We now rise to the middle terrace, and have before us a picture of great
beauty and interest . In front of us is the colonnade which stands in front of
the retaining wall of the next ( upper ) terrace .
It is divided into two sections as was its lower companion, by a ramp
which leads to the upper terrace ; its twenty-two pillars in each section are
square . On the right hand of the northern section, the line of light and shade
is continued by the four sixteen-sided pillars of the front row of the
twelve-pillared vestibule before the shrine of Anubis .
And on the right hand the north retaining wall of the court is faced by
an unfinished colonnade which in its present state consists of fifteen
sixteen-sided pillars of singularly graceful proportions .
The southern section of the colonnade in front of the terrace is also
prolonged to the south by the more or less ruined front of the Hathor Chapel
hall .
While above the whole rise the great granite trilithon gateway, the
ruined upper colonnade of the upper terraces, and the sadly wrecked buildings
of the upper court .
Egypt has many imposing buildings to offer as examples
of her architectural genius ; but at El-Deir El-Bahari, Hatshepsut's great
temple offers beauty in addition to dignity .
The
north section of the colonnade is known as the Birth Colonnade .
And the southern section as the Punt Colonnade ( Land of Punt was
located to the south-east of Egypt or the north-east of Somalia ), from the
character of the reliefs which adorn their respective rear walls .
It will be most convenient to cross the court to the north-western
corner, and to examine the chapel of Anubis, with its pronaos, which has twelve
sixteen-sided columns .
The walls of the pronaos have fine reliefs, with wonderfully
well-preserved colouring . The figures of Hatshepsut have been mercilessly
erased .
Two scenes should be noticed . They are on the western wall of the hall,
on either side of the doorway which leads into the shrine . In the one to the
south ( left-hand ) of the door, Amen-Rê is enthroned before an immense mass of
offerings which the queen is presenting to him . Hatshepsut's figure is erased,
as usual ; but Amûn has in this case escaped the fanaticism of Akhenaten's
agents .
The specially noteworthy detail of the scene, however, is the vulture of
El-Kâb which hovers above the head of the erased figure of Hatshepsut . Its
colour is remarkably well preserved, and both as a design and as a piece of
colouring the figure is very fine .
The scene to the north of the doorway represents
Hatshepsut ( again erased ) offering a similar mass of gifts before Anubis .
The hawk of Edfû, which hovers above Hatshepsut is another example of
fine design and colour, though its colour scheme is lower than that of the
vulture .
The north wall has a small recess, on the right hand of which are
figures of various divinities . Above the recess is a figure of Tuthmosis III
offering wine to Sokar, a god of the dead .
On the left hand of the recess another decorative vulture hovers above
another erased figure of Hatshepsut .
The south wall has an erased figure of Hatshepsut between Harmachis (
Harmakhet or Horemakhet " Horus in the horizon ", the god of the dawn
and the early morning sun ) and Nekhebt ( Nekhbet or Nekhebet or Nechbet , she
was the patron of Upper Egypt ), and again a finely coloured hawk, displayed,
hovers above the queen .
The end wall of the inner chamber of the shrine has a
fine scene of Hatshepsut ( erased ) between Anubis and Hathor, with above the
usual couchant jackals, and over all the winged sun-disk .
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