The Dancing Parade in the Clouds

The morning light was slowly changing and with it also the aura of the ancient site. The sun was reaching higher, hammering its piercing rays into every corner of the city and the sunlight spilled onto the Main Plaza.

I was slowly walking between crumbling rocks, yet escaping from their still cool shade. I admitted to myself that Monte Alban had already made a huge impression on me. I did not know that it could surprise me even more with anything else. And yet! Wandering around in the vicinity of Building L, at the southeastern edge of the city, I suddenly stumbled upon a strange procession of naked stone creatures of an anthropomorphic shape (see: Hancock 2016:153). They were all carved in relief on a large number of stone monuments, which looked like irregular stelas, some of which were leaning loosely against the wall of the pyramid (Ibid.:153). A strange appearance of the figures intrigued and terrified at once. I was just standing there stupefied while looking at the earliest examples of the so-called Danzantes, standing in front of me. Yet a lot of them were also seen haunting throughout the whole Main Plaza of the city and in the nearby Monte Alban Site Museum (“Monte Albán” 2019).

Who were the Danzantes?

Depiction of a woman whose new born child may have just died or maybe she miscarried when she was pregnant. Was it due to epidemics? Museo de Sitio de Monte Albán. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

A vast sophistication of the engineering methods applied, along with the large-scale astronomy built in the city’s layout, indicate that Monte Alban must have been constructed by equally advanced civilization (Heyworth “The Encrypted …” 2014). Who were they and where did they come from?

Some clues are provided by the mysterious elements I had just encountered at Monte Alban – the Danzantes (Heyworth “The Encrypted …” 2014). These “are a series of [300] iconic reliefs featuring strange, morbid, rubbery [and naked] characters that appear to be diseased [or] deformed. Their message, and purpose, is a complete mystery and they are one of the many encrypted messages scattered around the city” (Ibid.). Still their style, along with the physical appearance of depicted characters seem analogous to representations left by the foremost civilization of Mesoamerica, usually called the Olmecs but also known as the Proto-Mayans. Yet the latter name is not fully correct, as at a certain stage, they developed parallel to the Maya (see:).

The Olmecs and Monte Alban

Mysterious on their own, the Olmecs had inhabited the lowlands of south-central Mexico (the present-day coastline of Veracruz and Tabasco states) as early as in 2000 BC and left their homeland roughly around 500 BC, that is around the time of Monte Alban’s beginnings on the stage of Mesoamerican history.

Is it just a coincidence?

Actually, it is theorised that the Olmecs migrated south (for unknown reasons) and established their new city in the Oaxaca Valley (Heyworth “The Encrypted …” 2014; Heyworth “Are the Danzantes …” 2014). Moreover, yet before Monte Alban was constructed, the Olmecs and the people of San Jose Mogote were involved in mutual trade, by means of which, the farming community developed later into the Zapotec civilisation, who later became credited with monumental architecture, calendrics and the first known form of writing (Ibid.). One slab in Danzantes‘ style was actually found paved in the corridor at San Jose Magote (Heyworth “Are the Danzantes …” 2014). The building where it was found is dated to between 750 BC and 500 BC, when the community of San Jose Magote was about to disappear (Ibid.). The representation of an anthropomorphic character is accompanied there by two glyphs depicted between its legs, meaning Earth (or Motion) and One (in relation to the first day of a 20-day cycle) (Ibid.).

Artistic representations of the Olmecs, and the Danzantes from Monte Alban share, among all, one striking characteristic; they all depict figures of multiple races, namely Negroid, Asian and Caucasian (Childress 2007:14; Heyworth “Are the Danzantes …” 2014).

What is fascinating about this enigmatic civilisation to us modern viewers is how they represented themselves. In addition to [the] Negroid features [of the basalt colossal heads], many artefacts depict individuals who have Oriental or European features. It is therefore very interesting to pay close attention to how the figures are presented – how they dressed; the head gear they wore; the shape of their eyes, nose, ears and mouths; the way they held their hands; and the expressions on their faces. […] Who are these people? Where they isolated villagers or strangers from a faraway land?”

