Merenptah - King of recycling

In one of the West Banks restaurants we meet two German tourist and their tour leader. They just arrive for a break after their sightseeing trip to the mortuary temples. "Did you also see the temple of Merenptah?" we ask. The answer of the tour leader: "Why. There is nothing to see!" Some days later. We meet an English language tour guide, ask him for his opinion of this recently opened temple complex. Also his reaction is negativ: "The guides don't know anything about this themple, we never received any information or fact sheets to make us ready to explain this temple to our guests. That's why up to now we don't visit this place."

Very official during the opening ceremony: Dr. Mohamed El Bialy, Director General for the Antiquities of Thebes West (l.), and Dr. Horst Jaritz, head of the excavation, explaining the restoration and reconstruction works at the temple of Merenptah (right photo)

Nothing to see? The tour leader is right. Here you don't find huge pylons, no columns or obelisques that try to scratch the sky. You don't find, what - in his opinion - will impress tourists. Although there is a lot to see, a lot of small treasures, extraordinary beautiful reliefs of high quality artistic work, that have been hidden until now. Nothing to see? Chase after your guide to go there, ask for the inspector or at least for a brochure (there was one, but in case of lack in paper the reprint by Egyptians is late). Possibly you as a tourist are able to motivate some of the guides for learn about the history of Merenptahs "House of the Million Years" to add this temple to their repertoire. To visit this temple really is worth the effort. Better than anywhere else you clearly can see the construction of the mortuary temples of Thebes West. Although or even because the complex is incomplete, only fragments are left. Since this fragments, partly decorated in excellent art, are set up exactly at its former locations or are exhibited in the site museum, in the two show rooms downstairs the second pylon or the so called lapidarium. The mortuary temple of King Merenptah in Theben West. Its official inauguration to the public took place on 4th of April, 2002 including the state of the art site museum (on 21st of March there was a sudden visit by President Hosni Mubarak, so the site then was announced open. Unfortunately at this time the tickets were not printed, also the invitations for the longtermed planned opening ceremony were already send. In such situations Egyptians usually say Malesh - no problem!).                                                               

A short glance to the background. In 1896 the English archaelogist William Matthew Flinders Petrie discovered the "House of the Million Years", did first excavations, drew its layout. After Petrie the temple complex was nearly forgotten. Until the Swiss institute "Schweizerisches Institut für Ägyptische Bauforschung und Altertumskunde" in Cairo under its Director Dr. Eng. Horst Jaritz got on the plan. Dr. Jaritz was firmly convinced that this temple is of high architectural importance. In 17 campagnes for excavation Dr. Jaritz and his team investigated the field with its ruins, excavated, restorated, reconstructed. Petries maps were renewed and completed, all findings displayed on the spot on brick pedestals. Locations of pilars, pylons, the palace of the king and other buildings became visible through mudbrick walls and stone insertions in the ground.

King Merenptah (ca. 1212 - 1202 B.C.), 13th son and successor of Rameses II. (ca. 1279 - 1212 B.C.) was given hard times. "The Great Rameses" - crazy in building up temples and statues all over his kingdom - not only spent the public money, but also the building materials in the surroundings. Therefore Merenptah - in his coronation already over 60 years old - had to start with a very simple construction of his mortuary temple, at first for his personal cult only. To extract sandstone he re-opened the Silsila quarry (near Kom Ombo). Later he added buildings as for the cult of Re, a very rare temple well or the so called "slaughter house".

Nevertheless the contructors were robbers, used materials from older temples. Their favorite, the near by located mortuary temple of King Amenhetep III. (ca 1386 - 1349 B.C.), they used like a quarry . They "stole" statues, stelas, gates, stoneblocks. They carved the name of Merenptah as well asnew inscriptions. Pharaonic recycling. This way was wellknown, but Merenptah in this field became somebody like a master. Even the famous "Israel Stela", which Petrie discover, was stolen from the temple of Amenhetep. By the way: on this stela made of black basalt the only text mentioning the name Israel in the ancient Egyptian history is carved. The original of the stela nowadays is exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. In the temple of Merenptah you find a replica, done in order of Dr. Jaritz.

Picture 1: For orientation: The layout of the complete temple complex
Picture 2: Upper part of the replica of the so-called "Israel Stela"
Picture 3: Horst Jaritz explains to us in "his" museum how they put the fragments of a stela together

Later his contributions as the "King of Recycling" catched him up. Also his mortuary temple was used as a quarry, limestone blocks were burnt to lime, mudbricks used as material to build up houses. Therefore there was nothing left, except some stones looking out of the ground. Until Petrie rediscovered the temple and Dr. Jaritz and the Swiss Institute started their work of discovery, restoration and reconstruction.

"The temple of King Merenptah is the missing part in the architectural development of the Theban mortuary temples on the West Bank of Luxor ", explains Dr. Horst Jaritz, who graduated not only in archaeology but also in architecture. And he continues: "Without the research of this mortuary temple one cannot understand the development of the later temples." The architecutural change in the 20. dynasty will be explained by the layout of the last big mortuary temple of the 19. dynasty. This temple is the missing link between the mortuary temples of Rameses II., the Rameseum, and Rameses III. (ca 1182 - 1151 B.C.), the temple of Medinet Habu.

Impressive background for the temple: the magnificent mountains and the old village of Qurna

Now, after the excavation campagnes of the Swiss institute, one can form a detailed impression about the temple complex and its architecural examples. Merenptah took over by his immediately predecessor, his father Rameses II. and his Rameseum, the succession of the two courtyards behind the first pylon, as well as the two columned halls leading to the sanctuary and the columned colonnades in the south and north of the first courtyard. Like a mirror image here two rows of unpretentious columns with capitels of open papyrus facing each other. Since the south colonnade formed the front of the palace, the northern columns were decorated with huge statues of King Merenptah.

