for human visitors) and at the top of the shaft and on the abaci
(in closer proximity to the divine sphere). These sections (that could be classiied in modern property value ter-
minology as Class A), were embellished with stereotyped plant-motifs (re-enacting the symbolic creation of the
world), rekhyet-bird motifs, and friezes of royal cartouches. Moreover, they were often subject to expropriation
of earlier royal cartouches by later pharaohs (e.g., Ramesses II surcharging Sety I’s names and Ramesses VI
those of Ramesses IV) and/or the superimposition of new decoration over pre-existing inscriptions (as with
Ramesses IV’s large cartouches superimposed over triangular papyrus-leaf patterns near the base of many of
the columns and his insertion of cartouches into negative spaces within some of Ramesses II’s scenes along
the North-South axis).
We could also include in the class A category those areas lying immediately above and below the main
scenes on the columns that were covered with stereotyped inscriptions, such as the horizontal bandeaux texts
Ramesses II inserted just below the column scenes on all 122 of the closed-bud papyrus columns. Next in
demand, although no longer to be deined as prime space, were sections of the column surfaces (that could be
graded B) located at the middle height of the shaft but which faced away from the main processional axes. So,
Ramesses IV had to settle for these less desirable locales when he undertook his massive program to add nearly
twice as many ritual scenes to the columns as had existed under Sety I and Ramesses II, an effort that fell
short in the south-west quadrant and south-east corner due only to his untimely death. Likewise, the area in the
upper half of the closed-bud papyrus columns (but not the top of the capitals) could also be labeled as B grade
space. At this height, between the tops of the scenes and the cartouche and cobra friezes of his 19th dynasty
predecessors at the summit of the capitals, Ramesses IV inscribed friezes with thousands of his cartouches and
horizontal strings of his names and titles repeated ad nauseam on ive distinct tiers of stereotyped inscriptions.
These sections of the columns were meant to convey the great power of Pharaoh and his divine aspect, and by
the sheer number of Ramesses IV’s engraved cartouches, they commanded the viewer’s attention and dazzled
the eye amid the sea of inscriptions now arrayed at every vantage point within the Hall.97 This mise en scène
to the glory of the king is not unlike the use of monumental portraits of leaders in certain modern totalitarian
regimes,98 or even the repetitive use of dozens of identical advertising posters in urban venues like subway
stations. Least interesting in terms of desirability (class C), was the space located on the column bases at foot
level. This location was rated poorly probably due to its greater exposure to looding and wear, and in terms of
its minimal prestige. This was in fact the only vacant column space still available on which the High-Priest of
Amun-Re and “king” Herihor could carve his titles and epithets.
One may naturally wonder for whom all this well-choreographed scenography was intended. As we have
seen, part of the decoration – through the sheer size of the columns and the ubiquitous and repetitive nature of

95 The same pattern is found in the much simpler decorative programs of scenes on the papyrus columns of various Ramesside
temples (the Ramesside forecourt at Luxor and the hypostyle halls and forecourts of Sety I’s Gurnah and Abydos Temples; the
Ramesseum ; Ramesses III’s Medinet Habu Temple) and in Tutankhamun and Sety I’s scenes on the 14 columns of the Colonnade
Hall at Luxor Temple (the epiGraphiC survey, RILT 2, pls. 180-193).
96 See supra our introduction.
97 One must nevertheless be careful not to downplay such marginal inscriptions as they were an integral part of the royal cult. C. spie-
ser, Les noms du pharaon comme êtres autonomes au Nouvel Empire, OBO 174, 2000. Cf. P.J. brand, in P.F. Dorman, B.M. Bryan
(eds.), Sacred Space, p. 54.
98 Seen under this light, there is deinitely a connection to be made in the way present-day dictators like to stage their own cult of
personality through what some architects deine as “authoritarian urbanism.“” Cf. for example, A. fauve, C. GintraC, “Production
de l’espace urbain et mise en scène du pouvoir dans deux capitales ‘présidentielles’ d’Asie Centrale,” L’espace politique 8/2, 2009,
[Link] H.-L. Kuo, Monumentality and Modernity in Hitler’s Berlin. The North-South Axis of the
Greater Berlin Plan, Bern, 2013.

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their ornamentation – was very likely designed, in part to instruct both the elites and the common people99 and
inspire awe in them with its overwhelming visual impact that was only heightened by the dazzling polychrome
decoration of the igures and hieroglyphs picked out against a brilliant white background. Although it is not
entirely clear to what extent the general public had access to the Hall during annual festivals, the presence of
rekhyet-bird motifs at the bottom of all 122 of the smaller columns of the monument seems to indicate that cer-
tain subjects of the king were admitted to the building on select festive occasions.100 The king and priesthood
would naturally partake actively in such festivities, with the large and socially diverse clergy being drawn
from every level of society. This would go against the view that the state temples were cloistered realms of the
king and elite priesthood - members of an “initiated” cadre of privileged worshipers, who along with the gods
themselves, were allegedly segregated from the “uninitiated” masses of the populace.101 For whom, then, were
the spectacular processions of the Opet, Min and Valley Festivals meant to dazzle the eye? Did the “uninitia-
ted” masses hide indoors? Are all the popular grafiti and other epigraphic and archaeological evidence for the
adoration of the gods on the exterior walls and courts of temples like Karnak and Luxor, and votive objects tes-
tifying to worship of the state gods only evidence for a small class of elite worshipers? And to whom did gods
like Amun-who-rescues-the-Poor, Amun-of-Opet-who-answers-the-poor, or Amun-who-hears-the-cry-of-woe
direct their supernatural aide?102
Finally, the gods to whom Sety I irst erected the Hypostyle Hall were obviously the foremost targets of all
this lavish stage-setting. Certain emplacements, high above ground (as with some geographical markers along
the northern axis), were either hardly perceptible by people far below due to the small size of the glyphs and
dim lighting, (before the ancient roof collapsed looding the Hall with the natural sunlight we see today), or
literally hidden from the public’s view. These seemed to have been speciically designed for divine spectators.
The best illustration of this can be seen with the cartouches inscribed by Sety I on the abaci resting atop the
twelve great columns of the central colonnade. Located at the uppermost reaches inside the Hall, and thus
closest to the realm of the deities, they were concealed to the human world below by the large open papyrus
lower capitals on which they were sitting.
To conclude, although the column decoration of the Great Hypostyle Hall may seem at irst glance somewhat
uniform and repetitive, we hope to have shown through some case studies that space within large New Kingdom
monuments was not a passive conveyor of inscriptional and iconographical data; pharaohs were fully aware of
its beneits and made best use of it in order to convey their messages, whether of political or religious nature.

