Arrangement of columns and architraves in the courtyard of the first temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari
2025, 34, No. 1
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Abstract
The three-terraced temple of Queen Hatshepsut, along with the Valley Temple and the processional avenue, was designed as a single complex immediately after the Queen’s coronation. The central feature of this arrangement was the Upper Courtyard, where at least two rows of columns were constructed in front of each wall. This interpretation is widely accepted by scholars who have studied the temple’s construction history. However, research conducted between 1997 and 2017 on the remains of decorated architraves has challenged these findings. It was discovered that the Upper Courtyard originally featured two rows of columns only on the side of the Sanctuary. This suggests that, in its initial phase, the temple was significantly smaller, and that the large-scale expansion —including the addition of columns and the relocation of decorated rooms— occurred later. The courtyard with two rows of columns did not represent the first stage in constructing the three-terraced temple; rather, it was the completion of an earlier temple project that had likely already been finished. An analysis of the preserved decorative fragments revealed that some architraves contained the original names of Thutmose II, placed there by Hatshepsut. These inscriptions were found exclusively on the architraves of the Upper Courtyard.
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