Mentuhotep Nebhepetre was the Theban ruler who reunited Upper and
Lower Egypt at the end of the First Intermediate Period and was the
founder of Dynasty XI. Although there were saff-tombs of the First
Intermediate Period on the West Bank of Thebes, Mentuhotep Nebhepetre
was the first known king to build a whole mortuary complex, which was
to include his tomb and the site he chose was in the bay of cliffs
known as Deir el-Bahri. Today, Deir el-Bahri is better known for the
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, who built on a site adjacent to that of
Mentuhotep and modelled her mortuary temple on his earlier design.
Although Mentuhotep's monument has been known of since the nineteenth
century, it was not thoroughly excavated until 1968 and since then by
the German Archaeological Institute and the Polish-Egyptian Mission. |
The temple's architecture was unique for the period. It was built on a
multi-level platform which combines the elements of the earlier saff-tombs
and the traditional Old Kingdom pyramid complex. There was originally
a valley temple which now is below the cultivated area of the West
Bank. An open causeway led up to a large tree-lined forecourt (the
causeway and tree-pits can still be seen). When he was riding his
horse in this forecourt Howard Carter literally stumbled into the
entrance of a deep shaft now called 'Bab el-Hosan' (Gate of the
Horse). This was actually part of the Mentuhotep complex and inside,
Carter found the famous linen-wrapped seated sandstone statue of
Mentuhotep II in heb-sed costume, which is now in the Cairo Museum.
There are many theories as to what the 'Bab el-Hosan' was, but it is
generally thought that it may have been originally intended to be the
king's tomb but was converted to a symbolic cenotaph of Osiris. The
walled forecourt had an avenue of colossal Osirid statues of the king
and two postern gates.
The structure of the terraced temple seems to have been built in three
or four stages. A ramp leads to the second terrace, and this was
planted with a grove of sycamore and tamarisk trees on either side. On
the lower colonnade fragments from the rear walls were found to have
reliefs of boat processions and foreign campaigns. |
The upper terrace was surrounded on three sides by a double colonnade
of pillars inscribed with scenes and texts of Mentuhotep before
various deities. Around these was an ambulatory which surrounded a
forest of 140 octagonal pillars arranged in rows of two at the back
and three on the other sides. In the centre of the platform was a
large square structure clad in limestone blocks, which is the topic of
much debate. Egyptologists originally thought it to have been the base
of a pyramid which may have extended upwards through the top terrace.
There is documentary evidence in the Abbott Papyrus suggesting that
the structure was in fact a pyramid. More recently however, it has
been interpreted as a mastaba-like structure, representing the
funerary chapel and possibly symbolising the primeval mound of
creation.
Six shaft tombs were discovered on the west side of the second terrace
at the rear of the colonnade, each with its own chapel dedicated to
individual female family members of Mentuhotep. From right to left
they belong to Myt, Ashayt, Sadeh, Kauit, Kemsit and Henhenit.
Ashayt's sarcophagus and decorated wooden coffin is in Cairo Museum,
and she seems to have been a Nubian consort of the king. Kauit was
another consort whose large decorated sarcophagus is also in Cairo
Museum, as well as one of a series of model coffins which contained
wax statuettes of the lady. On the north-western side of the second
terrace a small chapel dedicated to Hathor (as well as other deities)
was constructed during the New Kingdom, where a statue of the
cow-goddess was found in a shrine (now in Cairo Museum).
On the west side of the main platform of the structure, on the second
terrace, is a peristyle court containing two rows of pillars with the
royal tomb featured in the inner part. Mentuhotep's tomb was cut into
the rock beneath the courtyard and contained an uninscribed alabaster
shrine. This was perhaps a forerunner to the later New Kingdom royal
tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Large quantities of wooden models
and statuettes, deliberately broken, were found inside the chamber.
Egyptologists debate whether the king was ever buried in the tomb, or
if it was a symbolic tomb for the pharaoh's 'ka' as no sarcophagus was
found. Behind the entrance to the royal tomb was Egypt's largest
hypostyle hall to date which contained 82 pillars. At the rear of the
hypostyle was a rock-cut speos, a long chamber with a vaulted ceiling
which was a sanctuary of the royal mortuary cult. In the centre of the
sanctuary a shallow ramp led up to a limestone altar and behind this a
statue of the king was placed in a niche carved into the rock. Many
blocks and statue fragments from here have found their way to museums
or collections around the world, including a seated statue of Amun.
The Temple of Mentuhotep is a complicated structure and the fact that
there are too few remains hamper the interpretation. The decoration
seems to show the growing influence of Osiris as a mortuary god during
this period, and combines elements both traditional and innovative.
It's ancient name was 'Akh-sut-Nebhepetre' (Splendid are the cult
places of Mentuhotep). |