99 Although literacy rate must have certainly been very low in Ancient Egypt (on this question, J. baines, Chr. eyre, “Four notes on
literacy,” in J. Baines, Visual and written culture in Ancient Egypt, Oxford, 2007, p. 63-73), one can speculate that those admitted
inside the temple had for the most part the capacity to identify the names of the most famous kings that were carved inside royal
cartouches. Just as the average foreign tourist can be taught by a tour guide to recognize the cartouches of Ramesses II, so too the
ancient populace could also recognize his names, especially given how prominent his temple decoration was on the exterior surfaces
of temples, colossi and obelisks to which the populace clearly had access.
100 See P.J. brand, “Review of Vincent Rondot, The Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak: Les architraves. 2 vols., Paris, 1997,” JEA 88,
2002, p. 267-269. For a different view, see K. Griffin, “A Reinterpretation of the Use and Function of the Rekhyt Rebus in New
Kingdom Temples,” in M. Cannata (ed.), Current Research in Egyptology 2006. Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Symposium,
University of Oxford 2006, Oxford, 2007, p. 66-84, esp. 71-73, 76-77. See also H. GutsChmidt, “Eine Beobachtung zu den Rechyt
in den Tempeln des Neuen Reiches,” in C. Peust (ed.), Miscellanea in honorem Wolfhart Westendorf. GM Beihefte Nr. 3, Göttigen,
2008, p. 28-33, with a summary of the hypotheses relating to the meaning of the birds, p. 28.
Many studies have dealt with the question of whether the common people had access to state temples, so we cite here only a
few recent discussions: J. baines, “Public Ceremonial Performance in Ancient Egypt: Exclusion and Integration,” in T. Inomata,
L.S. Coben (eds.), Archaeology of Performance. Theaters of Power, Community, and Politics, Lanham, 2006, p. 261-302; K. aCCet-
ta, “Access to the Divine in New Kingdom Egypt: Royal and public participation in the Opet Festival,” in C. Graves, G. Heffernan,
L. McGarrity et al. (eds.), Current Research in Egyptology 2012. Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Symposium, University of
Birmingham 2012, Oxford, 2013, p. 1-21; S. biCKeL, “Men in the temple: world-order, prestige, and piety,” in E. Frood, A. McDo-
nald (eds.), Decorum and experience. Essays in ancient culture for John Baines, Oxford, 2013, p. 205-213; E. teeter, Religion and
Ritual in Ancient Egypt, Cambridge, 2011; C. auseC, “Gods who hear Prayers: Popular Piety or Kingship in three Theban Monu-
ments of New Kingdom Egypt,” Ph.D. Diss., Graduate Theological Union, 2010.
101 J. baines, “Restricted knowledge, hierarchy, and decorum: modern perceptions and ancient institutions,” JARCE 27, 1990, p. 1-23.
102 So contra C. auseC, “Gods who hear prayers,” p. 2 and 90-93.

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Plan A. Plan of the Hypostyle Hall inside the Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak.

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Plan B. Decoration of abaci under Sety I (phase 1).

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Plan C. Decoration of abaci under Sety I (phase 2).

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Plan D. Decoration of abaci under Ramesses II (phase 1).

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Plan E. Decoration of abaci under Ramesses II (phase 2).

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Plan F. Decoration of abaci under Ramesses II (phase 3).

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Plan G. Decoration of abaci under Ramesses II (phase 4).

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Plan H. Decoration of columns under Sety I.

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Plan I. Decoration of columns under Ramesses II (phase 1).

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Plan J. Decoration of columns under Ramesses II (phase 2).

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Plan K. Decoration of columns under Ramesses II (phase 3).

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Plan L. Decoration of columns under Ramesses II (phase 4).

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Plan M. Decoration of columns under Ramesses IV.

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Plan N. Carving of large cartouches at base of columns under Ramesses IV (phase 1).

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Plan O. Carving of large cartouches at base of columns under Ramesses IV (phase 2).

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Plan P. Carving of large cartouches at base of columns under Ramesses VI.

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Plan Q. Cartouches of Sety I with mr-n-Ptḥ epithet carved in upper section of columns.

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Plan R. Columns with vertical friezes and horizontal bandeaux containing the epithet stp-n-Ỉmn, spelled with the n-crown, inside
the cartouche of Ramesses IV.

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Plan S. Columns with the cartouches of Ramesses IV inscribed inside decorated scenes of Ramesses II.

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Plan T. Horizontal bandeaux of Ramesses II on columns inside the Hall containing

the epithet “beloved of Khonsu”.

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Diagram 1. Decoration of small columns under the reign of Sety I and Ramesses II (phases 1-2).

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Diagram 2. Decoration of large columns under the reign of Ramesses II (phase 1).

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Diagram 3. Decoration of large columns under the reign of Ramesses II (phase 3).

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Diagram 4. Decoration of small columns under the reign of Ramesses II (phase 3).

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Diagram 5. Decoration of large columns under the reign of Ramesses IV (phase 1).

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Diagram 6. Decoration of small columns under the reign of Ramesses IV (phase 1).

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Diagram 7. Decoration of large columns under the reign of Ramesses IV (phase 2) and Ramesses VI.

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Diagram 8. Decoration of small columns under the reign of Ramesses IV (phase 2) and Ramesses VI.

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Diagram 9. Decoration of small columns under the reign of Herihor.

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Fig. 1. The Hypostyle Hall inside the Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak.

Fig. 2. Original cartouche of Ramesses II nomen – Rʿ-ms-sw (phase 1) under recarved nomen of the king - Rʿ-ms-ss (phase 3).

