page_title: Ancient Egyptian architecture
section_title: Temple of Karnak
hierarchical_section_title: Ancient Egyptian architecture / New Kingdom Temples / Temple of Karnak
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: de:Luxor, Ägypten: de:Karnak-Tempel, große Säulenhalle im de:Tempel des Amun-Re (Karnak) English: en:Luxor, Egypt: en:Karnak temple, en:Great Hypostyle Hall in the en:Precinct of Amun-Re
context_page_description: Ancient Egyptian architecture is the architecture of Ancient Egypt. Spanning over two thousand years, ancient Egypt was not one stable civilization but in constant change and upheaval, commonly split into periods by historians. Likewise, ancient Egyptian architecture is not one style, but a set of styles differing over time but with some commonalities.
  The best known example of ancient Egyptian architecture are the Egyptian pyramids while excavated temples, palaces, tombs and fortresses have also been studied. Most buildings were built of locally available mud brick and limestone by levied workers. Monumental buildings were built via the post and lintel method of construction. Many buildings were aligned astronomically. Columns were typically adorned with capitals decorated to resemble plants important to Egyptian civilization, such as the papyrus plant.
  Ancient Egyptian architectural motifs have influenced architecture elsewhere, reaching the wider world first during the Orientalizing period and again during the nineteenth-century Egyptomania.
context_section_description: The temple complex of Karnak is located on the banks of the Nile River some 2.5 kilometers (1.5 mi) north of Luxor. It consists of four main parts, Precinct of Amon-Re, the Precinct of Montu, the Precinct of Mut and the Temple of Amenhotep IV (dismantled), as well as a few smaller temples and sanctuaries located outside the enclosing walls of the four main parts, and several avenues of ram-headed sphinxes connecting the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Amon-Re and Luxor Temple. This temple complex is particularly significant, for many rulers have added to it. However, notably every ruler of the New Kingdom added to it. The site covers over 200 acres and consists of a series of pylons, leading into courtyards, halls, chapels, obelisks, and smaller temples. The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction work began in the 16th century BC, and was originally quite modest in size, but eventually, in the main precinct alone, as many as twenty temples and chapels would be constructed. Approximately 30 pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the individual features of Karnak are unique, but the size and number of those features are overwhelming.
  One of the greatest temples in Egyptian history is that of Amun-Ra at Karnak. As with many other temples in Egypt, this one details the feats of the past (including thousands of years of history detailed via inscriptions on many of the walls and columns found on site, often modified or completely erased and redone by following rulers), and honors the gods. The temple of Amun-Re was constructed in three sections, the third being constructed by the later New Kingdom pharaohs. In canon with the traditional style of Egyptian architecture, many of the architectural features, such as the inner sanctum of the complex, were aligned with the sunset of the summer solstice.
  One of the architectural features present at the site is the 5,000 sq m (50,000 sq ft) hypostyle hall built during the Ramesside period. The hall is supported by approximately 139 sandstone and mud brick columns, with 12 central columns (~69 feet tall) that would have all been brightly painted.
caption: Example of inscriptions present throughout the complex. The upper regions are painted, suggesting (in canon with other such temples) that the remaining columns and ceilings would have been brightly painted. The temple roof, representing the heavens,[14] often bore images of stars and birds, while the columns often bore images of palms, lotuses, and people.
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