(Childress 2007:14)

The stelae’s representations would accordingly indicate both: solid evidence of an Olmec artistic influence depicted in the stelae of Monte Alban and so an international character of the Olmec civilisation (Childress 2007:14; Heyworth “Are the Danzantes …” 2014).

An academic science has found nothing extraordinary in this regard, although archaeologists have estimated that the reliefs are very old and date from between 1000 and 600 BC. As in many other cases of stone slabs and carvings, this time period was established due to an analysis of the organic matter accumulated in the reliefs, and not on the basis of studies of the granite steles themselves, which cannot be objectively dated (Hancock 2016:154). The slabs were either carved at Monte Alban (conceivably not by the Zapotecs) or brought there from the outside (probably by the Olmecs themselves) (Heyworth “Are the Danzantes …” 2014). Such an assumption comes from the fact that, except for the single example of a similar piece of art found at San Jose Magote, such representations remain unknown in the Oaxaca Valley.

Slain captives or epidemic victims?

The Danzantes means in Spanish dancers in reference to the figures’ poses as they look as if caught in a dancing movement (Heyworth “Are the Danzantes …” 2014).

If they represent members of the Olmec civilization, and the stelae of Monte Alban are its legacy, it must have been a civilization of racial equality. Graham Hancock (2016:153) believes that the proud faces of the enormous heads of the so-called Olmecs from La Venta could not have depicted slaves or the images of slender and bearded men there showed no men with knees bowed to no one; their faces radiate with the dignity of great aristocrats (Ibid.:153).

It seems, however, that in Monte Alban someone has immortalized in stone the story of the Olmecs’ fall. Although the Oaxaca sculptors made portraits of the same civilization whose faces are visible in the Olmec homeland, it is no longer a work of the same character, which is indicated by the incomparably lower level of workmanship of the stelae and the lack of visible strength, power and life force in their iconography that once characterized the Olmecs (Hancock 2016:154). The figures of Monte Alban are naked, some huddled in a fetal position and others stretched limply on the ground, like corpses (Ibid.:154).

Stones of the Dancers, in the Plaza of the Dancers, next to Building L. Photo by Gengiskanhg (2006). CC BY-SA 3.0. Photo and caption source: “Monte Albán” (2019) In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

After the most prominent theory, the slabs symbolise death of slain captives (Heyworth “Are the Danzantes …” 2014). Their closed eyes would actually indicate that they represent the human corpses (Heyworth “Are the Danzantes …” 2014). However, other characteristics, such as their nakedness, deformation of limps, positions displaying possibly an agonising death or the presence of female characters stay against that theory (Ibid.). Robin Heyworth (“Are the Danzantes …” 2014) points out that “with more than 300 anonymous gravestones of sickly looking humans, it would make more sense if they [represent] an epidemic.” Maybe the Olmecs were actually forced to leave their homeland around 500 BC due to some kind of epidemic spreading out and they deliberately abandoned their land for the isolated hilltop, just in the same way as other tribes in the Oaxaca Valley did (Ibid.). Likewise San Jose Magote, which also deserted in around 500 BC) (Ibid.).

Plague and Cloud People

Sitting on one of the blocks of stone crumbling in the center of the city. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

If the Olmecs had been the authors of Monte Alban, they must have chosen that exact site on purpose. Did they look for a shelter against the epidemic, which evidence would be the stelae commemorating people smashed by the disease? (Heyworth “Are the Danzantes …” 2014). In this context the stela from San Jose Magote may have been a warning of the spreading epidemic and the call for evacuation to the hilltop (Ibid.).

Or would Monte Alban be rather an answer to the celestial obsession of its builders and inhabitants? (Heyworth “The Encrypted …” 2014). The Olmecs may have been the architects of Monte Alban. However, as discussed above, they passed on their knowledge to the Zapotecs and also strongly influenced their culture. The latter referred to themselves as the Cloud People as they believed that their ancestors (?) descended from the sky and hence they may have used the city to communicate with them through celestial appearances (Ibid.).

