Scholarly record

THE SETTING OF KINGВ’S MENTUHOTEP II MORTUARY TEMPLE AS AN ASSOCIATION WITH OSIRIS CULT IN ANCIENT EGYPT

V. Seglins, A. Kukela, B. Lazdina

Abstract

The mortuary temple of king Mentuhotep II and queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, Egypt, are well-known as remarkable monuments of architecture, construction, and the changes in religious beliefs of Ancient Egypt. However, the main aspects of selecting the location for the construction of these temples and the meaning of the selected location are described only within the studies of Theban necropolis complex that appeared in the later years. Therefore, the possible conditions that could have served as the basis for the choice of location for the mortuary temples have been investigated in this study. Undoubtedly, this particular place was very important since the hidden Valley of the Kings and glorious HatshepsutВ’s Temple of Millions of Years were constructed in the vicinity of MentuhotepВ’s II temple complex many centuries later. However, each of these monuments had various reasons for their location and the existence of MentuhotepВ’s II mortuary temple had to be taken into account. Our study indicates that the special significance of Deir el-Bahri site is related to many older cults, based on the recognition of the anthropomorphic images in the rock cliffs above the temple. Most likely they can be identified as a symbol of Osiris, which is still partly recognizable today.

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