News

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

Polish Mission in the Temple of Hatshepsut wishes you Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

Another part of the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari will be available to the public!

 Main Sanctuary of Amun, phot. M. Jawornicki

(Phot. M. Jawornicki)

 

Another part of the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari will be available to the public. The opening ceremony of the Main Sanctuary of Amun-Re and the Ptolemaic Portico preceding it will take place on 9 December 2017.
The ceremony will be hosted by the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities, represented by the Minister of Antiquities Prof. Khaled el-Enani, and the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw, represented by its Director, Prof. Tomasz Waliszewski, with the participation of the Polish Ambassador, H.E. Michał Murkociński, and the Governor of Luxor, Mohamed Badr. The PCMA will be also represented by Dr. Artur Obłuski, Director of the Research Centre in Cairo, and Dr. Zbigniew E. Szafrański, Director of the Polish-Egyptian Archaeological and Conservation Mission at the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari.
The Sanctuary of Amun-Re is located in the middle of the west wall of the Upper Courtyard of the Temple of Hatshepsut. It can be entered through the Ptolemaic Portico and the granite portal, situated exactly on the prolongation of the line of the ramps
leading to the Lower and Middle Terrace. The Main Sanctuary consists of the Bark Hall and the Statue Room with three chapels. The first room housed the sacred bark of Amun and is decorated with representations of mentioned bark and members of Hatshepsut's family. In the next room, the Statue Room, where the figure of Amun-Re was situated, the most important rituals related to the cult of this deity were performed. The statue was illuminated by sunlight thanks to a system of skylights situated above the lintels of the entrances to the Bark Hall and the Statue Room. In the middle of the north and south walls, there are entrances to two narrow chapels devoted to the Ennead. The last chapel, and the farthest room, is the so-called Ptolemaic Sanctuary. Its present shape dates to the reign of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II.

During the works of Polish Mission, the original ceiling of the Bark Hall and the wall of the facade were protected, and a protective platform was built over the Upper Terrace. Thanks to these measures, the pressure of rocks and stones and the destructive influence of rainwater on the structure of the Sanctuary were eliminated. The walls of the complex were stabilized and their decoration reconstructed, including two of the four Osiride statues of Hatshepsut and the reliefs in the Bark Hall. Moreover, the preserved reliefs were cleaned and protected by restorers which brought out the bright colours of the original paint layer. 3D scanning was also carried out as part of comprehensive documentation work. Since work in the Sanctuary has been completed, it can now be opened to the public. Research on the Egyptological aspects of the Sanctuary is conducted by Dr. F. Pawlicki (author of, among others, a guide booklet accompanying the opening) to be published as a monograph. Research on the Ptolemaic part has already been published by Assoc. Prof. Ewa Laskowska-Kusztal, Polish Academy of Sciences (Le Sanctuaire Ptolémaïque de Deir el-Bahari, Deir el-Bahari III, Varsovie 1984).

Research grant to study Portico of Obelisks

National Science Centre of Poland has awarded the project "The Western Wall of the Portico of Obelisks of Hatshepsut's Temple in Deir el-Bahari in historical, ideological and ritual dimensions" by Ewa Józefowicz with a grant PRELUDIUM. The scientific aim of the project is the theoretical reconstruction of the original appearance of the western wall of the Portico of Obelisks (South Lower Portico) and the interpretation of the meaning of its decoration. The unique scenes of the transport and setting of two obelisks in Karnak and the foundation ritual for the Djeser-djeseru temple can be interpreted in three dimensions: historical (events, works, persons engaged, identification of obelisks), ideological (legitimization of Hatshepsut’s power by the foundation of and additions to temples, reasons for erecting the obelisks, their solar, Osiris and regenerative character, meaning of the scenes’ location within the decoration programme of the temple) and ritual (celebrations at the setting of obelisks and during temple foundation). Comprehensive studies of the western wall of the Portico of Obelisks are crucial to understand the role of the portico in the decoration programme of Hatshepsut’s temple, its ideological meaning and the historical events and rituals shown. The project will provide new data in all these dimensions. 