Or maybe two of those factors overlapped and eventually resulted in establishing the city.

Here comes the Teotihuacan Culture!

On the other side, there are also theories on strong relations of Monte Alban with the enigmatic Teotihuacan city, especially in the span of the fourth century AD. (Heyworth “ A Brief History” 2014). For instance, it is believed that there was a small community of Zapotecs who inhabited Teotihuacan (Ibid.). On the other side, some later structures of Monte Alban may have been influenced by Teotihuacán architecture or even been dedicated to that city (Ibid.).

The figures of Monte Alban are naked, some huddled in a fetal position and others stretched limply on the ground, like corpses. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

Interesting is also the fact that both cities simultaneously held their pivotal role in their regions until their dramatic downfall around the eight century AD. (Heyworth “ A Brief History” 2014). Since the origins of people who lived in Teotihuacán are shrouded in mystery (they are just called the Teotihuacan Culture), some authors again recognise the Olmecs as the founders of the city or at least that it was strongly influenced by their culture and architecture (Owen 2000;  Childress 2007:74; Delsol, 2010).

One mystery leads to another

We had already been wandering around the ancient city for two hours, taking notes. The cold had gone away. Now I felt a delicate warmth of sunshine but filled with streams of fresh air. Having climbed down another pyramidal construction, I sat on one of the crumbling blocks of stone. Then I took off my cardigan and put my face out to the sun. ‘What a great feeling to take part in the mystery, yet being so far away from it in time’, I thought.

Today we do not even know how the city was originally called by its architects. Hmm! We do not even know who they actually were: the Olmecs, Zapotecs, aka the Cloud People, the Teotihuacan Culture … ? Moreover, the origins of each of those civilizations themselves still remain unclear! One mystery leads to another …

One mystery leads to another … Copyright©Archaeotravel.

Yet, the legacy of Monte Alban cannot be overestimated. Actually, “much of what we associate with Mesoamerica [today] appears to come from this ancient hilltop sanctuary […] in central Oaxaca” (Strom 2019). It was also in Monte Alban, where archaeologists had found hieroglyphic texts, which have not been deciphered yet (Hancock 2016:154). They are engraved on some of the stelae depicting the various races (Ibid.:154). The researchers considered them to be the oldest writing monuments so far uncovered in Mexico (Ibid.:154). Today, little is known about their authors (Ibid.:154). It is only believed that the people who created Monte Alban were excellent builders and professional astronomers (Ibid.:154).

Featured image: People dying in agony or slain captives? One of mysterious stelas in Monte Alban, representing anthropomorphic figures of intriguing features. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

By Joanna
Faculties of English Philology, History of Art and Archaeology.
University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland;
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Poland;
University College Dublin, Ireland.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Monte Albán” (2019) In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/2VdZB13>. [Accessed on 22nd February, 2020].

Childress, H. D. (2007) The Mystery of the Olmecs. Illinois: Adventures Unlimited Press.

Delsol, C. (2010) “Olmecs to Toltecs: Great ancient civilizations of Mexico” In: SFGate. Available at <https://bit.ly/2TbWPHj>. [Accessed on 23rd February, 2020].

Hancock G. (2016) Ślady palców bogów. [Fingerprints of Gods]. Kołodziejczyk G. trans. Warszawa: Amber.

Heyworth, R. (2014) “Monte Alban – Are the Danzantes Evidence for an Epidemic?” In: Uncovered History. Available at <https://bit.ly/37S1vHA>. [Accessed on 22nd February, 2020].

Heyworth, R. (2014) “Monte Alban – Brief History.” In: Uncovered History. Available at <https://bit.ly/2vW9pSS>. [Accessed on 22nd February, 2020].

