Festival Hall of Thutmose III

Festival Hall of Thutmose III

The Festival Hall of Thutmose III (or "Akh-menu" – "the most glorious of monuments"), [Blyth (2006) pp.68-77] is located at the heart of the Precinct of Amun-Re, in the Karnak Temple Complex, in modern Luxor, Egypt.

Located at the end of the Middle Kingdom court, with its axis at right-angles to the main east-west axis of the temple, it was originally built to celebrate the jubilee (Hed-Sed) of Thutmose III, and later became used as part of the annual Opet Festival. It is seemingly decorated to echo a huge tent shrine, complete with awnings and tent poles. [Kemp, 1989, p.202] In this temple, the Karnak king list, shows Thutmose III with some of the earlier kings that built parts of the temple complex.

Layout

Built at the eastern end of Karnak's main axis, and enclosed in its own walls, this building is little understood and its exact purpose is still unclear. [Blyth (2006), p.69] It consists of three main parts, a suite of rooms dedicated to Sokar to the south-east, a solar complex to the north-east and the festival hall itself, from which the other areas of the building can be reached. This is know as the 'Hry-ib', or "that which is at the heart of it". [Blyth (2006), p.71] The only original entrance was in the south-west corner.

Main hall

In a small room off of the main hall, there is a room referred to as the Chamber of Ancestors, where Thutmose III is shown making offerings to his 61 ancestors. The originals of these were removed and are now located in the Louvre in Paris. [Blyth (2006), p.73]

References

Bibliography

*cite book|title=Karnak: Evolution of a Temple|first=Elizabeth|last=Blyth|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|location=Oxford|id=ISBN 0-415-40487-8
*cite book|title=Thebes in Egypt A Guide to the Tombs and Temples of Ancient Luxor|first=Nigel & Helen|last=Strudwick|year=1999|location=Ithaca, New York|publisher=|id=ISBN 0-8014-8616-5
*cite book|title=Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization|first=Barry|last=Kemp|publisher=Routledge|location=Oxford|year=1989|id=ISBN 0-415-06346-9


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