This temple, dedicated to the goddess Mût, consort of
Amen-Rê, is very picturesquely situated at the end of the eastern avenue of
sphinxes, leading from pylon X of the southern buildings of Karnak .
It is
surrounded on the east, south and west by its horse-shoe-shaped Sacred Lake,
and encloses within its temenos ( a consecrated
area, especially one surrounding a temple ) wall or what is left of it, two
other small temples : one of Ramesside times, which still remains to be
cleared, in the north-east corner of the enclosure ; the other, of Ramses III,
in the south-west corner close to the Sacred Lake . The main temple of Mût was
excavated in 1895-1896 by the Misses Margaret Benson and Janet Gourlay . It is
very ruinous, most of the walls being destroyed to within a few feet of the
ground ; but it is still worth a visit .
Passing the temenos wall by the gate of
Ptolemy Philadelphus, we have on the right hand the remains of a Ptolemaic
shrine, human-headed sphinxes of Amenophis III, ram-headed sphinxes, and a
ruined shrine of Ptolemy VI . On the left hand are red granite ram-headed
sphinxes, and human-headed sandstone sphinxes, and beyond them, in the
north-east corner of the enclosure, the Ramesside temple already noticed .
We next reach the first gateway of the actual temple,
which has on either side of it a figure of the grotesque god Bes, a bearded and
hideous dwarf, who was closely connected with womanhood, the toilet, and
maternity .
Inscriptions of the Ptolemaic period are also found
here, and an inscription of Ramses III, who did a good deal of restoration
about the temple . It was originally built by Amenophis III, and work of Seti
II is also found in it .
Through this gateway we pass into a large open court,
the central avenue of which was occupied by a colonnade, five columns a side .
The columns are now ruined down to their bases . This court contains a number (
hundreds ) of seated of the lioness-headed goddess Sekhmet, dedicated here by Amenophis
III, but some of them usurped by Sheshonq I . The goddess Sekhmet was the
consort of Ptah, the creator-god of Memphis . She is here identified with Mût,
as elsewhere with Hathor .
A ruined doorway ( Ptolemaic and Ramesside ) leads
into another court, which has a ruined colonnade up the centre line, and the
remains of a single row of square-sided pillars around it . In this court
stands a black granite statue of Amenophis III, and a large statue of Sekhmet,
with a dedication of Sheshonq I .
From this court we rise into the Hypostyle Hall of the
temple, now almost totally destroyed, but once an eight-columned hall, with
columns of papyrus-bud form .
Beyond this is the ruined sanctuary, with small ruined
chambers on either side and behind it .
On the right-hand ( west ) side of the sanctuary, two
dog-headed apes in sandstone ( out of an original four ) guard a doorway leading
into a corridor with figures of Sekhmet .
Finally a Ptolemaic gateway, with two fairly well-preserved
Sekhmet figures, leads down by steps to the Sacred Lake . During the
excavations of 1895-1896, a number of interesting statues and fragments of
statues and inscriptions were found, including crouching statues of Senmût and
Bekenkhons, the famous architects of Hatshepsut and Ramses II respectively .
Part ( 22 ) .. Temple Of Ptah And Hathor .. Coming SoOoOon .....
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