¿Atrapando el Solsticio? Un análisis crítico de la orientación de los templos de Deir el-Bahari

Abstract

The temples of Deir el-Bahari were studied in earlier campaigns carried out during the last decade within the framework of the Archaeoastronomy Mission of Ancient Egypt; in particular those of Mentuhotep II and Hatshepsut. Although they seem to belong to the family of temples oriented to the rising sun at the winter solstice, this orientation was not as precise as would be expected for temples of such importance. Therefore, after resuming work in Egypt, it was decided to propose alternative hypotheses that could explain the deviations of these two temples to the south and north of the solsticial line, respectively. It is difficult to imagine that they were mere design errors. In December 2017, further fieldwork was carried out in Thebes, in particular at Deir el-Bahari, and observations and measures were made on site during the winter solstice itself, documenting this phenomenon. The verifications carried out seem to confirm some new approaches. On the one hand, the memorial temple of Mentuhotep II could be diverted c. 2º to the south so that there would be a lighting effect during the winter solstice in the chapel closing the complex at the base of the cliff. This would be an astronomical event that could be related to the Wepet Renpet (New Year) at that period (11th Dynasty). On the other hand, the Temple of Millions of Years of Hatshepsut could be oriented towards sunrise on another unique date of the civil calendar during the reign of this sovereign. All in all, astronomical orientations at the site could relate to key dates in the civil calendar at the time when the temples were built.