Recovering and Conserving Ancient Egyptian History and Religious Thought from the Great Hypostyle Hall

FAIN: RZ-50156-04

University of Memphis (Memphis, TN 38152-0001)
Peter James Brand (Project Director: November 2003 to August 2006)

Documentation, study, conservation, and publication of the inscriptions and reliefs of the Great Hypostyle Hall in the temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak, in Luxor, Egypt.

This project is an ongoing effort to fully document, study and conserve the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, one of the largest monuments ever built in Egypt. It is covered with thousands of hieroglyphic texts and pictorial scenes on its walls columns and roof, most of which remain undocumented and poorly understood. The monumental inscriptions are decaying at an increasing pace due to the infiltration of salt laden ground water which destroys the relief decoration. These inscriptions, which are vital to reconstructing the history, foreign relations and religious mentalities of the ancient Egyptians, document pharaonic civilization over a period of more than 1500 years. Only through close examination of the reliefs in the field are we able to fully extract the information contained in these reliefs. By doing so, we are progressively resolving scholarly problems and controversies stemming from inadequate study and publication of these inscriptions by earlier scholars.