Algunas hipótesis sobre el programa decorativo de las paredes en arenisca del Templo de Millones de Años de Tutmosis III

Abstract

The archaeological excavations undertaken since 2008 in the Henket-ankh, the Temple of Millions of Years of Thutmose III located on the West Bank of Thebes, have resulted in the discovery of a large number of relief fragments, both in sandstone and limestone. While a part of the sanctuary would have been made of limestone, sandstone was used for most decorated walls of the temple. The material is very fragmented, and very little of the original structures of the temple remains. However, its study has allowed us to elaborate hypotheses about some of the scenes that would have been represented, as well as to suggest possible reconstructions. They included, among others, the massacre and list of enemies or battle, a calendar of festivities, processions, the Ished tree or the king outfitted with the Heb Sed robe. These iconographic elements responded to an intentional program in which each type of representation, ritual or other, had its place in specific areas of the temple. These would be combined with scenes of offerings to the gods, in particular to Amun, guarantor at the same time than recipient of the king’s deeds. This paper aims to present an integral vision of what has been determined in terms of these scenes. Given the state of the material, the limitations that we face when it comes to deciphering this figurative discourse are manifest; however, the reliefs discovered in the Henket-ankh evidence the complexity of the decorative and symbolic program, as well as the quality of relief and polychrome, which once existed in the Temple of Millions of Years of Thutmose III