Heyworth, R. (2014) “Monte Alban – The Encrypted City.” In: Uncovered History. Available at < https://bit.ly/2VdzQ11>. [Accessed on 22nd February, 2020].

Owen, B. (2000) “Mesoamerica: Olmecs and Teotihuacan.” In: World Prehistory: Class 17. Available at <https://bit.ly/2w0YreJ>. [Accessed on 23rd February, 2020].

Strom, C. (2019) “The Zapotecs of Monte Alban – The First Civilization in Western Mexico?” In: Ancient Origins. Available at <https://bit.ly/2HKlo8S>. [Accessed on 23rd February, 2020].

Sabil (or Sebil), a Drinking Fountain in Islamic Cities

In Muslim architectural tradition, a public well or water supply (tap), sometimes with a fountain. When it is to provide water for drinking, the sabil is rarely a free-standing construction, usually a part of a larger building, and sometimes the part with a fountain forms an alcove in the wall. “[Water from the sabil] has freely been dispensed to members of the public either by an attendant behind a grilled window” (“Sebil (fountain)” 2020) or by a tap for drinking.

As water reservoirs, “sebils are structures of both civic and religious importance in [Islamic] cities; [they] were built at crossroads, in the middle of city squares, and on the outside of mosques and other religious complexes to provide drinking water for travelers and to assist ritual purification (ablutions) before prayer” (“Sebil (fountain)” 2020). As such they were usually free standing and overbuilt with richly decorated architectural structures.

Featured image: The sabil in the courtyard (sahn) of the mosque of Muhammad Ali in Cairo. It serves a ritual purification (ablutions) before prayer. Photo by Sailko (2016). CC BY-SA 3.0. Colours intensified. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Sebil (fountain)” (2020). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3soowfE>. [Accessed 23rd February, 2021].

Photo: The sabil in the courtyard (sahn) of the mosque of Muhammad Ali in Cairo. Photo by Sailko (2016). CC BY-SA 3.0. In: Wikimedia Commons. Available at <https://bit.ly/37CGfIj>. [Accessed 23rd February, 2021].

PWN (2007). Słownik terminologiczny sztuk pięknych, p. 369. Kubalska-Sulkiewicz K., Bielska-Łach M., Manteuffel-Szarota A. eds. Wydanie piąte. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

Unique Pyramid of Polonnaruwa with Little Trace in History

In my head I could still hear the noise of the airport, a commotion and rush at the customs control and at baggage claim, when I suddenly fell into the arms of tropical scenery, with its heavenly peace and tranquility given by the sound of the river and the whisper of huge leaves swaying in the wind. Hidden in the shadow of the tall boughs on the shore, I lazily observed a bright sunlight pouring profusely over the river and a group of elephants frolicking in it.

At first, I could not believe that I had become part of this picturesque image: in the background of a dense curtain of tall palm trees and thick creepers protruding from green ficuses and their trunks, heavily wrinkled bulks of elephants were wading in the silvery water of the river. Some turned over and poured water on each other, using their long trunks like watering cans.

Rhapsody for an elephant

Elephants have always been a very important national element of Sri Lanka and as such these animals have become part of the folklore and leading characters of Southeast Asian legends. Throughout ages, men in Asia have taken numerous advantages of elephants’ strength to create massive constructions, using the animals not only for dragging heavy loads and their transportation but also for military purposes. The aforementioned king of Sigiriya, Kashyapa (also Kassapa), was to take part in his last fight also on the back of an elephant (see: In the Realm of Demon Ravana).

Especially the white elephant with long tusks has always been of a great importance to both, Hinduism and Buddhism, where, as tradition says, it serves either as a mount for the Hindu god, Indra, or appears in a dream of the mother of Gautama Buddha, just before he is conceived. The white elephant is an equally significant symbol of the royal power in Sri Lanka. During the processions of religious festivals in Kandy, the king’s white elephants have driven a reliquary with the most venerated there a Buddhist relic, namely, the famous Buddha Tooth preserved to our times, and brought to the island in the fourth century AD. by Mahinda’s sister, Sanghamitta. The same relic had previously been also preserved in another ancient capital of Sri Lanka, Polonnaruwa, where it was possibly housed in the shrine of Hatadage.

