Memphis – Ramses II
Memphis – Ramses II There is evidence that the city developed with new significance in the political sphere.
This is due to its proximity to the new capital Pi-Ramesses. Memphis – Ramses II
king built many monuments in Memphis and decorated them with colossal symbols of glory.
Small temple of Ptah
This small temple, adjacent to the southwest corner of the larger temple of Ptah, was dedicated to the deified Ramesses II,
together with the three state gods Horus, Ptah and Amun. It is fully known as the Temple of Ptah of Ramses, Beloved of Amun,
God, Ruler of Heliopolis.
The ruins were discovered in 1942 by the archaeologist Ahmed Badawy and excavated in 1955 by Rudolf Anthes.
excavations revealed in the ruins a religious building with a tower, a courtyard for ritual sacrifices, a portico with columns,
followed by a pillared hall and a tripartite sanctuary, all enclosed in exposed walls built of mudbricks.
Its most recent exterior dates from the New Kingdom period.
temple opened to the east towards a path paved with other religious buildings.
The archaeological explorations that took place here show that the southern part of the city is indeed a large one
contain a number of religious buildings with a special dedication to the god Ptah, the most important god of Memphis.
The Temple of Ptah and Sekhmet of Ramesses II, Located further east, and near the great colossus of Ramesses,
this small temple is attributed to the 19th dynasty, and appears to have been dedicated to Ptah and his divine consort Sekhmet,
as well as the deified Ramesses II. The ruins are not as well preserved as others nearby,
as the limestone foundations appear to have been quarried after the city’s abandonment in late antiquity.
Two giant statues, dating from the Middle Kingdom, originally decorated the building’s facade, which opened to the west.
They were moved within the Museum of Memphis, and painted the pharaoh standing in the attitude of march, wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt.
Temple of Hathor
This small temple of Hathor was excavated south of the great wall of the Hout-Ka-Ptah by Abdullah al-Sayed Mahmud in the 1970s and also dates from the time of Ramesses II.
Dedicated to the goddess Hathor, Lady of the Sycamore, it presents an architecture similar to the small one
temple-shrines especially known for Karnak. From its proportions, it does not appear to be an important shrine of the goddess, but is currently the only building dedicated to her discovered in the ruins of the city.
It is believed that this shrine was primarily used for processional purposes during major religious festivals.
A larger temple dedicated to Hathor, indeed one of the most important shrines of the goddess in the country, is thought to have existed elsewhere in the city, but has not yet been discovered.
A depression, similar to that near the great temple of Ptah, could indicate its location. Archaeologists believe it could house the remains of an enclosure and a large monument, one theory, attested by ancient sources.
The ruins of ancient Memphis have numerous sculptures depicting Pharaoh Ramesses II. In the museum in Memphis is a gigantic statue of the king made of limestone, about 10 meters in length.
It was discovered in 1820 near the southern gate of the Temple of Ptah by the Italian archaeologist Giovanni Caviglia.
Because the statue’s base and feet were broken off from the rest of the body, it is currently shown lying on its back.
Some of the colors are still partially preserved, but the beauty of this statue lies in its flawlessness
detail of the complex and subtle shapes of the human anatomy.
The pharaoh wears the white crown of Upper Egypt, hadjet.
Caviglia had offered to send the statue to Leopold II via the Grand Duke of Tuscany,
through Ippolito Rosellini. Rosellini advised the monarch of the terrible costs involved in the transportation.
The Wali and self-proclaimed Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, Muhammad Ali Pasha,
offered to donate it to the British Museum, but the museum did not accept the offer due to the difficulty
task of shipping the huge statue to London.
So it remained in the archaeological area of Memphis in a special museum built around the statue to protect it.
statue was one half of a twin statue that historically decorated the eastern entrance to the temple of Ptah.
The other, made in the same year also by Caviglia, was restored in the 1950s to its
full standing height of 11 meters It was first displayed in Baab Al-Hadid Square in Cairo, which was subsequently renamed Ramses Square.
In 2006 the statue moved to Giza where it is in the hall of the new Gem. Museum stands.
