The RamesseumWithin the second year of Ramesses rule he began the construction of his mortuary temple, the Ramesseum, named by Ramesses as ‘House of Millions of years of Ramses the Second in the Estate of Amun’. The temple is located along the bank of the Nile at Thebes, near the Valley of the Kings, on top of his father Seti the first smaller scale temple. Known for its decorations, size and traditional style, the building was so large the structure was not finished until the twenty-first year of Ramesses reign. Although only a minority of the temple is still standing historians can easily gather a detailed idea of the layout and design of the temple as it was built in traditional Egyptian style.
Surrounding the Ramesseum, the pharaoh built a wall that measures two-hundred and seventy five metres by one hundred and sixty-eight. The Ramesseum consisted of numerous buildings and temples including the first and second court, a Hypostyle Hall which included forty-nine columns twenty-nine of which are still standing today, large storerooms containing oil, honey and wine, scribe training complex and a royal palace. Though the mortuary temple was dedicated to Ramesses II and Amun-Ra smaller temples surrounding the courts are dedicated to his wife, Nefertari and mother Tuya. The mortuary temple was decorated in inscriptions, reliefs and statues of Ramesses and his victories mainly, against the Hittites during the Battle of Kadesh. Pictorial reliefs of the Peace treaty between the Hittite and Egyptian empire were also recorded within the Ramesseum. |