Tired after the journey in the cramped seat of the plane, I was laying on the steps of the stairs leading down to the river, and I was watching a wonderful spectacle of playing elephants as if I had been in a daydream. But such a sweet laziness could not last forever. And after a short break in Pinnawala, a famous elephant orphanage on the island, we finally set off on the way to meet archaeology of one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka.

Gateway to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa

The ancient city of Polonnaruwa was first designed as a country residence before it became the successive capital of the Sinhalese kings, after the destruction of the former royal centre in Anuradhapura, in 993 AD. (UNESCO 2021; Brown D. Brown J. Findlay 2005).

In the foreground of the remnants of the Palace of the kings of Polonnaruwa. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

Actually, Polonnaruwa was designated as a capital by the Chola dynasty, who abandoned the previous one in Anuradhapura for strategical reasons (Brown D. Brown J. Findlay 2005; Wulff Hauglann 2020; Saumya 2020). In 1070 AD., it was, however, overtaken by Sinhalese kings who kept Polonnaruwa as their capital (Brown D. Brown J. Findlay 2005; Wulff Hauglann 2020; Saumya 2020). As a matter of fact, it was during the Sinhalese rule when the city’s glory reached its peak (Wulff Hauglann 2020; Saumya 2020). Among the greatest kings of that period was the second king who ruled the capital, namely King Parakramabahu the First, whereas the third one, the King Nissanka Malla (1187 – 1196) eventually led the kingdom to bankruptcy and so, in the early thirteenth century, the glory of Polonnaruwa had ceased (Brown D. Brown J. Findlay 2005; Wulff Hauglann 2020; Saumya 2020). Finally, it was abandoned, and the Sinhalese capital was moved to the western side of the island, to the city of Kandy, which became the very last capital of the ancient kings of Sri Lanka (Brown D. Brown J. Findlay 2005; Wulff Hauglann 2020; Saumya 2020).

Part of the Cultural Heritage Triangle of Sri Lanka

Together with two other historical capitals, Anuradhapura and Kandy, the city of Polonnaruwa creates one of the three angles of the pyramid-shaped graphic sign of the Cultural Heritage Triangle of Sri Lanka (Saumya 2020; see: In the Realm of Demon Ravana). As an archaeological and a UNESCO World Heritage site, Polonnaruwa comprises numerous monuments of different periods and functions; besides the Brahman ruins of the Cholas rule, from between the tenth and eleventh centuries, there are picturesque remnants of abundant Sinhalese constructions, built between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, including a famous king’s, Parakramabahu the First, magnificent garden-city (UNESCO 2021; Brown D. Brown J. Findlay 2005; Wulff Hauglann 2020; Saumya 2020).

Unknown building among royal and sacred edifices

Almost all the constructions in the area of Polonnaruwa are historically recorded (Mohan 2019). Apart from earlier temples dedicated to Hindu gods, there are mostly secular buildings, like the Royal Palace and the Audience Hall, and Buddhist shrines, most famous of which are Dalada Maluva, including the Sacred Quadrangle with the unique Vatadage (Brown D. Brown J. Findlay 2005; Wulff Hauglann 2020; Saumya 2020), “where the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha was housed” (Bell 1903:14-15 in: Manatunga 2009:2004), Lankatilaka Vihara and Gal Vihara (Brown D. Brown J. Findlay 2005; Wulff Hauglann 2020; Saumya 2020).

