18 - 24 April 2002
Issue No.582
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 18 - 24 April 2002 Issue No.582 |
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Like father like son
To the rear of the Colossus of Memnon, at the edge of the agricultural plain, the restored mortuary temple of Merenptah and an on-site museum were officially opened by President Mubarak last month. Jill Kamil describes the new attractions
The Swiss Institute of Archaeology in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities have been restoring the mortuary temple of Merenptah for 15 seasons (from 1971 to 2000). Under the directorship of Horst Jaritz a mass of ruins have been converted into a worthwhile tourist destination, complete with a delightful on-site museum.
The temple of Merenptah, Ramses II's son and successor who ruled for 10 years between 1213 and 1203BC, was first identified in the 19th century, when British archaeologist Flinders Petrie made a plan of the remains, and gave a short description of the temple in 1886. He noted that it was made almost entirely of stones plundered from the nearby temple of Amenhotep III. That is not to say Merenptah demolished the temple and used it as a quarry; in fact, Amenhotep's huge structure had come to grief during a particularly high flood so it was no difficult task for Merenptah to usurp stones and statues, and transport them to his own temple site further west -- a nice example of filial conformity because his father Ramses II had done the same thing; he liberally usurped ancient temples as quarries.
Because of the extraordinary length of the reign of Ramses II, many of Merenptah's older brothers had died and he, the 13th son, was already middle-aged when he ascended the throne. He took over a country that was on the defensive; the great empire founded by Thutmose III about 1527BC was by now a part of the oral tradition, duly embellished with legendary wonders, of course. The death of the enfeebled Ramses II saw disturbances on the northern border in Syria, and tribes in western Asia rose in revolt against their Egyptian colonisers.
Merenptah may have been well into his fifties, but he was not past his prime. He fought bitter battles in Syria in the third year of his reign, severely punished those that rose against Egypt, and brought Palestine under control. His army returned in triumph to his palace at Memphis, bearing booty and trophies cut from the bodies of the slain. He subsequently fought a bitter battle against the Libyans in the fifth year of his reign, and, as his father had chronicled his own victories, especially his famous battle of Kadesh, so Merenptah recorded his. On a wall beside the sixth pylon at Karnak, and also on a great stele found by Petrie, he inscribed in prose and poetry lists of cities and states defeated by Egypt. The latter relic is known as the Israel Stele because in it Israel is mentioned for the first time:
The kings are overthrown,
No one holds up his head among the nine nations of the bow (i.e. Nubians),
Wasted is Tehenu (i.e. Libyans),
The Hittite Land is pacified,
Plundered is the Canaan, with every evil,
Carried off is Askalon,
Seized upon is Gezer,
Yenoam is made as a thing not existing.
Israel is desolated, her seed is not,
Palestine has become a [defenseless] widow for Egypt.
All lands are united, they are pacified;
Every one that is turbulent is bound by King Merenptah
-- (James Breasted, Egyptian Records III: 616-617)Merenptah, who was described "the victorious," "the amiable," and "(one) magnified among the gods," by now found it timely to construct his mortuary temple to ensure the continuation of his cult for all eternity. He opted for a site within easy distance of the ruined temple of Amenhotep III so that the plundered stones could be transported without undue trouble, re-carved in his own name. His huge temple was, not surprisingly, erected in record time.
So busy was Merenptah with his wars and building programme that he failed to make the necessary offerings to the river Nile, and Nile-god Hapi took revenge. He sent a flood so devastating that the two pylons leading to two open courtyards of his temple were swept away, along with the first hypostyle hall and its side chambers, the second hypostyle hall leading to the Holy of Holies with the bark shrines for the Theban Triad, and even the chapels for the cult of the ancestors and Re the sun-god. The surviving structures undermined by the flood, progressively collapsed over time and were covered with silt, sand and debris. "The House of a Million Years" was no more.
"When the mission started to excavate the temple to reinvestigate, the ground plan was our first task," said Jaritz. "We concentrated on the north-eastern temple store-rooms and an associated courtyard to which offerings for the mortuary cult were received. The next phase involved transforming the mud-brick pylons into stone, and identifying thousands of sandstone fragments in the debris cleared from the temple. All was documented and studied."
Not all the stone came from Amenhotep III's temple. As excavations proceeded it became clear that there were limestone blocks from buildings of Hatshepsut and Akhenaten. Colossal limestone sphinxes, and couching jackal statues were dug out of the earth.
Raising the blocks of stone with huge cranes was extremely time- consuming. "Some weighed up to 24 tons. Others were found face down beneath the foundations of the pylons and had to be carefully extricated, cleaned and recorded. Some of the inscribed blocks with quality artwork could be replaced in their original positions in the towers of the second pylon. Others were moved to a workshop area, for matching together segments and consolidating reliefs," said Jaritz.
As progress continued, year after year, additional blocks from the monumental gateway, as well as fragments of a colossal limestone sphinx and parts of nine jackal-headed sphinxes were moved to this work-shop area. "Some of the pieces were stunning, and we realised that apart from restoring the mortuary temple, there was every reason to consider developing a small museum," said Jaritz.
It is a delightful structure, much smaller than the Museum at Luxor, but sharing with it gently sloping ramps and individual displays that encourage an organised, uninterrupted flow of people through the museum. It is situated between Merenptah's temple and neighbouring rural housing, and the structure blends in with the environment in both shape and colour. It is a long narrow museum with a single entrance/exit and is connected, via a small pavilion with benches, to the main ticket office at the entrance to the temple site.
On display are parts of colossal limestone sphinxes and blocks from the monumental gateway of Amenhotep III, followed by architectural elements from the buildings of Hatshepsut and Akhenaten in niches. Also in niches are fragments of a large stele which was found in the temple's treasury, others of the temple's decoration, and royal and individual inscriptions.
Moving to the upper level of the museum, pottery, ostraca, moulds for faience objects and metal and stone tools are on display. Two steps lead back to the illuminated information panels at the entrance, and out of the museum.
"Despite the total destruction and exploitation of Merenptah's temple and the complete loss of its stone structure, it still contained some surprises which had escaped the first excavator," said Jaritz. "Concealed in the foundations of the Second Pylon, our team discovered a number of limestone blocks with astonishingly well preserved polychrome reliefs of Amenhotep III, probably the finest examples known in Egyptian art history. After their conservation by experts, they are now on display in situ, on the foundations of the pylon, where they are protected by shelters."
Merenptah was thought by some early scholars to have been the "Pharaoh of the Exodus," drowned in the Red Sea. But then his mummy, badly mutilated by tomb robbers, turned up with 12 others in the tomb of Amenhotep II where they had been hidden by the priests for safety. The Mummy in Ancient Egypt by Salima Ikram and Aidan Dodson tells us that the Pharaoh suffered severely from dental problems; had severe arthritis, arteriosclerosis and also had fractures in his thigh bones.
The new modern museum (above). Part of a torso, a sandstone jackal and miscellaneous restored items on display (centre). Work progressed up to the last minute (bottom left). President Mubarak, Gaballa Ali Gaballa, project director Horst Jaritz, and minister of culture Farouk Hosni at the official opening last month.
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