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Mid-Winter Solstice Celebration Holiday 2008
A fabulous week holiday in Luxor visiting many ancient sites culminating in celebrating the mid-winter solstice at the magnificent temple of Queen Hatshepsut. 15th - 22nd December: Click here for details. |
Egyptian TempleOrientationAstronomical Alignment in the Temples of Egyptby David Furlong Part 2 Karnak: (This article runs over six pages. To download the whole article in pdf format please click here) Solar Alignments In the case of Ipet-isut, a more plausible explanation is that the temple orientation was set to the opposite solar event of the mid-winter sunrise, which is a case that has been argued elsewhere . The solstice phenomenon could have been observed when the original temple was laid out, however the construction of the ‘holy of holies’ sanctuary and other buildings to the east, such as the Festival Hall of Tutmosis III, would appear to have blocked this phenomenon being observed at ground level, particularly from the central avenue of the temple. Unlike Newgrange in Ireland , where the golden light of the rising mid-winter Sun slowly illuminates the inner chamber, the Karnak alignment could not obviously work in the same way. At first observation the Sun shining from behind the sanctuary would only symbolically appear to illuminate the aisle of the temple. However, unlike almost every other temple in Egypt, the present sanctuary of Amun has two doorways; a main door that faces out to central aisle of the temple and a secondary rear doorway, opposite the first, facing east towards the morning Sun. Despite the visual obstructions of the “Festival Hall” of Tutmosis III and Nectanenbo’s Gateway, a point close to the horizon can still be seen in the Fig 1 picture, and as such, the mid-winter solstice could possibly have been witnessed from within the sanctuary. One might speculate that at special moments, such as the mid-winter sunrise both doors could have been opened to allow dazzling sunlight to flood the aisle from behind the ‘golden statue of Amun. Such an effect could have been awesome. The present “holy of holies”, was built circa 323 bc by Philip Arrhidaeus the half brother of Alexander the Great. It is the last of a number of shrines that have stood on this sacred spot for it known that, at the very least, both Tutmosis III and Hatshepsut had erected shrines to Amun here. One of these shrines still exists. Fortuitously we now know from its reconstruction that Hatshepsut’s Red Chapel , which originally stood on the site, also had a rear door like the existing sanctuary. It would seem, therefore that the present chapel, with its two doors, was following a much older tradition. If this is the case, based on the present photographic evidence, it would seem that the mid-winter sunrise could have been observed, from within the sanctuary dating back, at least to the New Kingdom period around 1460 bc. What might have happened prior to that time is difficult to determine; yet if the solstice sunrise was an important feature within the temple we might expect this event to have featured from the earliest period of its construction. Although the Amun sanctuary is very unusual in having two sets of doors it does raise the possibility that other temple axes could have been established irrespective of the facing direction of the inner sanctuary, which generally, although not always, points towards the Nile. Therefore in looking for astronomical alignments it would seem prudent to look in both directions, along the axial line of the temple. Before leaving the Karnak complex it is worth noting that the SB study suggests three other, directly facing, mid-winter alignments in the Karnak temple that face the rising Sun. These are the “high room of the sun” on the roof of Festival Hall of Tutmosis III; the Amun-Ra shrine built by Queen Hatshepsut and the shrine of Re-Horakhty. This present paper suggests that the sanctuary should also be added to this list.
Other projected alignments are also shown running from the Luxor Temple, the Mut temple and Hatshepsut’s temple in Deir El Bahari. Hatshepsut Temple at Deir El Bahari (Plan 2) Queen Hatshepsut perceived herself as the divine daughter of Amun - Ra, which is how she asserted her claim to the throne of Egypt. It is hardly surprising then that her temple should mirror, in its alignment, that of Amun’s temple on the opposite bank of the Nile. There can be little doubt that the alignment to the mid-winter sunrise was clearly intended in the orientation of this temple. This has now been confirmed in a visit in December 2007 (Click here for a full report). The view from the upper terrace level provides a panoramic outlook towards the far distant eastern horizon and there is every indication that the rising sun of mid-winter would illuminate the inner recesses of the central chapel.
Amenhotep III Temple at Qurna (Plan 4)
Other Solar Orientated Temples
Computer Programmes Mapping Azimuth Calculator Plans
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All material copyright David Furlong 2007 |
