Great Hypostyle Hall: Temple of Amun-Re, Hall Location, Architecture, Purpose & History
The Great Hypostyle Hall existed in the Karnak Temple Complex, in the Precinct of Amon-Re. It is one of the most visited monuments of Ancient Egypt. The structure was built around the 19th Egyptian Dynasty (c. 1290–1224 BC). Its design was initially instituted by Hatshepsut, at the North-west chapel to Amun in the upper terrace of Deir el-Bahri. The name refers to a specific architectural pattern characterised by a hypostyle.
Hypostyle Hall
Karnak was dedicated to Amun-Re, who was the highest deity in the Egyptian pantheon. It was once the most opulent religious sanctuary in Thebes, which was the imperial capital of Egypt (now Luxor).
Who built this Hall?
Horemheb or Amenhotep III did not construct the hall as earlier scholars had thought. But King Seti I built it entirely. Seti I engraved the northern wing of the hall with inscriptions. The 19th dynasty pharaoh Ramesses II completed the decoration of the southern wing.
King Seti I
Hypostyle Hall Meaning
A hypostyle hall is an interior space whose roof rests on pillars or columns. The word means literally “under pillars,” and the design allows for the construction of large spaces as existed in temples, palaces, or public buildings, without the need for arches. It was used extensively in ancient Egypt, where the Temple of Amon at Karnak provides a good example and in Persia, where the ruins at Persepolis give evidence of outstanding examples of hypostyle construction.
Hypostyle Hall Architecture
The area of the Great Hypostyle Chamber is 5,000 m2. The roof, now fallen, was supported by 134 columns arranged in 16 rows, with the two inner rows being higher than the others, as it measured 10 metres (33 ft) in circumference and 24 metres (79 ft) in height. The 134 papyrus columns represent the primaeval papyrus swamp from which Atum, a self-created deity, arose from the waters of Nun at the beginning of creation.
Hypostyle column in the Temple of Amun
The builders extend mudbrick ramps outward from the north and south sides of the Hall after they fill up with the top of the first course of masonry. Although there are enough surviving remnants of these buildings’ embankments from the Hypostyle Hall, there are relics of another ramp that was used to build the first Pylon’s south tower. Caissons in a mudbrick construction were filled with loose alluvial earth and desert sand. The Hall was probably constructed using whatever material was most readily available and convenient.
Although the multiple, large pillars naturally consumed much of the floor space of such halls, this drawback was turned to advantage when the columns were carved with heroic or religious motifs. The design has rarely been used in more recent architecture because of more effective means of roof support.
Hypostyle Hall History
Most Ancient Egyptian temples possessed a hypostyle hall. Hypostyle is an Ancient Greek term. It is a building having rows of columns supporting its roof. As befitting a “divine mansion,” Egyptian temples were imposing structures often built of stone on a large scale. Some even had two or more hypostyles. Rather than one or two modest wooden pillars, temple hypostyles usually boasted at least four stone columns. Usually, temple columns mimicked the appearance of papyrus reed stalks, their capitals resembling either closed floral buds or massive bell-shaped papyrus flowers in full bloom. Larger hypostyles might have a dozen or more columns.
Hypostyle Hall Inscriptions
The Great Hypostyle Hall of the Temple of Karnak is an outstanding example of ancient Egyptian art and architecture. As, It displays the lasting legacy of succeeding pharaohs through its inscriptions and reliefs. Over the centuries, numerous monarchs added to the temple’s extensive collection of beautiful carvings, each with their own distinct creative style, such as Sety I, Ramesses II, and subsequent pharaohs such as Ramesses IV.
Hieroglyph inscriptions in Karnak.
The Hall’s walls and columns are covered with beautiful bas-reliefs depicting religious events, military conquests, and royal exploits, which serve as a visual record of Egypt’s rich history. These elaborate sculptures not only represent the shifting creative styles and beliefs of previous reigns but also demonstrate the temple’s lengthy history as a centre of religious and political authority.
A series of pharaohs added inscriptions to the walls and the columns in places their predecessors had left blank, such as Sety I, Ramesses III, Ramesses IV and Ramesses VI. Inside the Great Hypostyle Hall, Sety I’s artisans created exquisite bas-relief sculptures for the walls, columns and their abaci, architraves, and internal clerestory roof parts. Inside the Hall, Sety I’s carved ornaments are usually of the best kinds.