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Fig. 3. Original cartouche of Ramesses II prenomen - Wsr-mȝʿt-Rʿ ỉr-n-Rʿ (phase 1) under recarved prenomen of the
king - Wsr-mȝʿt-Rʿ stp-n-Rʿ.

Fig. 4. Recarved prenomen of Ramesses II (phase 4) over original prenomen of Sety I (phase 2).

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Fig. 6. Recarved cartouches of Ramesses II (phase 3) over original cartouches of

the same king (phase 1) on column 5.

Fig. 5. Figure of Sety I with his torso lea-

ning forward.

Fig. 7. Base of column 69 with large cartouches of Ramesses IV

carved solely on areas facing the main East-West axis of the Hall.

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Fig. 8. Abacus 75 north showing the cartouche of Ramesses II being only partially recarved (the n-wave sign in the
epithet stp-n-Rʿ is uninished).

Fig. 9. Abacus 80 north showing the right hand side of the recarved cartouche of Ramesses II left uninished.

Fig. 10. Finely recarved rekhyet-birds, cartouches and nbw-

signs of Ramesses II on section of column 77 facing the
main East-West axis of the Hall.

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Fig. 11. Partially recut rekhyet-birds, cartouches and

nbw-signs of Ramesses II on section of column 75
facing away from the main East-West axis of the Hall.

Fig. 12. Architrave no. 10 with original inscription of Sety I under recarved text of Ramesses II alluding to the many sed-feasts cele-
brated by the latter king.

Fig. 13-13a. Column 20 showing a mispelled cartouche of Ramesses II (picture on the left) with a correct variant of the same
name (picture on the on the right).

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Fig. 14. Upper section of column 112 with the nomen

of king Sety I written with the mr-n-Ptḥ epithet.

Fig. 15. Main scene carved on column 111 showing the nomen of king Sety I written with the mr-n-Pth epithet.

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Fig. 16. Plan of Karnak precincts showing the temple of Ptah to the north of the
Hypostyle Hall and the temple of Khonsu (numbered 17) to the south.

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Fig. 17. Images of Ptah and Amun-Re carved by Sety I

on the exterior west jamb of the central doorway of the
north wall of the Hypostyle Hall.

Fig. 18. Prenomen of Ramesses IV written with the epithet stp-n-Ỉmn using the n-wave sign.

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Fig. 19. Prenomen of Ramesses IV written with the epithet stp-n-Ỉmn using the n-crown sign.

Fig. 20. Cartouches of Ramesses IV added inside a scene origi-

nally carved by Ramesses II on a column facing the North-South
axis (south side).

Fig. 21. Later insertion of the depiction of Osiris and

his mound on Ramesses II’s enclosure wall, in the vi-
cinity of the ptolemaic “Osirian Catacombs”.

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 enGLish summaries

miCheL a zim (†), LuC GaboLde

‘‘Le dispositif à escalier, puits et canalisation situé au nord-ouest du lac sacré : une ḏȝḏȝ(.t) ?’’, p. 1-21.
Architectural remains consisting of a plate-form with a stepped ramp and a well communicating with a sub-
terranean canal system linking the Sacred Lake with the Nile had been observed by Georges Legrain to the
north-west of the Sacred Lake. It is suggested here that it formed a device allowing the low of water in and out
of the lake to be regulated, together with an associated ceremonial podium. Several texts lead to the conclusion
that a regulation of the lake level was essential for the accomplishment of ritual navigations on the lake. The
platform and the pit used in order to open and close the canal system are possibly alluded to in a text of the
high priest of Amun Amenhotep.

sébastien biston-mouLin
‘‘Un nouvel exemplaire de la Stèle de la restauration de Toutânkhamon à Karnak’’, p. 23-38.
Publication of a new copy of the Restoration stela of King Tutankhamun reused as a libation table after pha-
raonic times, and identiied in 2011 in a storeroom inside Karnak temple.

sébastien biston-mouLin
‘‘À propos de deux documents d’Ahmosis à Karnak. Karnak Varia (§ 1-2)’’, p. 39-49.
The irst part of this paper is a new examination of the carving of the date on the “year 17” block of King
NebphetyRe Ahmose at Karnak which led to a reconsideration of the orientation of the moon sign in his birth
name during his reign as a chronological criterion. The second part deals with an unpublished fragment of the
lunette of the Tempest stela stored in the Cheikh Labib magazine at Karnak which allows one of the oldest
attestations of the rite of “driving the calves” to be identiied.

mansour boraiK, Christophe thiers

“Une chapelle consacrée à Khonsou sur le dromos entre le temple de Mout et le Nil ?”, p. 51-62.
Publication of loose blocks found in 2005 during the work of the dewatering project south-west of Karnak
temple. They were dedicated by Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos to Khonsu the child. The hypothesis is that they
belonged to a small chapel which was built close to the dromos leading from Mut temple to the Nile, westward

371
 Cahiers de K arnaK 15

of the north-south dromos linking Karnak and Luxor temples. It thus could be associated with the visit of the
god Khonsu at Djeme.

stéphanie bouLet
‘‘Étude céramologique préliminaire des campagnes de fouille de la chapelle d’Osiris Ounnefer Neb-
Djefaou 2013-2014’’, p. 63-79.
For the past two years investigations in the chapel dedicated to Osiris Wennefer Neb-djefau have revealed
news ceramic contexts dating to the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period. These corpora permit a inely
detailed analysis of the development of the pottery industry from the Theban area to be established.
In this article, I present some of these ceramic sets and their contributions to the analysis of ceramological
development during the irst millennium BC. Ceramic production dating to mid-8th century BC are a particular
focus. At this time, technical and morphological changes can be observed in the ceramic industry of Thebes
that give rise to the speciic ceramic production of the Late Period.

