Hall of Ancient Thought The Hall of Ancient Thought was a cone - like building atop Mount Seleya and was part of a temple on that mountain . In 2285 , prior to a usage of " fal - tor - pan " that rejoined Spock ' s body with his " katra " , a Vulcan procession moved his " katra " - less body through the hall , exiting to an exterior portion of the temple . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The name of this building comes from the screenplay for " Star Trek III " , as it is unnamed in the film . The area is often mistakenly referred to as the " Hall of Ancient Thoughts " , though the script shows that it was actually the Hall of Ancient Thought . On one occasion , the film ' s director of photography , Charles Correll , even referred to the site as " the temple of the Hall of Minds . " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 17 , No . 3 / 4 , p . 52 ) One of the film ' s call sheets referred to the area as " Hall of Thought " , whereas another of the call sheets called it simply " Vulcan temple " . The hall was featured more in the script for " Star Trek III " than it is in the actual film . In the scripted version of a scene set in Spock ' s quarters ( a scene that is mostly in the movie ) , the hall was referenced by Leonard McCoy while mentally affected by Spock ' s " katra " ; the essentially possessed McCoy pleaded for Kirk to take him " through the hall of ancient thought . " As they and their companions headed from the remains of to Vulcan later in the script , Saavik told Kirk that the usual " katra " ritual deposited " katra " s in the hall , warning him that " fal - tor - pan " would be far different from that common " katra " ritual . Even though the film ' s final version does not include the hall ' s interior , it was scripted to appear in a series of shots while the procession moved Spock ' s body through the hall . A scene description of the hall characterized it as " lined with massive heads of stone . " These heads were intended to represent notable philosophers and scientific thinkers from Vulcan history , and it was planned for them to be lit by cauldrons of fire or balls of flame . The area was designed by illustrator Tom Lay . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 17 , No . 3 / 4 , p . 68 ; " The Making of the Trek Films " , 3rd ed . , p . 53 ; " " , p . 101 ) Industrial Light & Magic did some concept paintings of the hall ' s interior . In fact , ILM art director spent days developing alternative designs for inside the hall . A considerable amount of effort was also invested in the set , which was actually built , on Paramount Stage 8 . ( , pp . 61 , 54 & 60 ; " Information from call sheets " ) The enormous heads were really photographic cutouts and were twenty foot tall . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 17 , No . 3 / 4 , p . 68 ; " The Making of the Trek Films " , 3rd ed . , p . 53 ; " " , p . 101 ) They were created by J . C . Backings , by stretching canvas over a series of wooden frames . ( ) The scene showing the hall ' s interior was filmed . ( ; " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 17 , No . 3 / 4 , p . 68 ) However , it was thereafter cut for time . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 17 , No . 3 / 4 , p . 68 ; " The Making of the Trek Films " , 3rd ed . , p . 53 ) David Carson remarked , " " The Hall of Ancient Thoughts actually became the Hall of Nothing , because it was too expensive . " " Director Leonard Nimoy and his producers also felt that the hall was not essential to the story . Even ILM ' s Nilo Rodis had reservations about the location , believing the set did not look anywhere near as impressive as it had in the concept artwork . " " It didn ' t look that dynamic ; it was a great concept , but when it was finally put together it just didn ' t feel magnificent , " " said Rodis . " " There was just too much detail , and that took away from the meaning of the scene . " " ( ) Accounting for the deletion , Charles Correll stated , " " The audience was starting to get ahead of them at that point . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 17 , No . 3 / 4 , p . 52 ) Apocrypha . The Hall of Ancient Thought was referenced in several " Star Trek " novels , such as " " . According to those books , thousands of receptacles ( " vre ' katra " ) containing the " katra " s of the greatest and most powerful Vulcan masters throughout history were housed in the hall , and Vulcan scholars , philosophers , and mystics could petition to be permitted to meld with these " katra " s for research or enlightenment .