Lintel decoration types from the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and their meaning

Abstract

Examination of the set of preserved gate lintels from the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari has revealed two models of the iconographic decoration: one that emphasizes pictorial content in the form of scenes of a cultic or symbolic nature, with inscriptions playing merely a complementary role, and the other based on the textual message alone. The use of a given model of lintel decoration appears to be a measure either of the function of the room or, more broadly, of the space, accessed through the gate, or of the context of the wall decoration around the entrance.