Laurent CouLon, damien Laisney

‘‘Les édiices des divines adoratrices Nitocris et Ânkhnesnéferibrê au nord-ouest des temples de Karnak
(secteur de Naga Malgata)’’, p. 81-171.
The aim of this article is to gather and analyze the available data concerning the buildings of the Saite divine
adoratrices in the area now partly covered by the modern village of Naga Malgata, to the north-west of the
temples of Karnak. The starting point is a thorough survey of the various sources and records concerning this
sector from the beginning of the XIXth century till today. Among the documents collected, the report and
photographs of Maurice Pillet in the 1920s are the most informative as they give many details about a large
building inscribed in the name of the divine adoratrice Ankhnesneferibre and a smaller building, with well-pre-
served reliefs, showing the induction of the divine adoratrice Nitocris. Using additional photographs, including
aerial views, plans from various periods, and results of recent ieldwork on the site, the archaeological data
provided by M. Pillet’s survey have been completed and these two Saite building, as well as several additional
constructions around them, have been accurately located. In addition, several related inscriptions allow the
identiication of Ankhnesneferibre’s building as the palace of the divine adoratrice, which was built according
to a model already attested under Nitocris, as stated in an inscription of her majordom Ibi. More generally, the
area of Naga Malgata is to be identiied as the quarter of the divine adoratrices, which was also probably the
living place of the members of her administration and her court of female followers, “the harem of Amun”.

GabrieLLa dembitz
‘‘Une scène d’offrande de Maât au nom de Pinedjem Ier sur la statue colossale dite de Ramsès II à Kar-
nak. Karnak Varia (§ 3)’’, p. 173-180.
Publication of a Maat offering scene of Pinudjem I that was carved on the pyramidion of the obelisk-shaped
back pillar of a colossal statue of pink granite, which stands in front of the north tower of the second pylon
at Karnak. The statue was attributed to Ramesses II, but was usurped and erected by Pinudjem I, great army
commander and high priest of Amun of the 21st Dynasty.

benjamin durand
‘‘Un four métallurgique d’époque ptolémaïque dans les annexes du temple de Ptah à Karnak’’, p. 181-
188.
The excavations at Ptah temple since 2008 have allowed, during the 2014 campaign, the discovery of a
metallurgical kiln in a Ptolemaic level. Unfortunately the damage caused by Legrain’s work at the end of the

372
 enGLish summaries

19th century has isolated this structure from any evidence of its production. Nevertheless, built with red bricks
and quite well preserved, this kiln presents a shape that seems otherwise unattested. Analysis of its technical
characteristics is signiicant as future investigations could produce parallels. The good preservation of this
example could therefore be useful background for this next stage of research.

auréLia masson
‘‘Toward a New Interpretation of the Fire at North-Karnak? A Study of the Ceramic from the Building
NKF35’’, p. 189-213.
This paper challenges the traditional dating of the ire which destroyed North Karnak through the analysis
of ceramics discovered in a razed mud brick building- NKF35 - located west of the sanctuary of Montu. The
ire has previously been attributed to the invasion of Cambyses II in 525BC, but we show that the structure
NKF35 was most likely burnt in an earlier period. Statistical study of the types of vessels gives us a hint as to
the nature and possible functions of this building found in the vicinity of the Chapel of Osiris Nebdjet, which
is likely to be contemporary.

frédériC payraudeau
‘‘The Chapel of Osiris Nebdjet/Padedankh in North-Karnak. An Epigraphic Survey’’, p. 215-235.
The aim of the epigraphic survey carried out in situ in North Karnak (during November 2008), in the Karnak
magazines and in the Cairo Museum (January and June 2009) was to collect the different sources related to the
chapel of Osiris-Nebdjet. Located in the western part of the site, the chapel was found by Legrain in the irst
years of XXth century but needed more precise information on its original location and its date. The survey
permits a more precise chronology for the building-phases of this monument during the Dynasties XXV and
XXVI to be proposed and the probable cultic dedication of the chapel to both Osiris Nebdjet and Osiris-Pade-
dankh to be conirmed.

r enaud pietri
‘‘Remarques sur un remploi du temple de Khonsou et sur les hipponymes royaux au Nouvel Empire’’,
p. 237-242.
This article concerns a reused block in the Temple of Khonsu at Karnak. The block is inscribed with two
columns of hieroglyphs, giving the beginning of a ḥtr ʿȝ tp(y) n(y) ḥm=f formula and the name of a horse’s
team, Ptpt(w)-ḫȝ[Link]. Royal horse names and their presentation in monumental scenes are discussed, as is the
question of the dating of the block

mohamed r aafat abbas

‘‘The Triumph Scene and Text of Merenptah at Karnak’’, p. 243-252.
The triumph scenes of the pharaohs are the longest-lasting and best-attested iconographic motif of Egyptian
culture. As stated by many historians and Egyptologists, they are a purely formal representation of Pharaoh’s
timeless role as victor for Egypt and its gods, as also conirmed here. The triumph scenes of the Ramesside
warrior pharaohs in which the king is represented smiting different groups of northern and southern enemies
with his mace and in the presence of Amun-Re were usually displayed to glorify their victories. The triumph
scene and text of Merenptah, which is located at the south end of the inner face of the eastern wall of the “Cour
de la Cachette” at Karnak temple, is one of the most signiicant and important historical sources for Merenp-
tah’s reign; it sheds light on new aspects of his military events and campaigns in Asia and Nubia. Some recent
Egyptological studies dealing with the historical texts and battle reliefs of Merenptah in Karnak and elsewhere
provide valuable information that could allow a different historical reading and interpretation of the Karnak

373
 Cahiers de K arnaK 15

triumph scene and text. This paper presents a new study of the triumph scene and text of Merenptah at Karnak
in light of this context.

jean r evez, peter j. brand

‘‘The Notion of Prime Space in the Layout of the Column Decoration in the Great Hypostyle Hall at
Karnak’’, p. 253-310.
Artists who decorated pharaonic monuments had a clear understanding of the relative value of the different
parts of buildings in relation to their degree of exposure and visibility in prestigious locations, especially along
the processional axis. In this respect, the 134 gigantic columns that once stood inside the Ramesside Hypostyle
Hall in the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak offer an excellent case study. The aim of the present article is irst to
deine what spaces inside the Hall, and on each individual column, were perceived as having the highest prio-
rity, on the principle that the areas inside the building and the sections of the columns that were the irst to be
decorated with scenes and inscriptions were likely deemed by the Ancient Egyptians to be the most valuable.
We will also use three related criteria to deine the concept of “prime space” in relation to certain epigraphic
characteristics of the column stereotyped decoration in the Great Hypostyle Hall: (1) evidence for recarving, a
practice that demonstrates that prized space can be repurposed; (2) the varying quality of workmanship; and
(3) the exceptional nature of certain decorative motifs we call “geographical markers” that stand out from an
otherwise very uniform program of decoration.

