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The Ramesseum is a temple complex located in Thebes, Upper Egypt, across the Nile River from modern Luxor.
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Description
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The entire temple complex covers an area of approximately 5 hectares and was surrounded by a massive mudbrick wall. In addition to the main temple (a rectangular structure stretching from the 1st pylon to the sanctuary), the complex included a royal palace, a temple dedicated to the worship of the pharaoh, a temple honoring Ramesses’ mother Tuya (Mut-Tuya) and wife Nefertari, a temple school, priests' residences, chapels, sanctuaries, and other buildings, as well as numerous storage facilities and agricultural structures.
The temple is adorned with many reliefs depicting Ramesses II as a great warrior, especially as the victor of the Battle of Kadesh. Other preserved reliefs show Ramesses II in the company of the gods. Like in other temples of Ramesses, the Ramesseum was decorated with several gigantic statues of the pharaoh. The first two statues, each 17.5 meters tall, stood along the staircase leading to the second pylon (one of these colossi was toppled by an earthquake and lies there today). Two more granite statues once stood in the second courtyard, though only fragments remain today. The head of one statue, discovered by Giovanni Battista Belzoni, is now on display in the British Museum.
When the temple ceased to fulfill its original purpose, it became a burial ground for priests, a source of cheap construction material, and even served as a Coptic church.
