The Mortuary temples or the Funerary temples were constructed in the vicinity of the royal tombs of Ancient Egypt. The Mortuary Temples were dedicated to the Pharaoh and his cult under whom they were constructed.
Purpose Of Constructing The Temples
The Mortuary Temple built as a resting place for the Amun boat at the time of the Beautiful Festival of the Valley is believed to be visited by the deity of the West bank of Thebes.
The Layout Of The Temple
- Entrance pylon
- First Courtyard
- Ramp to the second level
- Second courtyard
- Tomb of Senenmut
- Ramp to the third level
An 810-metre long causeway connected the mortuary temples to the valley temple of the pyramids. The Mortuary Temples led to the burial chamber of the Pharaohs. The three smaller pyramids preserving the memories of Khufu’s mother Hetepheres I, his wives Meritites I and Henutsen built in the temple complex stand in a good condition.
Mansions of the Millions of Years
The Mortuary Temple built around the pyramids in the Old and Middle Kingdom landmarks the royalty of the Egyptian Pharaohs. The New Kingdom Pharaohs built their mortuary temples far from the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The New Kingdom temples, known as the “mansions of millions of years” by the Egyptian locals are a visitor hotspot in the present days.
Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep
- The first among the mortuary temples was that of Amenhotep I of the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom.
- Several rulers of the 18th Dynasty built mortuary temples. The best among them being Deir el-Bahari built under Queen Hatshepsut beside the funerary temple of Mentuhotep II, Amenhotep III and the Colossi of Memnon.
The Ramesseum : Ramesseum was a temple built by Ramesses II for himself and was named by Champollion.
Mortuary Temple of Amun- Dedicated to the Egyptian Sun God Amun, the Mortuary Temple of Amun lies next to that of Mentuhotep II. It served as an inspiration and as a quarry and came to be known as one of the incomparable monuments of Ancient Egypt.
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut – Known as the Djeser-Djeseru meaning-Holy of Holies, is an antique funerary altar in Upper Egypt. Located underneath the hills at Deir el Bahari on the West Bank of the Nile near the Valley of the Kings, the mortuary temple was built for the 18th dynasty of the Egyptian Pharaohs.
Present Condition The chambers surrounding the open space of the Mortuary Temple are ruined and broken. A very few relics with images of the local festivals can be seen on the walls of the temples. The pillars of the porches built of red granite complement the white limestone ceiling. The ruins of the valley temple lie beneath the soil of the Nazlet es-Simman village yet to be excavated.
The Mortuary Temple built as a depository for food and objects offered to the dead monarch and a place of worship for the deceased kings attracts visitors from all over the world. Visit our website @ Nile Holiday to book your tour to the majestic Egyptian Temples.