Preparations for the opening of new parts in the temple

Constructing works are undertaken to prepare new parts of the temple to be open for visitors - Ptolemaic Portico and Main Sanctuary of Amun. Engineer Mieczysław Michiewicz together with Sayed Tg and rais Ragab Yaseen are constructing the platform above the entrance to the main sanctuary. The opening of the new visitor's path is scheduled for the beginning of December 2017.

 

 

More photos are on Missions's Facebook page - HERE.

Winter season of 2017 has already begun!

Winter season 2017 in the Temple of Hatshepsut has already been started on October 11, 2017. Works during this season will be dedicated mainly to the comprehensive documentation of the Upper Courtyard, Northern Room of Amun and Punt Portico. It is planned to supplement the documentation, both drawings and photographs, and to perform 3D scanning. In addition, projects related to Hatshepsut Mission will be continued - works in the necropolis of northern Asasif and in the magazine with blocks from Tuthmosis III temple. Winter season of 2017 will last until mid-December. Follow us on Facebook to get more info about the work progress.

Grant Dialog for Hatshepsut Mission!

Project of the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology UW "Modern documentation in the research of the Polish-Egyptian Archaeological and Conservation Mission in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari (Egypt): creation, management, sharing" by Dr. Jadwiga Iwaszczuk was awarded a grant DIALOG by Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The project, led by Dr. Jadwiga Iwaszczuk, is intended to complement mission's documentation, to create a three-dimensional model of the Hatshepsut Temple for research and popularization purposes, and to create a database of all mission's achievements. A modern tool for managing both the data acquired during the work and the work itself will be created. The database "Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari" will be the primary source of knowledge about this temple. It will allow to conduct detailed studies and verification of already published theories by foreign researchers for whom access to the documentation has been difficult so far due to the need to personal visit in the archives. In addition, the database will be helpful in responding to conservation needs and a place of cooperation and communication between members of the mission.

Members of Hatshepsut Mission at conferences in May 2017

Several members of Hatshepsut Mission will present their research at international conferences in May 2017:

 

Current Research in Egyptology, Naples, 3-6 May:

F. Taterka, Hatshepsut’s Punt Reliefs: Their Structure and Function

 

Abstract can be found HERE.

 


Egyptological Conference in Copenhagen, 9-11 May:

K. Kapiec, Alterations in the Relief Decoration in the Southern Room of Amun in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari

 


XI. Tempeltagung - The Discourse between Tomb and Temple, Prague, 24-27 May

Andrzej Ćwiek, Hatshepsut or There and Back Again. Between the Tomb and the Temple

Mirosław Barwik, Building the temple “to the north of the royal tomb” — ostracon Deir el-Bahari F.8941

Zbigniew E. Szafrański, Temples providing a focal point for graves in the Theban mortuary landscape

 

Abstracts can be found HERE.

Spring season will begin soon!

The long-awaited spring season of works in the Temple of Hatshepsut will begin within the next few days. The work will be focused on the Complex of Royal Cult, which is currently being prepared for the publication. Moreover, Southern Room of Amun project will be continued as well as architectural and conservation works.

 

More info about the continued projects:

 

Complex of Royal Cult

Southern Room of Amun

Architectural and conservation projects

Distinction for Ph.D thesis by Marta Sankiewicz

We are pleased to inform that Ph. D. thesis "Iconography of Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari as a reflection of the relationship between both rulers" by Marta Sankiewicz was awarded a distinction in the XIIth contest for the best Ph. D. thesis organised by National Centre for Culture in Poland. Congratulations!

 

More info (in Polish) can be found HERE.

More info about the Dr. M. Sankiewicz's project can be found HERE.

Deir el-Bahari Studies I

We are pleased to inform that the first volume of Deir el-Bahari Studies series has just been published as a Special Studies fascicle of the PCMA journal Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 24. As Dr. Z.E. Szafrański states in the preface - "Articles are covering manifold aspects of human cognitive behavior in the Deir el-Bahari and Asasif area. They range widely in space and time, being aimed at studies of particular periods or problems, rather than general theoretical statements. In future special issues of Deir el-Bahari Studies contributions from specialists in complementary fields, such as architecture, conservation or linguistics will also be encouraged. This broad scope of the presentation will hopefully be appreciated by all those concerned with the archaeology and restoration of West Theban monuments".

 

All articles are available online on the PCMA website and can be downloaded HERE.