Karnak – Pylons and obelisks (Pylon III-VI)
Pylons and obelisks (Pylon III-VI)
The Hypostyle Hall is closed by the Third Pylon, erected under Amenhotep III. The portico in front of him bears decorations by Seti and Ramses II. Blocks from earlier structures were found in the pylon, m.in. with the so-called. Of the White Chapel of Senuseret I. (in the museum-open-air museum), Chapel of Amenhotep I and II, the so-called. Hatshepsut's Red Chapel (in the museum-open-air museum).
During Thotmes I, a small space between Pylon III and IV (sometimes called the Court of the Obelisks or the Court of Amenhotep III) it was the entrance to the shrine of Ipct-isut.
During the feast of Opet or the Beautiful Feast of the Valley, the sacred barges of the Theban Triad passed here. Images of these processions (barges of Amon and King Amenhotep III) covered the rear wall of the north wing of Pylon III. You can see a delicate relief with a barge, fragments of which are still covered with yellow paint. The southern wing of Pylon III on the eastern side is decorated with a long one, inscription of Amenhotep III partially preserved. Behind the pylon stood the two obelisks of Thotmes I and Thotmes III marking the entrance to the original temple. Lost obelisk of Thotmes I. (north, the pedestal has been preserved to this day) covered with the inscription Thotmes III. The obelisk was still standing in 1731 r., but only one remained. Only from the east the original inscription of Thotmes I has survived, and a list of his titles is left on the north and south sides.
Later they placed their inscriptions on the obelisk, Ramses IV and Ramses VI.
Pylon IV from the time of Thotmes I used to be the main entrance to the temple complex. Between the 4th and 5th Pylon there was a former hypostyle hall from the time of Thotmes III, decorated by Ramesses II. In front of the 4th Pylon, there were Osirian pillars, on the south side having the White Crown, and after midnight – Red. Queen Hatshepsut's obelisk stands slightly asymmetrically to the north of the axis, the workmanship and transport of which from Aswan are shown in the reliefs in Ad-Dayr al-Bahri (Deir el-Bahari) and the Red Chapel. Both obelisks were brought to the Sed celebration. The Queen ordered pyramidions made of a natural alloy of silver and gold reflecting the sun's rays.
The standing obelisk is one of the most famous monuments in Karnak.
It is also the tallest in Egypt (29,5 m) and weighs approx. 323 tony.
Hatshepsut's titles are written on the north side. The top of the obelisk differs from the slender base, for which Thotmes III is responsible, who had a wall erected around the obelisk to hide the inscriptions of the queen. To the north of it there are two rows of three papyrus columns (once gilded), and to the south there are two rows of four columns. It is one of the oldest parts of the temple. The upper part of the southern obelisk lies in parts near the sacred lake.
Behind the obelisks was Pylon V, and behind it the vestibule in front of Pylon VI. This narrow, symmetrical square was divided by the granite gates of Thotmcs III and the colonnade of Thotmes I. Passing through the gate leads to the peristyle of Thotmes I (remnants of polygonal columns). This room is called the Annals' Room. Little is left of Pylon VI of Thotmes III, though you can still see the list of conquered nations. In the courtyard there are two beautiful pillars from the last years of Thotmes' life, the so-called. heraldic pillars with a relief relief depicting the plants of Lower and Upper Egypt – papyrus and lotus. The eastern and western sides of the pillars show in a colorful relief the king embraced by Amun-Re, Mut, Hathor i Amaunet. Cartouches with the name of King Thotmes Neferchcpru have survived. In the northern part of the courtyard there are two great figures of Amun and Amaunet, which young Tutankhamun had carved.