The temple of Ramesses III at Karnak Luxor | Barque Chapel of Ramesses III
The temple of Ramesses III at Karnak Luxor

The temple of Ramesses III at Karnak Luxor | Barque Chapel of Ramesses III

The location of the temple of Ramesses III

The temple of Ramesses III is located inside Karnak temple on Luxor east bank of the Nile River. Barque Chapel of Ramesses III was built in the large open court lying between the first unfinished Pylon of Nectanebo I (380-362 BC) and the second pylon of Horemheb (1323- 1295 BC).

Who is Ramesses III?

Ramesses III was the second Pharoah of the 20th dynasty of the new Kingdom of ancient Egyptian history. His father Pharoah Seth Nakht founded the dynasty and Ramesses III followed him. King Ramesses III is considered the last great Egyptian Pharoah king after Ramesses II and Thutmose III. Meanwhile, three of his sons will rule Egypt later under the names Ramses IV, Ramses VI, and Ramses VIII.

He led numerous military campaigns to defend Egypt’s borders against the Sea People, the Syrians, and the Euphrates people. Pharoah Ramesses III built Habu temple, KV 11 in the Valley of the Kings, besides his addition to Karnak temple and Luxor temple.

Why the temple of Ramesses III was built?

Ramesses III built this small temple following the pattern of the Egyptian temples and at his temple, the second Pylon was the end of the temple. King Seti II built his triple Barque Shrines to the north of the second Pylon. So, Ramesses III built his shrines to the south of the second Pylon as a resting place for the holy barques of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. Probably, he wanted to store the Barques in a place carrying his name as Taharqa will do the same after that when he built the Taharqa kiosk in the open court.

Who was the triad of Luxor?

The triad of Luxor was Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.

God Amun

Amun was the national god of Egypt during the New Kingdom between 1550 BC till 1080 BC. Amun was one of the eight primordial Egyptian deities and the king of gods later. Amon’s name meant the Hidden One and he was portrayed as a man with two feathers above his head or as a ram-headed god.

Goddess Mut

The wife of Amun in the triad of Luxor was portrayed as a woman with a double crown above her head. She was considered a goddess of protection and she was associated with other female goddesses such as Isis, Nut, and Nekhbet. She has her own temple to the south of Karnak temple.  During the New Kingdom, it was a feast called Festival of Mut in Thebes and she was part of the Opet feast between Karnak and Luxor with Amun and Khonsu.

God Khonsu

God Khonsu, also written Khons was the moon god in the ancient Egyptian religion. In Egyptian mythology, he is the third part of the triad of Luxor, the son of Amun and Mut. Khonsu was always depicted as a man with a half-moon above his head or as a young man with a side lock of hair and copra above his head.

Facts about Barque Chapel of Ramesses III

  1. The Barque Chapel of Ramesses III was built by Pharoah Ramesses III during the 20th
  2. The temple follows the pattern of the ancient Egyptian temples
  3. It is a small temple 22 meters long
  4. Ramesses III temple has copied scenes from the Habu temple
  5. The temple contains Osiris statues of Ramesses III in the first open court. Those to the east wear the white crown while those to the west put the red crown
  6. The temple contains decorations and inscriptions on the walls showing the king’s relation with the different gods of Egypt specially Ptah, Amun, Min, and others
  7. The feast of the god Min is portrayed on the walls of the open court

The temple of Ramesses III plan

This well-preserved temple of Ramesses III has a similar plan to the big temple of Amun. The temple plan is as follows

  1. Colossi of the kings Ramesses III
  2. Pylon
  3. Open Court with eight Osiris statutes
  4. Vestibule with four columns
  5. Hypostyle Hall with 8 columns
  6. Triple shrines of Luxor triad

Ramesses III statutes

Two statutes for Kings Ramesses III standing in front of the first pylon made out of sandstone and each about 6 meters high. Both represent the King standing with his left leg forward and putting the double crown above the royal headdress Nemes on his head. Ramesses II created that tradition before Ramesses III and the proof is in the open Museum at Memphis.

First Pylon

The pylon of the temple of Ramesses III consists of two towers and a gate between them like all the Egyptian temples. The two towers represent the two horizon mountains where the sun rises between them.

On the western side of the Pylon, Ramesses III puts the red crown of Lower Egypt, holding the enemies by their hair and smiting them with the other hand in front of Amun.