All of the reliefs in the Hall’s southern wing and the twelve large columns in the central nave were sculpted for Ramses II. The columns show examples of each of the three stages of his relief decoration (R’, R2, R3). After his accession, the first areas to be adorned were the north–south axis and the central nave. These processional lanes (straight lines going down) were a priority, as evidenced by the reliefs on the south entryway that were carved at the beginning of his rule. Although Sety I inscribed the abaci, architraves, and clerestory that topped the great columns, it is odd that he never carved the scenes on the rows and columns themselves.
On the inside of The Great Hypostyle Hall they are Sunken relief trends of relief which they are carved into the wall and not raised. are mostly showcase the time of Pharaoh Ramesses II and his father Sety I, with the majority of the ornamental images showing religious ceremonies and the pharaoh’s military triumphs.
The outer walls depict scenes of battle, Seti I on the north and Ramesses II on the south. Although these reliefs had religious and ideological functions, they are important records of the wars of these kings. On another wall adjoining the south wall of the Hall is a record of Ramesses II’s Egyptian Hittite peace treaty that he signed in Year 21 of his reign.
Hypostyle Hall inscription, Karnak
The sheer number of inscriptions adorning almost every surface of the temple-the roof, walls, columns-frequently leaves visitors in awe. These inscriptions and reliefs speak of different eras through the variety of artistic styles used and royal names inscribed. Pharaohs of succeeding generations, Roman emperors, high priests, and even average Egyptians altered the temple’s architecture and undertook repairs as they saw fit while adorning its walls with religious graffiti and sculpture from their own time.
In an attempt to fit in with the Hall and its famous designers, succeeding monarchs like Pharaoh Ramesses IV and the High Priest of Amun Herihor decorated previously empty areas or even covered up old inscriptions on the columns. Up until the fourth century CE, when paganism in Egypt began to collapse, the Great Hypostyle Hall remained in operation for an additional seventeen centuries
Hypostyle Hall collapsing
In 1899, eleven of the massive columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall collapsed in a chain reaction because their foundations were undermined by groundwater. Georges Legrain, who was then the chief archaeologist in the area, supervised the rebuilding that was completed in May 1902. Later, similar work had to continue to strengthen the rest of the columns of the Temple.
The Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall
The vast temple complex of Karnak was the main religious centre for the god Amun-Re in Thebes in the course of the New Kingdom, which lasted from 1550 until 1070 B.C.E. One of the largest religious edifices in the world today is still Karnak. Rather than being one temple dedicated to one god, Karnak comprised the great precinct of Amun-Re as well as the precincts of the gods Mut and Montu. Karnak, compared to other temple complexes surviving from ancient Egypt, was less well preserved but still afforded great information to scholars on Egyptian religion and art.
The temple of Amun, Karnak
One of the greatest architectural marvels of Karnak is the hypostyle hall (a space with a roof supported by columns) built during the Ramesside period. The hall has 134 massive sandstone columns, with the centre twelve columns standing at 69 feet. Like most of the temple decoration, the hall would have been brightly painted, and some of this paint still exists on the upper portions of the columns and ceiling today. With the centre of the hall taller than the spaces on either side, the Egyptians allowed for clerestory lighting (a section of wall that allowed light and air into the otherwise dark space below).
In fact, the earliest evidence for clerestory lighting comes from Egypt. Not many ancient Egyptians would have had access to this hall, since the further one went into the temple, the more restricted access became.
Conclusion
These huge columns in the Hypostyle Hall dwarf the human crowds, and here and there one can still find some traces of paint on the undersides of the capitals. The hall occupies an area of 50,000 square feet (5,000 square meters) and contains 134 massive stone columns, of which 12 are larger columns 80 feet (24 meters) tall that line the central aisle.
The hall was built by Seti I, who carved the northern half. The exterior walls depict Seti’s battles. Ramses II completed the southern wing but appropriated his father’s decorations along the main processional aisles. Inscribed on the southern wall is a record of the peace treaty between Ramses II and the Hittites, signed in the twenty-first year of his reign.
Later pharaohs, including Ramses III, Ramses IV, and Ramses VI, added reliefs to the walls and columns. This hall represents an important tourism destination because of its wonderful Egyptian architecture and unique location. In addition, there are many beautiful inscriptions.
