 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The most splendid of all
By Nevine El-ArefNot to be outshone by kings before her, Queen Hatshepsut built her extraordinary mortuary temple at Deir Al-Bahari to be one of the most elegantly memorable structures of ancient Egypt. No one will deny she succeeded -- but it didn't remain that way. Since the days of its original splendour, the temple has been defaced, abandoned and even converted into a Christian sanctuary.
Known in ancient times as "the most splendid of all," this impressive monument has come a long way from the time it was first made known in 1798 by members of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. On the occasion of the International Congress of Egyptology in Cairo, held earlier this month, the Polish-Egyptian restoration team at Deir Al-Bahari was celebrating the completion of four decades of restoration on the temple.
Located on the Theban necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, Queen Hatshepsut's temple is a terraced sanctuary, framed by high cliffs and adorned with some of the most famous reliefs in the Nile Valley, most notably those depicting her divine birth and displaying her voyage to Punt on the East African Somali coast.
At the time of Napoleon's expedition, drifting sand obscured most of the monument. This was removed and, in 1894, the Egypt Exploration Society (then the Egypt Exploration Fund) started to exhume the temple properly. Work continued for nine years, with some of the colonnades being roofed in and necessary alterations made for the preservation of the exquisite reliefs of the temple, particularly those in the queen's birth and Punt colonnades.
Two of the temple's three terraces had already been restored by an earlier mission when the Polish-Egyptian mission started work in 1960, but the upper terrace was found completely destroyed. The temple had been virtually neglected since the Second World War and some 10,000 blocks of inscribed stone were found littered around the site.
"It was like collecting the pieces of a vast jigsaw puzzle and putting them together," said Zbigniew Szafranski, director of the Polish-Egyptian restoration mission in Deir Al-Bahari. "It was not difficult to replace blocks that had fallen from the already restored lower terraces, but the third terrace proved to be a challenge."
It was a hazard not unforeseen by Hatshepsut's architect, Senmut. The dramatic cliffs that tower over the temple create an imposing façade, but during the temple's construction, Senmut realised that the location was threatened by falling rock. To safeguard against possible damage, he constructed a platform above the temple's third terrace. The resourceful architect's foresight did not end there. To ensure that falling rain would not flow down the crevices of the range and damage the temple, two lion heads with water spouts were placed at strategic positions.
"Senmut was a brilliant architect who introduced innovative ideas," said Szafranski. Senmut's protective platform has now been reconstructed and suitable modern drainage installed.
"When we realised that the temple was threatened by falling rock, experts had differing ideas of how it should be protected," said Gaballa Ali Gaballa, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). "One was to identify the natural crevices of the cliff to the rear of the temple and insert an insulation layer. Another was to relocate the temple completely, like [the temple] of Abu Simbel. A third was to separate the temple from the cliff face."
None of these options proved feasible. An insulation layer was deemed unworkable from a technical point of view and the notion of relocating the temple was "unrealistic," according to Gaballa. The idea of separating the temple from the cliff made little sense, since part of the temple itself is rock-hewn. In the end, it was finally decided that the team would follow the guidance of the temple's highest authority: Senmut. "We decided to restore [Senmut's original] protective platform," explained Gaballa.
The Polish-Egyptian mission has concentrated its work on the restoration of the upper court of the temple, where Thutmose III built a temple -- little of which remains.
It is no trip to Luxor without Hatshepsut: Tourists can now visit the newly-reopened mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir Al-Bahari (top) and can look forward to the completion of her reconstructed chapel at Karnak
photos: Mohamed Wassim
"Part of [Thutmose III's] temple was built on Senmut's platform, and part was rock-hewn," explained Szafranski. "It was completely destroyed during an earthquake in ancient times, and many of the blocks were reused in building other monuments." Only a small part of the western wall survives, along with some chambers. These have been restored and the painted reliefs held in position by polychrome blocks.
The upper court's prolonged state of disrepair is not the only problem restoration teams had to contend with. When Christian monks converted the temple into a monastery, the part of the temple that suffered most were reliefs from the top tier.
"The walls were completely blackened from the smoke of candles," explained Szafranski. "When we cleaned the walls, beautiful scenes in fresh, well-preserved colour emerged."
In fact, it was the obscuring effect of the candle smoke that saved the reliefs in the end, preserving the quality of the paintings beneath. "We can thank the early Christians for the state of preservation," Szafranski said.
These marvellous paintings have now been restored. In places where the figures are not complete, their outlines have been drawn on polychrome blocks. One relief shows Hatshepsut and Thutmose III (her half-brother and second husband) with their little daughter, Princess Ranofru, sacrificing to the barge of Amun.
A museum will be built near Deir Al-Bahari that will exhibit some of the blocks from the temple of Thutmose III along with some of the sculpture found on the site. Objects from two other sites on the Theban necropolis, Deir Abul-Naga and Asasif, will also be on display.
Queen with a beard
The red chapel rises again