The construction of the royal ritual palace on the southern part of the first courtyard resembles such as in the mortuary temples of Sethoy I. (ca 1291 - 1278 B.C.) und Rameses II. Still in the temple of Merenptah the rooms are restricted in number and design on the most necessary. A new architectural idea is the second pylon located between the first and second hall. Like with Rameses III. this pylon is much smaller than the huge entrance pylon.

The former foundations of this second pylon now hide some additional treasures of the temple complex. Two underground showrooms are disigned, host huge blocks, which before partly where used as door panels or frames in the temple of Amenhotep. Later with Merenptah these blocks have to garantee for the pylon the strong stability on the soft ground. As the workers put the blocks with their reliefs faced down to the ground, the for this period unic interpretations are extremely well preserved. Dr. Jaritz is smiling like a roguish: "Do you see a very small bird in this relief?" Helpless his guests are searching. Without success, until the expert shows where they can find it. Part of the adventure temple, where also small details become important.

Picture: Well organized: some of the fragments exhibited in the site museum

Like with Rameses II. the second hall is designed as a Osiris columned hall. Even in traditional way, there is no eastern, but a southern and a northern row of columns, a style that was never repeated in later times. As Rameses II. before, Rameses III. later, Merenptah displayed giant statues (usurped from Amenhetep III.) between the western Osiris columns. It seems as Merenptah took over the concept for the surrounded slim rooms on the northern and southern side as well as the tripartite of the backwards part of the temple from the mortuary temple of Sethoy I., father of Rameses II..

However, Dr. Horst Jaritz is not only interested in the historical aspect of the construction. "We have displayed huge wall fragments with phantastic decorations. And we discovered that the front of the palace was built of stones, the first hall was designed with colonnades." They also found a lot of fragments from giant statues and sphinxes, stelas, ostrakas, jewelleries. One can view the huge findings in the area of the temple complex, in the two worthwhile showrooms downstairs the second pylon with unique wall reliefs from the mortuary temple of Amenhetep III., and in the so called Lapidarium. The smaller sized findings are exhibited in the site museum.

Not only the the recordings of Flinders Petrie but also the remaindings from his excavations became important and helpful for the excavation team of the Swiss institute. For example Petrie left a part of the detrius gutter, which was very valuable for the stratigraphical research. Dr. Jaritz: "Originally we found only very small remains. But sometimes it is just a small stone or another small thing, that gives us reveal. As a piece of a whitened wall plaster, found at its original location, which enabled us to figure out the eact angle of inclination of the wall."
A small detail shown on one of the phantastic wall reliefs, that are exhibited in two show rooms downstairs the second pylon

But if you think Dr. Jaritz is satisfied with the excavation and the puzzling work of assembling the fragments only, you are wrong. As an archaeologist and architect by passion for the site in Qurna he planned and drew the draft for one of the very rare site museums in the country. In this museum are such findings exhibited, which otherwise would be packed in any storage. The Swiss Ludwig Borchardt Foundation and the institute financed the 500.000 LE costs of the building. The well known construction expert Eng. Mamdouh Habashi realized the construction work. The two architects Jaritz and Habashi worked together in this way already before. Together they planned and built the site museum on the island Elephantine in Aswan. All technical equipment in the Merenptah site museum - for instance the show vitrines with special lighting systems, the air condition in the walls and the floor - is made in Germany. As building materials local travertin was used for the encases of the walls to fit the building with the colours of its surrounding, for the floors limestone and Egyptian marble.

The exhibited artefacts share the 8x22 meter space of the building with its four domes for lighting and ventilation. The exhibition includes pearls, ceramic, ostrakas, stelas, a cult bowl, and fragments of statues and selected fragments of the wall decorations of the temple. Additional illustrations and information boards explain the history of the construction as well as the research of the temple, deepen ones impressions. Outside you can relaxe and take your experiences in consideration in the quiet, by Bougainvillée shadowed pergola. And if you have enough imagination you can revive the temple in your mind's eyes. The architects Jaritz and Habashi of course are proud about "their" museum. Both are wishing that this still new concept of presentation of findings in small museums on site will set a precedent. One more sentence about Dr. Horst Jaritz. The project Merenptah temple is the last work of the Gernan scholar born in Esperstedt/Thuringia. At the end of 2002 he retires, will enjoy his time as a pensioner. But we are sure to meet him again in Egypt, on the West Bank, because after he spent more than half of his lifetime in this country, one foot will always remain here.

Carefully reconstructed are the old walls of the former annexes and the well. Left in the back one can make out the building of the site museum

What do you think after reading this? You still share the opinion of the guides, in the site of King Merenptahs mortuary temple there is nothing to see, nothing to discover? As you know now our opinion is completely different. We believe this site will become a new highlight on the West Bank. The only thing what the temple needs is a little bit of "propaganda". What the guides need is a little bit of information and enlightenment by officals. But this now is the cup of tea of the Egyptians.

Information

Fortunately now there is a completly new site to visit, for interest especially for individual tourist, who already know the classical sites. The Mortuary Temple of Merenptah is located in front of the old village Qurna, beside Sheikh Alis "Marsam" hotel (turn right at the crossing after the Colossi of Memnon). But at first you have to buy your ticket (10 LE incl. the site museum) at the ticket office (just some steps to the left from the crossing), from there it's only some minutes by feet to reach the temple's entrance (Text Antje and Wolfgang Sliwka, Fotos Antje Sliwka)