9th February 2015
27c
RAMESSEUM
Ramses II - Mortuary Temple.
Also spelled (Ramesses the Great) – (Ramses) – (Ramesses)
19th Dynasty - 1279-1213 BC
27c
RAMESSEUM
Ramses II - Mortuary Temple.
Also spelled (Ramesses the Great) – (Ramses) – (Ramesses)
19th Dynasty - 1279-1213 BC
If you have not visited the Ramesseum within the last two years, you will be greatly impressed with what there is to see now. The site is vast and you can now walk around the newly extended areas that have been excavated and reconstructed to show the layout as it once was. If you pass this temple at night, you will be delighted with the new lighting system.
Two area of interest on the south side of the temple grounds are the Kitchens & Bakeries (Feeding Gods and Priests) and the School or House of Life (Training Scribes and Artists for Pharaoh) These two areas have many rooms with carved reliefs on small stone blocks nicely laid around the inner walls of the rooms, very worth a visit. There are now many areas of mud brick constructed, much of it ancient and some reconstructed.
Some of the statuary (Baboons) and so on have been placed on plinths for better viewing. The colossus is still in pieces lying on the ground. The feet have been put on top of a plinth that looks big enough to take the whole colossi (17 metres high). Will they re-build it? There is much debate as to whether the colossi should be raised and re-built. I have looked at the great work being done with the colossi at the Amenhotep III site at the Memnon and think it will be great to see this one here raised to its full height.
All in all, there is far more to see for your ticket than before. I have been to the Ramesseum many times and now find in at it’s best with much more to see and walk around. Tickets are purchased from ticket office at roundabout. 20 L.E.
The Amenhotep II temple site next door, which you have to pass for access to the Ramesseum, is quite impressive. It is not open to the public but you can see the work that’s been done in excavating and reconstructing the site. Look for the Anubis on plinth.
The Amenhotep II temple site next door, which you have to pass for access to the Ramesseum, is quite impressive. It is not open to the public but you can see the work that’s been done in excavating and reconstructing the site. Look for the Anubis on plinth.