The Temple of Ramesses II in Abydos
History of the Temple Site Excavation
Nothing is known in modern times about the temple prior to the nineteenth century when, in 1809, the Description de l’Égypte by Bonaparte’s French Expedition was published. The first volume included a map of Abydos and shows only a few granite blocks at the location of the then completely buried temple. These blocks were likely the granite gate of the temple’s main pylon.
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During a visit to Abydos in 1821, the British traveler and explorer William Johns Banks found parts of the temple walls already unearthed, and noticed that its visible carved inscriptions included a king list. He made a handwritten copy and sent it to Champollion. It is not clear how the temple had become partially exposed at the time of Banks’ visit.
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In 1869, Auguste Mariette started excavating the entire temple using a corvée labor force granted to him by Khedive Ismael, which resulted in clearing the entire temple. The findings and documentation of this excavation were eventually published in 1881.
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The next archeological activity at the temple was about a century later when the Supreme Council of Antiquities conducted an excavation in 1994 within the eastern part of the temple. Most of the finds from that excavation date to the Late Antique Period.
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Later, beginning in 2007, our mission launched a comprehensive photographic and epigraphic documentation project for the duration of seven seasons that culminated in a two-part publication in 2015 (see publications). Subsequently, we directed our attention to the exploration and excavation of areas of the temple site that were not excavated earlier. To date we have completed four seasons, taking place consecutively in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Unfortunately, we did not continue our work in early 2021 due to Covid-19, but have returned to the field in December 2021 for an extended season to continue through the winter of early 2022.
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The temple of Ramesses II in Abydos was featured in the National Geographic television series, Lost Treasures of Egypt. The episode, "Ramses the Great: Empire Builder" is available to view via this link.
Excavation activity at the Ramesses II temple in Abydos
Zones of Excavation
For the purpose of planning the site exploration and excavation, the areas surrounding the temple were divided into four zones. See map below for the location of the four zones.
During the 2017 season, several trenches were excavated within an area of 35 m x 25 m directly west of the temple in an entirely sandy soil. The excavation in one of the trenches went down to 3.65 m, reaching the merle tafla layer. No structures or archaeological remains were found except few late intrusive burials.
Western view of Zone 1 excavation
South-eastern view of Zone 1
Western view of Zone 1 excavation
During the 2019 season a palatial structure measuring 10 m x 12 m was discovered. And later, in 2020, the southern enclosure wall measuring 3.25 m wide and ten mudbrick magazines, each measuring 2.5 m x 10 m, were discovered. Remains of a vaulted roof were extant. The remaining eastern part of this zone has not been excavated yet. Foundation deposits were found under the south-west foundation block.
S-W temple foundation corner with cartouches
S-W corner cartouche south side
Looking west showing the walkway between the palace and the temple
S-W temple foundation corner with cartouches
Part of this zone was excavated by the Supreme Council of Antiquities in 1994. Later, in 2018, selected sondages were excavated by a joint mission of New York University and the Ministry of Antiquities (now the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) as a joint field school. The mission included 12 inspectors as students selected by the MoTA and 9 instructors.
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Preliminary results indicated that the first pylon is 8 m wide and is built of mudbricks measuring 40 cm x 20 cm x 15 cm, some of which are stamped with Ramesses II’s throne name. However, the northern and southern extremities of this pylon were not determined. A limestone statue base was discovered near the north jamb of the second pylon gateway.
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The work was conducted as a joint collaboration between the NYU team and the MoTA’s Scientific Center for Archaeological Field Training and Continuing Research (SCAFTCR) program for intensive field study designed for inspectors from Upper Egypt to learn systematic standard practice of excavation and recording techniques.
Newly discovered limestone statue base at the second pylon gateway
Newly discovered mudbrick first pylon foundation looking west
Members of the field school at the end of the season
Newly discovered limestone statue base at the second pylon gateway
The entire zone is currently covered with fine sand, which is approaching the temple’s northern wall due to the northerly wind-blown sand. Excavation is planned to commence in December 2021 and end in February 2022.