The New Kingdom is known as the golden age of ancient Egyptian history and is the period of Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun, Ramses II, and other famous pharaohs. The wealth gained through military dominance created huge prosperity for Egypt and allowed for the proliferation of monumental architecture, especially works that glorified the pharaohs' achievements. Starting with Hatshepsut, buildings were of a grander scale than anything previously seen in the Middle Kingdom.
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple is a large temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in what was ancient Thebes (today the city of Luxor). There are six great temples: four on the left bank known as Goornah, Deir-el-Bahri, the Ramesseum, and Medinet Habu; and two on the right bank known as the Karnak and Luxor. The Luxor temple was built with Nubian sandstone from south-western Egypt. Like other Egyptian structures, common techniques were the use of symbolism and illusionism. For example, a sanctuary shaped like an Anubis Jackal was used as a representational symbol of Anubis. To emphasize height and distance and enhance an existing pathway, two obelisks flanking the entrance were built with the illusion that they were the same height—even though they weren't.
Temples at Karnak
This complex is comprised of a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. An ancient place of worship for the god Amun, it was part of the monumental city of Thebes. Today, the complex is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. The complex consists of four main parts: the Precinct of Amun-Re, the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Montu, and the Temple of Amenhotep IV.
The Precinct of Amun-Re, also referred to as the Temple of Amun, is the largest of the temples and the only one open to the public today. The columns of its Hypostyle Hall imitate lotus plants and contain elaborate sunken relief.
A panorama of the great hypostyle hall at Karnak
The Precinct of Amun-Re is part of the great temple complex at Karnak.
Almost every pharaoh of that dynasty has added something to the temple site. It features large sandstone columns, several colossal statues, and one of the largest obelisks, weighing 328 tons and standing 29 meters tall. Many of the walls were decorated with richly ornamented friezes.
A panorama of a frieze in the Precinct of Amun-Re
Great monuments and temples were often decorated with elaborate relief sculpture during the New Kingdom.
Located to the south of the newer Amen-Re complex, the Precinct of Mut was dedicated to the mother goddess Mut. Hapshepsut helped to restore the original precinct, which had been ravaged during the Hyksos occupation, and had twin obelisks erected at the entrance to the temple; one still stands as the tallest surviving ancient obelisk in the world. The precinct has several smaller temples associated with it and has its own sacred lake, constructed in a crescent shape. Six hundred black granite statues were found in the courtyard to her temple, possibly the oldest portion of the site.
The smaller Precinct of Montu is dedicated to the war-god of the Theban Triad, Montu, and is located to the north of the Amun-Re complex.
The Temple of Amenhotep IV was located east of the main complex and was destroyed immediately after the death of its builder, so its full extent and layout is currently unknown.
The Valley of the Kings
By this time, pyramids were no longer built by kings, but they continued to build magnificent tombs. This renowned valley in Egypt is where, for a period of nearly 500 years, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom. The valley is known to contain 63 tombs and chambers, the most well known of which is the tomb of Tutankhamun (commonly known as King Tut). Despite its small size, it is the most complete ancient Egyptian royal tomb ever found. In 1979, the Valley became a World Heritage Site, along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis.
Hatshepsut
The Temple of Hatshepsut was Hatshepsut's mortuary temple and was the first to be built in the area. The focal point of the tomb was the Djeser-Djeseru, a colonnaded structure of perfect harmony that predates the Parthenon by nearly one thousand years. Built into a cliff face, Djeser-Djeseru, or "the Sublime of Sublimes," sits atop a series of terraces that once were graced with lush gardens. Funerary goods belonging to Hatshepsut include a lioness "throne," a game board with carved lioness head, red-jasper game pieces bearing her title as pharaoh, a signet ring, and a partial shabti figurine bearing her name.
Colonnaded design of Hatshepsut temple
Hatshepsut's temple is most famous for its Djeser-Djeseru, a colonnaded structure of such architectural skill that predates the Parthenon by nearly one thousand years.
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, who ruled from around 1332 BC to 1323 BCE. Popularly referred to as "King Tut," the boy-king took the throne when he was nine and ruled until his early death at age nineteen. Tutankhamun was buried in a tomb that was small relative to his status. His death may have occurred unexpectedly, before the completion of a grander royal tomb, so that his mummy was buried in a tomb intended for someone else. His mummy still rests in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, though is now on display in a climate-controlled glass box rather than his original golden sarcophagus. Relics and artifacts from his tomb, including his pectoral jewels and a red granite lion, are among the most traveled artifacts in the world.
Painted walls in the burial chamber of Tutankhamun's tomb, Valley of the Kings, Egypt (late 14th century BCE)
Tutankhamun's burial chamber contained beautiful works of art, text, and hieroglyphics.
Ramses II
The Tomb of Nefertari, the most famous of Ramses's consorts, is also located in the Valley of the Kings and is known for its magnificent wall paintings. The Ramesseum was the great mortuary temple of Ramses II. An enormous pylon representing scenes of the great pharaoh's reign stood before one of the opening courts, with the royal palace at the left and a gigantic statue of the king looming up at the back. Scattered remains of two statues of the seated king can be seen, one in pink granite and the other in black granite, which once flanked the entrance to the temple. Thirty-nine out of the 48 columns still stand in the hypostyle hall, and part of the gold-and-blue decorated ceiling has also been preserved.
Ramesseum courtyard
The design of Ramses's mortuary temple adheres to the standard canons of New Kingdom temple architecture. Oriented northwest and southeast, the temple itself comprised two stone pylons (gateways, some 60 m wide), one after the other, each leading into a courtyard.
The ancient temples in Thebes were transformed to reflect honor to Ramses's power. Later, Ramses moved the capital of his kingdom from Thebes to the newly established city of Pi-Ramses, which he used as a main base for his campaigns. Dominated by huge temples and the king's vast residential palace, it was complete with its own zoo. Ramses constructed the complex of Abu Simbel and is perhaps best known for his mortuary temple known as the Ramesseum. After his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings; his body was later moved to a royal cache, where it was discovered in 1881. It is now on display in the Cairo Museum.