This has now been confirmed in a visit in December 2007 (For full details on Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple at Deir El BahariNext Trip November 2014               Next Trip November 2014               Next Trip November 2014An excellent book by Richard Wilkinson describing the different temple sites of Ancient Egypt.Computer modelling of Hatshepsut's barque sanctuary looking out to horizon and from in front of chapel. There can be little doubt that the alignment to the mid-winter sunrise was clearly intended in the orientation of this temple. Winter temperatures are milder, but you may encounter high-season crowds.One of the best ways to see the sights is on a Nile River cruise. Egyptian Temple Orientation Astronomical Alignment in the Temples of Egypt by David Furlong Part 3 This is the third part of the article on Egyptian Temple Orientation. At first observation the Sun shining from behind the sanctuary would only symbolically appear to illuminate the aisle of the temple. hatshepsut. Beneath the sheer, stark cliffs of Deir el Bahri, the mortuary Stepped platforms, pillared porticoes, and vibrant reliefs set against the desert backdrop make it one of the world’s most striking architectural masterpieces, but perhaps even more noteworthy is the woman who commissioned it.A statue of Hatshepsut depicts her with a lion's mane and pharaoh's beard.Today, evidence of Hatshepsut’s achievements can still be seen from Nubia to But the crowning jewel was her mortuary temple, strategically placed on the west bank of the Nile next to the Temple of Mentuhotep II to reinforce her position among kings. 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 was argued by Gerald Hawkins in his book Beyond Stonehenge published in 1973 and is supported by the SB study. Among the duties of any Egyptian monarch was the construction of monumental building projects to honor the gods and preserve the memory of their reigns for eternity. The calculated azimuths within this present work can be … The height angle created by the ‘Latern’ obelisk to the sanctuary is a little over sixteen degrees, which in practice would have meant that more than fifty days would have been required for the Sun to penetrate directly into the shrine. By Gulnaz Khan.

A fabulous week holiday in Luxor visiting many ancient sites culminating in celebrating the mid-winter solstice at the magnificent temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Photograph by Kenneth Garrett, Nat Geo Image CollectionPhotograph by Kenneth Garrett, Nat Geo Image CollectionThis Temple Honors the Egyptian Queen Who Ruled as King 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. (From Google Earth Mapping Service/image©2007 DigitalGlobe)(From Google Earth Mapping Service/image©2007 DigitalGlobe)(From Google Earth Mapping Service/image©2007 DigitalGlobe)David has been taking groups to Egypt for more than 15 yearsThe pylon and sphinx entrance to the Karnak temple showing the alignment towards the eastern horizon. Let's Get Social! The Shaltout and Belmonte study looks, in some depth, at four different temple sites, which support a link between temple orientation and astronomical events, the most notable of which is towards the mid-winter sunrise. Dimensions 2862(w) × 4288(h) px. Download this Free Vector about Egypt desert with hatshepsut temple and camel, and discover more than 8 Million Professional Graphic Resources on Freepik When scholars deciphered hieroglyphics in the early 19th century, they were finally able to read the inscriptions on her temple and piece together the story. The only significant astronomical orientation is to the Moon and here we hit a problem for, as already stated, there is no textual evidence that the Ancient Egyptians were aware of the ‘Metonic’ cycle (19 years), or indeed that they could predict eclipses , which is another lunar phenomenon.We will never know what was lost in the great burnings of the Alexandrian library but as I have argued elsewhere in relation to pyramid geometry and the 3:4:5 triangle , the lack of textual evidence does not prove that the Ancient Egyptians were not fully cognisant of such things.