1,500 painted blocks from Hatshepsut’s temple found

Archaeologists have uncovered approximately 1,500 richly-decorated stone blocks that were once part of the Valley Temple of 18th Dynasty pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut. They unearthed near the causeway of her grand mortuary temple at Deir El-Bahari in Luxor, Egypt. The polychrome paint on the blocks is still bright and the reliefs and carvings in excellent condition.

Queen Hatshepsut ruled from 1479 to 1458 B.C., one of only a handful of female pharaohs known, and ascended the throne after the death of her husband Thutmose II. She was supposed to be acting as regent for her stepson, the child Thutmose III, until he came of age, but after a few years, she declared herself pharaoh. She conveyed her power in portraiture, depicting herself with the customary pharaonic false beard and with the musculature and bare chest of a male pharaoh.

She was an effective monarch, investing in public works and infrastructure, and her architectural bent reached its pinnacle with the construction of her enormous mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. The temple was built at the base of limestone cliffs on the east side of the Valley of the Kings and features terraced colonnades, pools, gardens and more than 100 colossal statues as much as ten feet high, of Hatshepsut.

Thutmose III was in his 20s when she died and he finally took the throne. Two decades later, he decided to erase her from history, to eliminate the evidence of her kingship and therefore of the gap between his father’s rule and his own. He ordered the destruction of her monuments, defacement of her portraits and the cartouches of her name. The colossal statues of her temple was smashed to smithereens.

The main temple complex, which also contained the remains of Hatshepsut’s father Thutmose I, survived and is today the most remarkable structure in the Valley of the Kings, but her Valley Temple, which was entrance to the funerary complex, was demolished. The archaeological excavation at the site unearthed its foundations.

Tarek El Awady, deputy director of the Egyptian archaeological mission, elaborated on the team’s notable discoveries. These include discovering the foundational remains of Queen Hatshepsut’s Valley Temple, which once served as the grand entrance to the queen’s funerary complex, and more than 1,000 intricately decorated blocks and fragments with rare bas-reliefs and inscriptions showcasing the artistic mastery of the reigns of Hatshepsut and her successor, Thutmose III. Other findings include over 100 limestone and quartzite tablets inscribed with Queen Hatshepsut’s cartouches and a unique tablet naming Senmut, her renowned architect.

El Awady added that the intact foundation deposits, which he described as unmatched since Herbert L. Winlock’s excavations a century ago, offer invaluable insights into the temple’s construction and the queen’s legacy.

* This article was originally published here