Le propylone d'Amon-Re Montou a Karnak-Nord.

• Author: Peck, William H.
• Position: Le propylone d'Amon-Re Montou a Karnak-Nord: Memoires de l'Institute francais d'archeologie Orientale, vol. 117 - Book Review

Le propylone d'Amon-Re Montou a Karnak-Nord. By SYDNEY H. AUFRERE. Memoires de l'Institute francais d'archeologie Orientale, vol. 117. Cairo: INSTITUTE FRANCAIS D'ARCHEOLOGIE ORIENTALE, 2000. Pp. viii + 570, illus. (paper).

The propylon of the Temple of Amon-Re Montu in the temple area of North Karnak is a remarkably preserved monument constructed during a period that extends through the reigns of Ptolemy III Euergetes I and Ptolemy IV Philopator. Although there have been a number of partial studies of various aspects of the gate, a special work devoted to it has long been desired. Notable among those previously published is Heike Sternberg-al-Hotabi's Der Propylon des Month-Temples in Karnak-Nord: Zum Dekorationsprinzip des Tores: Ubersetzung und Kommentierung der Urkunden VIII, Texte Nr. I-Nr. 50 (Wiesbaden, 1993). The present work contains a table of concordance to both Urkunden VIII and Sternberg-al-Hotabi for convenience of reference. One of the main tasks leading to this publication was the obvious necessity for accuracy in the recording of the architectural detail, relief carvings, and inscriptions. This was facilitated by the cooperation of the German Institute in Cairo and Rainer Stadelmann, its director, who provided the assistance of Uli Kapp. Mr. Kapp made new photographs which were in part the basis for the drawings and plans of the monument executed by Jean-Claude Golvin. Credit is also given to Yousreya Hamed el-Hanafi for contributions to the drawing of the reliefs on the gate.

The introductory chapter contains discussions of a selection of subjects for preliminary consideration, including a short description of the general characteristics of the propylon as an architectural type during the Ptolemaic Period, a summary of previous studies of the gate under consideration, an outline of the method used in the collation of the texts, an assessment of previous discussion of the architecture of the gate, extant early drawings, and a short explanation of the characteristics and difficulties of the texts under study.

Chapter 2 deals with the historical context of the monument, providing a list of the constructions in the Theban area assigned to Ptolemy III (eleven) and Ptolemy IV (also eleven). A rationale for the determination of the dating of the propylon is given, with a consideration of the stela of Ptolemy III commemorating its construction. Also included in this chapter is a physical assessment of the condition of the gate...