houriG sourouzian
‘‘Le mystérieux sphinx de Karnak retrouvé à Alexandrie’’, p. 313-326.
The statue of an enigmatic sphinx of Amun with an exceptional iconography was seen and photographed in
Karnak in 1858; since then its position had remained unknown. This sphinx has been recently rediscovered by
the author in Alexandria. It is quite well preserved, even if it was completely painted white in modern times. It
represents the god Amun as a sphinx with a lion body and human head wearing the crown of Amon. The high
feathers once placed at the top of the crown are now missing. From the style and characteristic features the
sphinx can be dated to the reign of Tutankhamun. This sphinx with its unique iconography enriches the reper-
toire of sphinx statuary with a new type, and adds a new chapter to the sad history of dispersed monuments.

auréLie terrier
‘‘Ébauche d’un système de classiication pour les portes de temples. Étude de cas dans l’enceinte d’Amon-
Rê à Karnak’’, p. 327-346.
Karnak was a great religious center from the Middle Kingdom and remained active until Roman times des-
pite many modiications. Its exceptional longevity and state of preservation make it particularly suitable for
a study of temple doors. 245 examples were documented – a much richer sample than in any other Egyptian
temple – and allows a stylistic and chronological typology to be proposed, following speciic criteria detailed
here. The results of this study may hopefully lay the foundation for the archaeological analysis of temple doors
in Egypt more generally.

Christophe thiers
‘‘Membra disiecta ptolemaica (III)’’, p. 347-35.
Third part of the publication of Ptolemaic loose blocks from Karnak. They belong to the reigns of Ptolemy IX
Soter to Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos and enhance our knowledge of the building and decoration programmes
at Karnak.

374
 enGLish summaries

anaïs tiLLier
‘‘Un linteau au nom d’Auguste. Karnak Varia (§ 4)’’, p. 357-370.
In 1969 the excavations of the pathway of the irst pylon of the temple of Karnak unearthed a small lintel
(142 x 36 x 34,5 cm) inscribed in the name of Augustus. Unpublished until now, this contribution provides pho-
tographs, facsimiles, translation and commentary of the block and its decoration which consists of four offering
scenes to Amun, Mut, Khonsu, Min-Amun-Re-Kamutef and Min Coptite, lord of Akhmim.

375
 ‫املخصات العربية‬

‫تم تأريخه بأنه يرجع إلى عهد الملك توت عنخ آمون‪ .‬هذا التمثال بنقوشه الفريدة يعتبر مرجعا يثري صناعة تمثال أبو الهول بشكل‬
‫جديد‪ ،‬ويضيف فصا جديدا للتاريخ الحزين لآثار التى فقدت موقعها‪.‬‬

‫‪auréLie terrier‬‬
‫مسودة لنظام تصنيف أبواب المعابد‪ .‬دراسة حالة فى سور آمون‪-‬رع‪٣٢٧ .‬ـ‪٣٤٦‬‬
‫كان الكرنك مركز ديني عظيم خال الدولة الوسطى وظل كذلك إلى وقت الحكم الروماني حيث أدخل عليه العديد من التعديات‪،‬إن‬
‫قدمه وحالته الجيدة جعلت منه بالتحديد مكان مناسب لدراسة أبواب المعبد‪ .‬هناك ‪ ٢٤٥‬نموذج قد سجلت كأكثر النماذج ثراء عن أى‬
‫معبد مصري آخر‪ ،‬وقد سمحت هذه النماذج بتقدم علم النقوش والكتابات ويرجع ذلك إلى الطبيعة الخاصة بالنقوش هنا‪ ،‬ونأمل أن هذه‬
‫الدراسة تكون قد أسست لعلم دراسة نقوش أبواب المعابد فى مصر بشكل عام‪.‬‬

‫‪Christophe thiers‬‬
‫(‪٣٤٧ .Membra disiecta ptolemaica )III‬ـ‪٣٥٦‬‬
‫يثرى الجزء الثالث من منشور اأحجار البطلمية المتناثرة فى الكرنك‪ ،‬الذى يرجع إلى حكم بطليموس التاسع سوتر وإلى بطليموس‬
‫الثانى عشر ‪ Neos Dionysus‬معلوماتنا عن البناء وبرامج النقوش بالكرنك‪.‬‬

‫‪anaïs tiLLier‬‬
‫عتب بإسم أغسطس‪٣٦٩ .Karnak Varia )§ 4( .‬ـ‪٣٥٧‬‬
‫سنة ‪ ١٩٦٩‬كشفت الحفريات فى ممر الصرح اأول بالكرنك عن عتب باب صغير مقاس (‪٣٤,٥x٣٦x١٤٢‬سم) تحمل إسم‬
‫أغسطس وهي غير منشور حتى اآن هذا اإكتشاف يقدم صوراً و صورا طبق اأصل وترجمات وتعليق على الحجر ونقوشه التى‬
‫تتكون من أربعة مشاهد تقديم قرابين إلى آمون‪ ،‬موت‪ ،‬خنسو‪ ،‬مين‪-‬آمون‪-‬رع‪-‬كاموتف ومين قفط رب أخميم‪.‬‬
 ‫مجلة الكرنك ‪15‬‬

