The Ministry of Education and Science, as part of the Excellent Science II competition, has awarded funding for the publication ‘The Southern Room of Amun in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. Part 2. Studies on Decoration and Ritual Function” by Dr Katarzyna Kapiec.
The aim of the publication is to disseminate the results of the research by publishing the second volume of a comprehensive study of the South Room of Amun in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. In 2021, the author published the first part of a comprehensive study of Amun’s Southern Room entitled. ‘The Southern Room of Amun in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. Part. 1. History’ (Deir el-Bahari X) and Epigraphy’, including a study of the epigraphic and iconographic material constituting the decoration of this room, a discussion of the history of the study, and a chapter on the process of cuing/re-cuing the names and images of Hatshepsut. Volume one also includes an appendix on the conservation work carried out in the South Room of Amun. The second part of the study of Amon’s South Room includes an analysis of the scenes that make up the decoration programme of the studied room, which determine its function. The first chapter analyses the so-called frieze of objects, the second chapter analyses the repertoire of oils and fabrics, the third chapter analyses the theological personality of Amon-(Ra-)Kamutef, the fourth chapter analyses the theological personality of Amonet, the fifth chapter analyses the royal attire and insignia of power, the sixth chapter analyses the presence of the royal ka, and the seventh chapter analyses the coronation scene located above the entrance to the studied room. Volume two concludes with a chapter summarising the discussion of the elements determining the function of the studied room in the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. The study reveals that Amon’s South Room served not only as a storehouse but, as should be suggested, also as a place for anointing and dressing the celebrant, functioning as a literal place of transformation. The publication of the second volume will make it possible to disseminate the results of the research to the entire scientific community and other interested parties. In addition, it will represent a further step to promote Polish scientific research and work on the Hatshepsut temple site, which has been the subject of research and reconstruction by Poles since the 1960s. A comprehensive study of the decoration and texts from Amun’s South Room has made it possible to verify the hypotheses previously reported by other researchers, bringing order to this area. Defining the function of this room and placing it within the ritual topography of the Upper Courtyard is a further step in understanding the theological message of the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, expanding our knowledge of the principles governing the layout of the wall decoration of the temple rooms, their cultic purpose, and the function of the various sacred buildings in the Hatshepsut era.
The project is co-financed by the state budget, allocated by the Minister of Education and Science under the “Excellent Science II” Program (Poland).
