page_title: Medinet Habu (location)
section_title: Temple of Ramesses III
hierarchical_section_title: Medinet Habu (location) / Temple of Ramesses III
caption_attribution_description: English: The temple, some 150m long, is of orthodox design, and resembles closely the mortuary temple of Ramesses II (the Ramesseum). It is quite well preserved and surrounded by a massive mudbrick enclosure, which may have been fortified. The original entrance is through a fortified gate-house, known as a migdol (and resembling an Asiatic fortress). Just inside the enclosure, to the south, are chapels of Amenirdis I, Shepenupet II and Nitiqret, all of whom had the title of Divine Adoratrice of Amun. The first pylon leads into an open courtyard, lined with colossal statues of Ramesses III as Osiris on one side, and uncarved columns on the other. The second pylon leads into a peristyle hall, again featuring columns of Ramses III. This leads up a ramp that leads (through a columned portico) to the third pylon and then into the large hypostyle hall (which has lost its roof). In Coptic times, there was a church inside the temple structure, but it has since been removed. Some of the carvings in the main wall of the temple have been altered by Coptic carvings.
context_page_description: Medinet Habu is an archaeological locality situated near the foot of the Theban Hills on the West Bank of the River Nile opposite the modern city of Luxor, Egypt. Although other structures are located within the area, the location is today associated almost exclusively with the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III.
context_section_description: The temple, some 150 m (490 ft) long, is of orthodox design, and closely resembles the Ramesseum. It is quite well preserved and surrounded by a massive mudbrick enclosure, which may have been fortified. The original entrance is through a fortified gate-house, known as a migdol (and resembling an Asiatic fortress).
  Just inside the enclosure, to the south, are chapels of Amenirdis I, Shepenupet II and Nitiqret, all of whom had the title of Divine Adoratrice of Amun.
  The first pylon leads into an open courtyard, lined with colossal statues of Ramesses III as Osiris on one side, and uncarved columns on the other. The second pylon leads into a peristyle hall, again featuring columns of Ramses III. This leads up a ramp that leads (through a columned portico) to the third pylon and then into the large hypostyle hall (which has lost its roof).
  In Coptic times, there was a church inside the temple structure, but it has since been removed. Some of the carvings in the main wall of the temple have been altered by Coptic carvings.
caption: Temple of Ramesses III
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