‫‪frédériC payraudeau‬‬
‫مقصورة ‪ Osiris Nebdjet/Padedankh‬شمال الكرنك‪ ،‬تحليل للنقوش‪٢١٠ .‬ـ‪٢٣٥‬‬
‫بدأ تحليل النقوش فى شمال الكرنك فى نوفمبر ‪ ،٢٠٠8‬وفى مجلة الكرنك ومتحف القاهرة (يناير – يونيو ‪ )٢٠٠٩‬خصصت لجمع‬
‫مصادر مختلفة تتعلق بمقصورة ‪ Osiris Nebdjet‬والتى تقع فى الجزء الغربي من الموقع‪ ،‬أكتشفت المقصورة بواسطة ‪Legrain‬‬
‫فى السنوات اأولى من القرن العشرين ولكنها تحتاج إلى معلومات أكثر دقة عن موقعها اأصلي وتاريخها‪ .‬توضح الدراسة الترتيب‬
‫الزمني الدقيق للمبنى ومراحله خال اأسرتين الخامسة والعشرين والسادسة والعشرين ولتؤكد تكريس المقصورة لكليهما ‪Osiris‬‬
‫‪ Nebdjet‬و‪.Osiris Padedankh‬‬

‫‪renaud pietri‬‬
‫ماحظات على إعادة إستخدام معبد خنسو وأسماء الخيول الملكية فى الدولة الحديثة‪٢٣٧ .‬ـ‪٢٤٢‬‬
‫يتعلق هذا المقال بحجر فى معبد اإله خنسو فى الكرنك‪ ،‬الحجر يتمثل فى عامودين من الكتابة الهيروغليفية تنص فى البداية على‬
‫‪ ḥtr ʿȝ tp(y) n(y) ḥm=f‬وإسم فريق الخيول‪ Ptpt(w)-ḫȝ[Link] ،‬وأسماء الخيول الملكية وتمثيلها على النقش اأثري ويبقى السؤال‬
‫عن تاريخ الحجر‪.‬‬

‫‪mohamed raafat abbas‬‬

‫مشهد إنتصار وكتابات مرنبتاح فى الكرنك‪٢٤٣ .‬ـ‪٢٥٢‬‬
‫تعتبر مشاهد اإنتصار للفراعنة من أطولها عمرا وشاهدا على علم اأيقنة فى الحضارة المصرية القديمة‪ ،‬وكما سجل العديد من‬
‫علماء التاريخ والمصريات‪ ،‬تعد هذه المشاهد شاهد رسمي وممثل للدور التاريخي للحضارة المصرية وآلهتها‪ ،‬وكما هومؤكد هنا فى‬
‫مشاهد إنتصار المحاربون المصريون الرعامسة حيث يمثل الملك وهو يضرب اأعداء الشماليين والجنوبيين بصولجانه فى حضور‬
‫اإله آمون رع حيث عادة ما يمثل حاضرا لهذه المشاهد ليبارك اإنتصارات‪ .‬مشهد اإنتصار وكتابات مرنبتاح الموجودة فى الطرف‬
‫الشمالى على الوجه الداخلي للحائط الشرقي ل(فناء الخبيئة) فى معبد الكرنك‪ ،‬يعد من أروع وأهم المصادر التاريخية لفترة حكم‬
‫مرنبتاح والتى تسلط اأضواء على جوانب جديدة لأحداث والحمات العسكرية التى قام بها فى آسيا والنوبة‪ .‬تناولت بعض الدراسات‬
‫الحديثة الكتابات التاريخية ونقوش المعارك الحربية لمرنبتاح فى الكرنك وأماكن أخرى ومعلومات قيمة تمكن القراءة التاريخية‬
‫والترجمة لمشهد إنتصار الكرنك وكتاباته‪ .‬هذه الورقة تقدم دراسة جديدة لمشهد اإنتصار والكتابة الخاصة بمرنبتاح فى الكرنك فى‬
‫ضوء هذا السياق‪.‬‬

‫‪jean revez, peter brand‬‬

‫فكرة المساحة المميزة فى تصميم تزيين اأعمدة فى صالة بهو اأعمدة فى معبد الكرنك‪٢٥٣ .‬ـ‪٣١٠‬‬
‫أدرك الفنانون الذين قاموا بتزيين اآثار الفرعونية العاقة الوثيقة بين اأجزاء المختلفة للمباني وأهمية إختيارهم أماكن مميزة‬
‫لرسوماتهم خصوصا فى (المحور الموكبى)‪ ،‬ومن هذا السياق نجد اأعمدة ال‪ ١٣٤‬العماقة بداخل قاعة الرعامسة الكبرى فى معبد‬
‫آمون رع فى الكرنك تقدم خير دليل على إحترافية الدراسة والتنفيذ‪ .‬الهدف من هذا المقال هو تحديد فى أى مساحة داخل القاعة وأى‬
‫عامود بالتحديد كان المسئول عن إختيار أولوية النقش داخل المبنى وأى اأجزاء من اأعمدة تم تزيينها أوا بالرسومات والكتابات‬
‫وأعتبرها قدماء المصريين من أقيمهم‪ .‬سنستخدم أيضا ثاث معايير ذات صلة لتعريف مفهوم (الموقع – المساحة المميزة) وعاقتها‬
‫بخصائص النقوش النمطية للعامود فى قاعة بهو اأعمدة ‪:‬‬
‫‪ .١‬وجود أدلة تثبت إعادة النحت (تدريب – مسودة) تظهر أن الموقع المختار يمكن تغييره أو إعادة إستخدامه‪.‬‬
‫‪ .٢‬تباين الجودة فى اأيدي العاملة‬
‫‪ .٣‬الطبيعة الخاصة لبعض النقوش التي نسميها (العامات الجغرافية) والتى تخرج عن سياق النقوش النمطية‬

‫‪houriG sourouzian‬‬
‫أبو الهول الكرنك الغامض الذى عثر عليه فى اأسكندرية‪٣١١ .‬ـ‪٣٢٦‬‬
‫وجد تمثال آمون أبو الهول ذات طبيعة نقوش خاصة وتم تصويره فى الكرنك سنة ‪ ١8٥8‬ومنذ ذلك الحين ظل موقعه غير معروف‪،‬‬
‫تم إعادة إكتشافه حديثا بواسطة كاتب فى اأسكندرية وهو فى حالة جيدة مع أنه تم طاؤه بالكامل باللون اأبيض مؤخرا‪ ،‬وهو يجسد‬
‫اإله آمون بجسد أسد ورأس إنسان يلبس تاج آمون‪ ،‬وكان هناك ريش على قمة التمثال ولكنه وقع‪ ،‬من خال خصائص وشكل التمثال‬
 ‫املخصات العربية‬

