Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Emil Brugsch-Bey.
The great lords and the queens in the times of the Antufs and the Usirtasens had taken possession of this spot, but their chapels were by this period in ruins, and their tombs almost all lay buried under the waves of sand which the wind from the desert drives perpetually over the summit of the cliffs. This site was seized on by the architects of Thûtmosis, who laid there the foundations of a building which was destined to be unique in the world. Its ground plan consisted of an avenue of sphinxes, starting from the plain and running between the tombs till it reached a large courtyard, terminated on the west by a colonnade, which was supported by a double row of pillars.
Drawn by Bouclier, from a photograph supplied by Naville.
Above and beyond this was the vast middle platform,* connected with the upper court by the central causeway which ran through it from end to end; this middle platform, like that below it, was terminated on the west by a double colonnade, through which access was gained to two chapels hollowed out of the mountain-side, while on the north it was bordered with excellent effect by a line of proto-Dorio columns ranged against the face of the cliff.
* The English nomenclature employed in describing this
temple is that used in the Guide to Deir el-Bahari,
published by the Egypt Exploration Fund.—Tr.
This northern colonnade was never completed, but the existing part is of as exquisite proportions as anything that Greek art has ever produced. At length we reach the upper platform, a nearly square courtyard, cutting on one side into the mountain slope, the opposite side being enclosed by a wall pierced by a single door, while to right and left ran two lines of buildings destined for purposes connected with the daily worship of the temple. The sanctuary was cut out of the solid rock, but the walls were faced with white limestone; some of the chambers are vaulted, and all of them decorated with bas-reliefs of exquisite workmanship, perhaps the finest examples of this period. Thûtmosis I. scarcely did more than lay the foundations of this magnificent building, but his mummy was buried in it with great pomp, to remain there until a period of disturbance and general insecurity obliged those in charge of the necropolis to remove the body, together with those of his family, to some securer hiding-place.* The king was already advanced in age at the time of his death, being over fifty years old, to judge by the incisor teeth, which are worn and corroded by the impurities of which the Egyptian bread was full.
* Both E. de Rougé and Mariette were opposed to the view
that the temple was founded by Thûtmosis I., and Naville
agrees with them. Judging from the many new texts discovered
by Naville, I am inclined to think that Thûtmosis I. began
the structure, but from plans, it would appear, which had
not been so fully developed as they afterwards became. Prom
indications to be found here and there in the inscriptions
of the Ramesside period, I am not, moreover, inclined to
regard Deîr el-Bâhâri as the funerary chapel of tombs which
were situated in some unknown place elsewhere, but I believe
that it included the burial-places of Thûtmosis I.,
Thûtmosis II., Queen Hâtshopsîtû, and of numerous
representatives of their family; indeed, it is probable that
Thûtmosis III. and his children found here also their last
resting-place.