Image: Cyark Ramesseum Hypostyle

Description: Contuour Image of Thebes' Ramesseum Hypostyle Hall, Egypt, cut from a Laser Scan. A hypostyle is an ancient architectural invention consisting of a dense grid of columns. It was used in Egypt to build large spaces in temples and palaces where people could gather. However, in the Ramesseum, only high priests and pharaohs were allowed into the hypostyle hall and sanctuary of the sacred temple. The pillars are carved with stories that glorified Ramesses as the bodily incarnation of the god Amen, and depict Ramesses making offerings to the gods. The lotus bud pillars are the stone version of pillars made from papyrus-reed and clay, which were the earliest building materials in the Nile Valley. The hypostyle hall contains clerestory openings, another Egyptian architectural invention, to let in light from the top of the outer walls. No light, however, entered the most sacred sanctuary space of the temple. Three smaller halls behind the hypostyle hall lead the way to the temple's sacred shrine. Today, thirty-four out of the original forty-eight columns remain.
Title: Cyark Ramesseum Hypostyle
Credit: CyArk
Author: CyArk
Permission: Creative Commons image, freely usable for any purpose with site attribution (www.cyark.org)
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Attribution Required?: Yes