On the eastern side of the Pylon, Ramesses III with the double crown, not even the white to say Upper Egypt as the union between Upper and Lower Egypt started always with kings from the south of Egypt.

The king smiting the enemies in front of Amun and behind him the royal Ka and all of them under the protection of Nekhbet.

Amun has in his hands 3 robes tied to the enemies represented in an oval shape and they look Nubian.

Open Court

The open court of the temple of Ramesses III consists of two rows of columns to the west and east of the entrance. Each has an engaged statue of the king in the Osiris form.

The statutes to the west wearing the crown of the red crown of lower Egypt while those to the east put the white crown of the north. They hold in their hands the scepter, nekhakha sign, and the Hek sign.

Eastern Portico

The east portico behind the Osiris statutes of the king represents the feast of Amun or Opet feast. We can see small boats for Amun, Mut, and Khons together with Ramesses III’s boat carried by the priests. Amun’s boat was called user hat and it was about 86 meters.

Ramesses III burn incense and repeated some prayers in a stela that seems it was from gold and silver dates to the 22nd year of his reign. In another scene we see the king make libation in front of the boats of the gods and on the bottom, we see a text that dates back to his reign with Ramesses IV.

Western Portico

The scenes here are for the feast of God Min, the God of fertility in ancient Egypt. We have 4 scenes in three registers where we can see people carrying the fans, priests with jars on stands, and others carrying Horus signs.

The King is shown burning incense and behind him Thout. In some more scenes, the king offers the beer to Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.

To the east and west and in the middle of the walls, there are two doors leading to the Bubastite Portal.

Vestibule with four columns

The vestibule with four columns is located directly after the open court and it is separated from the open court with screen walls. These screen walls will be in all the Greco-Roman temples such as the Dendera temple, Edfu temple, Kom Ombo temple, and Philae temple.

The function is the screen walls is to separate those who are inside from those who are outside. Besides, allowing the air and the light to go inside the Hypostyle Halls. The scenes on the walls of this Vestibule show the relationship between the king and the gods such as Amun, Mut, Maat, Hathor, and Nekhbet.

Here also we can see the correction of some mistakes and the difference between the quality of the scenes here and in the Medinet Habu temple.

We can notice here also that the pavement rises while the roof lowers from the open court.

Hypostyle Hall with 8 columns

The Hypostyle Hall has eight columns with papyrus-bud capitals, leading to the three sanctuaries behind it. The scenes show Ramesses making offerings before the sacred boats of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.

Also, in some more scenes, the king offers Amun some sacrifices, and in front of Amun ka Mut.f. The king is opening the lock of the Amun shrine and burns incense with Montu.

One of the most important scenes on the walls of this Hypostyle Hall is Ahmose Nefertari with some necklace and the magical Menat necklace.

The Holy of the Holies | Triple shrines of Luxor triad

Behind the Hypostyle Hall, there are three shrines for the Triad of Luxor Amun in the middle, Mut shrine to the left-hand side, and Khonsu to the right side.

Mut shrine

The shrine of Mut to the left has stairs leading to the roof of the temple

Khonsu shrine

Khonsu shrine has a side room

Amun shrine

The biggest between all and the scenes on the walls show Ramesses offering the sacrifices in front of Amun’s boat.

Conclusion about the temple of Ramesses III at Karnak Luxor

The temple was like a state inside the state, a temple inside the temple. Ramesses wanted to have his own place where the holy boats can rest during the Opet festivals.

The temple follows the pattern of all the ancient Egyptian temples

It meant that the temple gets progressively darker, from the outside starting with the open court to the inner sanctuary

The floor of the open court should be the lowest one and the pavement rises progressively. While the roof lowers from the entrance to the sanctuary. So, the holy of the holies has the highest pavement and the lowest ceiling. This is symbolic of the primeval hill rising from the eternal ocean.

Finally, the walls of the temples are covered with religious scenes, ritual celebrations, and sacrificial offerings in honor of gods. While the outer walls were decorated with war scenes and conquest.

Finally, thank you for following our blog! I hope you had a great time exploring Luxor’s top attractions and Karnak Temple. If you have any extra time, I recommend visiting some of Luxor top attractions that Luxor has to offer, such as

White chapel

Red Chapel

Mut temple

Khonsu temple

Ptah temple

The Great Hypostyle Hall

Botanical Garden

Sacred Lake

Hatshepsut Obelisk

Alexander Chapel

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