‫‪stéphanie bouLet‬‬
‫دراسة تمهيدية للخزف أثناء حمات تنقيب مقصورة ‪٦٣ .٢٠١٤-٢٠١٣ Osiris Ounnefer Neb-Djefaou‬ـ‪٧٩‬‬
‫خال السنتين الماضيتين جرت أبحاث ترجع إلى ‪ Osiris Wennefer Neb-djefau‬كشفت عن أجزاء خزفية ترجع إلى العصور‬
‫الوسطى والمتأخرة‪ ،‬هذه اأجزاء وضحت تطور صناعة الخزف والتى نشأت فى طيبة‪ .‬فى هذا المقال أقدم لكم بعض هذه المجموعات‬
‫الخزفية وإسهامها فى توضيح تطور الخزفيات خال األفية اأولى قبل المياد‪ .‬نجد ان المصنوعات الخزفية التى ترجع إلى منتصف‬
‫القرن الثامن قبل المياد لها طابع خاص فى تلك الفترة‪ ،‬وهناك تغيرات تقنية وشكلية واضحة على المصنوعات الخزفية بعد ذلك والتى‬
‫تطورت بمرور الوقت حتى العصور المتأخرة‪.‬‬

‫‪Laurent CouLon, damien Laisney‬‬

‫منشآت العابدات اإلهيات ‪ Nitocris et Ânkhnesnéferibrê‬فى شمال‪-‬غرب معابد الكرنك (قطاع نجع ملقطة)‪٨١ .‬ـ‪١٧١‬‬
‫الهدف من هذا المقال هو تجميع وتحليل المعلومات المتاحة التى تتعلق بمباني اإله الصاوى فى المنطقة المغطاه جزئيا بقرية حديثة‬
‫وهى نجع ملقطة‪ ،‬والتى تقع إلى الشمال الغربى لمعبد الكرنك‪ .‬نقطة البداية هي من خال بحث فى المصادر والسجات المتعددة‬
‫التى تتعلق بتلك الفترة الزمنية من بدايات القرن التاسع عشر حتى اليوم‪ .‬ومن خال الوثائق التى جمعت وجد تقرير وصور ل‬
‫‪ Maurice Pillet‬ترجع إلى عام ‪ ١٩٢٠‬وهي من أكثرها دقة إحتوائها على العديد من التفاصيل عن مبنى كبير وصف بإسم العابدة‬
‫اإلهية ‪ Ankhnesneferibre‬ومبنى آخر صغير به نقوش مازالت واضحة تحث على العبادة اإلهية ‪ Nitocris‬وبالعمل الميداني‬
‫وإستخدام صور وخرائط من أزمنة مختلفة وبفضل المعلومات التى سجلها ‪ Maurice Pillet‬فى تقريره إكتمل البحث عن هاذين‬
‫المبنيين وكذلك العديد من اأبنية المحيطة بهما قد تحددت أماكنها بدقة‪ ،‬فضا عن نقوش أخرى وجدت أدت إلى التعرف على مبنى‬
‫‪ Ankhnesneferibre‬والذي كان قصرا للعابدة اإلهية والذي تم بناؤه مطابقا لنموذج ‪ .Nitocris‬وفى هذه النقوش يتضح أن منطقة‬
‫نجع ملقطة كانت معروفة كحى العابدات اإلهيات والتى كانت غالبا مكان يعيش فيه أعضاء إدارتها وأعضاء محكمتها اإناث "حريم‬
‫آمون"‪.‬‬

‫‪GabrieLLa dembitz‬‬
‫نقش قربان لماعت بإسم بيندجم اأول على التمثال العماق المسمى رمسيس الثانى بالكرنك‪١٧٣ .Karnak Varia )§ 3( .‬ـ‪١٨٠‬‬
‫منشور لماعت يعرض مشهدا لبيندجم اأول منقوش على الدعامة الخلفية ذات شكل الخنجر على تمثال ضخم من الجرانيت الوردي‬
‫يقف أمام البرج الشمالي للبوابة الثانية لمعبد الكرنك‪ ،‬ينسب التمثال إلى رمسيس الثاني ولكن تم سرقته بواسطة بيندجم اأول القائد‬
‫اأعلى للجيش والكاهن اأكبر آمون فى اأسرة ‪.٢١‬‬

‫‪benjamin durand‬‬
‫فرن تعدين يرجع للعصر البطلمى بملحقات معبد بتاح فى الكرنك؟ ‪١٨١‬ـ‪١٨٨‬‬
‫الحفريات فى معبد بتاح ‪ -‬المستمرة منذ عام ‪ ٢٠٠8‬كشفت حملة عام ‪ ٢٠١٤‬عن وجود فرن لتقويم وتشكيل المعادن يعود إلى العهد‬
‫البطلمي ولكن لسوء الحظ التلف الذي تسببت فيه حملة ‪ Legrain‬فى نهاية القرن التاسع عشر قد محى أى أثر يدل على تاريخ إنشاؤه‪،‬‬
‫وقد تم بناؤه بالطوب اأحمر المحفوظ جيدا ومع أنه فقد اى أثر عن تاريخ بناؤه إا أن إستمرارالبحث فى تقنيته وخصائصه يمكن‬
‫أن يكون دليا لباحثين آخرين ربما يجدوا مستقبا المزيد من المعلومات وأيضا طريقة حفظه تعد خطوة جيدة كى يبدأ منها الباحثون‬
‫الجدد‪.‬‬

