OIP 54.

The Mortuary Temple of Ramses III, Part 1
The Excavation of Medinet Habu, Volume 3


By Uvo Hölscher

Download Terms of Use

Ramesses III’s great temple complex at Medinet Habu is distinguished from other royal mortuary temples in Egypt above all by the circumstance that much of the temple structure itself still stands and that excavation has made comparatively clear the entire temenos with all subsidiary structures, fortifications, and the like. Thus in Medinet Habu as nowhere else in Egypt are revealed the entire plan of such a large and rich temple complex and to some extent the cult and administration carried on within its walls.

This extensive architectural creation of Ramesses III is the subject of Volumes III and IV of The Excavation of Medinet Habu. Each individual structure can really be understood only in its relation to the entire layout. On the other hand, it is impossible to gain an idea of the whole without first understanding the significance of each part. We therefore begin our treatise with a discussion of individual structures and groups of buildings and close with a comprehensive picture of the entire complex. The present volume is concerned only with the structures of the inner temple area, and a description of the Ramesseum is included for purposes of comparison.

  • Oriental Institute Publications 54
  • Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1941
  • Pp. xiii + 87; 56 figures, 40 plates
  • Out of Print