Temple of Hatshepsut

하트셉수트 장제전

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is an ancient Egyptian temple built for the pharaoh Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth Dynasty. It lies at Deir el-Bahari, on the west bank of the Nile opposite the city of Luxor, and is considered a masterpiece of ancient architecture. Its three huge terraces rise from the desert floor into the cliffs behind. Its Egyptian name was Djeser-Djeseru, which means "Holy of Holies".

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At a glance

Country: Egypt
Location: West Bank, Luxor, Egypt
Built: -1470
Height: 30 m
Type: Religious building

Quick answers

Where is Temple of Hatshepsut?

Temple of Hatshepsut is in West Bank, Luxor, Egypt.

When was Temple of Hatshepsut built?

Temple of Hatshepsut was built in 1470 BC.

How tall is Temple of Hatshepsut?

Temple of Hatshepsut is about 30 m tall.

Female pharaoh Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, three colonnaded terraces set against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari.

Nearly the whole temple was built of limestone, with some red granite and sandstone. A causeway about a kilometre long and 37 metres wide once led from a valley temple at the desert's edge to the entrance. The temple was built between the seventh and twentieth years of Hatshepsut's reign, and its plans were changed many times. It was opened to the public again in March 2023, after long restoration work.

A queen who became king

Hatshepsut ruled as pharaoh, and her temple helps explain why she had the right to the throne. On its middle terrace the porticoes carry famous reliefs of an expedition to the Land of Punt, a far-off trading land, and of the divine birth of Hatshepsut, which show that she was the child of a god. Shrines to Hathor and Anubis lie on the same level. The architect is unclear, but it may have been Senenmut, an official of her court.

Copied and unique

The design was strongly influenced by the temple of Mentuhotep II next door, built about six centuries earlier. But the arrangement of rooms is unique. The main axis, usually reserved for the tomb worship, is given to the sanctuary of the barque, or ceremonial boat, of the god Amun-Re. Every year at the Beautiful Festival of the Valley in May, a procession crossed the Nile to bring his boat here.

Erased, repaired and rediscovered

About twenty years after her death, Thutmose III had mentions of her rule scratched out, and no one is sure why. Later rulers repaired some of the damage. In the 6th to 8th centuries a Coptic monastery was built in the ruins. The British traveller Richard Pococke wrote about the temple in 1737, serious excavations took place from the 1850s, and Polish archaeologists have restored it since 1961.