‫‪auréLia masson‬‬
‫نحو ترجمة جديدة لحريق الكرنك الشمالى؟ دراسة للخزف من المبنى ‪١٨٩ .NKF35‬ـ‪٢١٣‬‬
‫هذه الدراسة تعد تحديا للتأريخ التقليدي للحريق الذي دمر الجزء الشمالى من معبد الكرنك‪ ،‬ومن خال تحليل بقايا الخزف الذي تم‬
‫إكتشافه ورصده فى مبنى من الطوب اللبن ‪ NKF35‬والذي يقع غرب قدس أقداس منتو‪ .‬كان الحريق ينسب فيما مضى إلى غزو قمبيز‬
‫الثاني سنة ‪ ٥٢٥‬قبل المياد ولكن هذه الدراسه ترجح ان المبنى غالبا ما تم حرقه فى تاريخ سابق لهذا الغزو‪ ،‬وهناك دراسة إحصائية‬
‫لهذه اأوانى الخزفية تعطي لنا مؤشر عن طبيعة هذا المبنى وانه كان بجوار مقصورة ‪ Osiris Nebdjet‬التى ترجع لنفس العصر‪.‬‬
 ‫مجلة الكرنك ‪15‬‬

‫املخصات العربية‬

‫‪miCheL azim (†), LuC GaboLde‬‬

‫تصميم السلم والبئر والقنوات الموجود شمال‪ -‬غرب البحيرة المقدسة ‪ḏȝḏȝ.t‬؟ ‪١‬ـ‪٢١‬‬

‫بقايا معمارية تتكون من منصة وسالم منحدرة متصلة بشكل جيد مع نظام القنوات الجوفية الذى يربط البحيرة المقدسة بالنيل تم‬
‫إكتشفها بواسطة ‪ Georges Legrain‬فى الناحية الشمالية الغربية من البحيرة المقدسة‪ .‬ومن المرجح انها كونت منظومة تسمح بتدفق‬
‫المياه لداخل وخارج البحيرة حتى ينتظم مستوى الماء مع المنصة اإحتفالية المرتبطة بها‪ .‬هناك عدة نصوص أدت إلى إدراك أهمية‬
‫إنتظام مستوى البحيرة الذى كان أساسيا وضروريا لطقوس اإبحار المقدس‪ .‬المنصة والحفرة تستخدمان لفتح وإغاق نظام القناة وقد‬
‫أشار لهما فى نص للكاهن اأكبر آمون أمنحتب‪.‬‬

‫‪sébastien biston-mouLin‬‬
‫نموذج جديد للوحة ترميم الملك توت عنخ آمون بالكرنك‪٢٣ .‬ـ‪٣٧‬‬
‫تم نشر نسخة جديدة من لوحة توت عنخ آمون التى تم ترميمها وإعادة إستخدامها كطاولة تقديم خمور بعد العصر الفرعونى وقد تم‬
‫التعرف عليها عام ‪ ٢٠١١‬فى مخزن داخل معبد الكرنك‪.‬‬

‫‪sébastien biston-mouLin‬‬
‫عن كتلة "عام ‪ "١٧‬الخاصة بالملك أحمس‪ .‬كسرة جديدة للوحة العاصفة الخاصة بالملك أحمس (‪.Karnak Varia )§ 1-2‬‬
‫‪ ٣٩‬ـ‪٤٩‬‬
‫الجزء اأول من هذه الورقة هو فحص جديد للتاريخ المنقوش على حجر السنة ‪ ١٧‬للملك ‪ Nebphety Re Ahmose‬فى معبد‬
‫الكرنك‪ ،‬والذى أدى إلى إعادة النظر فى تفسير رمز القمر فى إسم مياده كترتيب زمني خال فترة حكمه‪ .‬أما الجزء الثاني فيتناول‬
‫جزء لوحة (العاصفة) المخزنة فى الشيخ لبيب فى الكرنك والتى سمحت بالتعرف على أقدم طقس من شعائر (قيادة العجول)‪.‬‬

‫‪mansour boraiK, Christophe thiers‬‬

‫مقصورة مكرسة لإله خنسو على طريق الكباش بين معبد موت والنيل ؟ ‪٥١‬ـ‪٦٢‬‬
‫أثناء العمل بمشروع نزح المياه من الجزء الجنوبى الغربى لمعبد الكرنك فى عام ‪ ٢٠٠٥‬وجدت أحجار متفرقة مهداه من الملك‬
‫بطليموس ‪ ١٢‬إلى اإله خنسو الطفل‪ ،‬ويفترض أن هذه اأحجار كانت مخصصة لمقصورة صغيرة تم بناءها قريبا من طريق الكباش‬
‫المتجه من معبد موت إلى النيل‪ ،‬وبإتجاه الغرب حيث طريق الكباش من الشمال إلى الجنوب ليصل معبد الكرنك بمعبد اأقصر وبذلك‬
‫تكون مجهزة لزيارة اإله خنسو فى ‪.Djeme‬‬
 ‫املخصات العربية‬

‫‪Renaud Pietri‬‬
‫ماحظات على إعادة إستخدام معبد خنسو وأسماء الخيول الملكية فى الدولة الحديثة ‪٢٣٧ ...............................................‬ـ‪٢٤٢‬‬

‫‪Mohamed Raafat Abbas‬‬

‫مشهد إنتصار وكتابات مرنبتاح فى الكرنك ‪٢٤٣ .............................................................................................‬ـ‪٢٥٢‬‬

‫‪Jean Revez, Peter J. Brand‬‬

‫فكرة المساحة المميزة فى تصميم تزيين اأعمدة فى صالة بهو اأعمدة فى معبد الكرنك ‪٢٥٣ ............................................‬ـ‪٣١٠‬‬

‫‪Hourig Sourouzian‬‬
‫أبو الهول الكرنك الغامض الذى عثر عليه فى اأسكندرية ‪٣١١ ..............................................................................‬ـ‪٣٢٦‬‬

‫‪Aurélie Terrier‬‬
‫مسودة لنظام تصنيف أبواب المعابد‪ .‬دراسة حالة فى سور آمون‪-‬رع ‪٣٢٧ ..................................................................‬ـ‪٣٤٦‬‬

‫‪Christophe Thiers‬‬
‫(‪٣٤٧ ............................................................................................. Membra disiecta ptolemaica )III‬ـ‪٣٥٦‬‬

‫‪Anaïs Tillier‬‬
‫عتب بإسم أغسطس‪٣٦٩ ............................................................................................Karnak Varia )§ 4( .‬ـ‪٣٥٧‬‬

‫الملخصات اإنجليزية ‪٥٧٣-١٧٣.......................................................................................................................‬‬