The Satmahal Prasada in Polonaruwa. The only feature that may give some insight into the origins of Sathmahal Prasada are sculpted statues. Nevertheless, their identity has been disfigured by intentional destruction. Copyright©Archaeotravel. Photo by Bernard Gagnon (2006). CC BY-SA 3.0. Photo source: “Satmahal Prasada” (2021). Photo source: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

Nevertheless, there is no account of a pyramidal-like stepped edifice situated in an elevated area, which is generally perceived as the most mysterious structure of all in the whole ancient city and sometimes the only ancient pyramid in Sri Lanka (Mohan 2019; Manatunga 2009:2004; Lapkura 2021).

Named as Sathmahal Prasada

The structure has been named in modern times as Sathmahal Prasada, which literally means a seven-storey building (Mohan 2019). It is located in the proximity of the Vatadage and so it is included within the Buddhist complex of Dalada Maluva (Brown D. Brown J. Findlay 2005; Wulff Hauglann 2020; Saumya 2020). This is why Anura Manatunga (2009:204) thinks it was also build for religious purposes  as other constructions on site. For this reason, Sathmahal Prasada is believed to have served as a stupa, built in the proximity of other prominent Buddhist ruins such as stupas and monasteries of Polonnaruwa (Lapkura 2021).

As much as the Quadrangle may have played the role of the most important royal monastery of Sinhalese kings ruling in the city, Sathmahal Prasada must have had a very significant function as well (Manatunga 2009:204). Yet, the pyramid may not have belonged to the Buddhist complex originally (Mohan 2019). And as Anura Manatunga (2009:204) admits the construction “is still unidentified and remains an ambiguous monument [as] we cannot [pinpoint its] builder, purpose or even the ancient name of the building”.

Accordingly, experts do not know who built it or why it was built (Mohan 2019; Manatunga 2009:204; Lapkura 2021). Its original name is equally lost in history (Mohan 2019; Manatunga 2009:204). As such, it can be described only by means of its appearance and it actually resembles a stepped pyramid with entrances on all four sides (Mohan 2019; Lapkura 2021). Moreover, it is also one of no more than four other ancient constructions on the island with square bases, providing that the others are all older religious ruins in Anuradhapura, most of which are damaged (Lapkura 2021). It is equally worth mentioning that none of the three structures reveal any signs of having been pyramids and all appear to have been rather squat in their shape (Ibid.).

Origins shrouded in mystery

Due to its growing mystery, Sathmahal Prasada has continuously provoked some new theories and scholars’ guesses concerning its provenience and function (Manatunga 2009:204-205). For example, Don Martino de Zilva Wickremasinghe (1865–1937), an epigraphist and archaeologist of Sri Lanka, speculates (1928:92-93) that it may have been once a palace, as much as it is claimed today about the function of the construction on top of the Rock of Sigiriya (Ibid.:204). The scholar based his theory on the fact that epigraphical sources say that one of the most famous kings of Polonnaruwa, Nissanka Malla (1187- 1196) had built a seven-storey palace for himself (Ibid.:204). Nevertheless, unlike in the case of the so-called ‘Palace’ on top of Sigiriya, academics commonly agreed that “the solid tower-like building [of Sathmahal Prasada] is not habitable and, therefore, cannot be residential building” (Ibid.:204).

Another symbolic representation of the Mount Meru in the shape of a pyramid

Most relevant of all seems to be a suggestion made by Ananda Coomaraswamy (1877-1947), a Sri Lankan Tamil metaphysician, pioneering historian and philosopher of Indian art, who proposed  (1965:165) that Sathmahal Prasada actually represented the mythical Mount Meru, as much as many other examples of sacred architecture in Southeast Asia and in India (Manatunga 2009:204). Some alternative authors even claim it has similarities with pyramidal architecture, created by contemporary oversea cultures (Lapkura 2021).

A Buddhist monk passing by Sathmahal Prasada, in Polonnaruwa. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

Harry Charles Purvis Bell (1851-1937), who was the first Commissioner of Archaeology in Ceylon, describes Sathmahal Prasada in his Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey 1903, 1906, and 1910 (2009:14) as “a solid brick structure with seven storeys that diminished in width and height stage by stage” (Manatunga 2009:204). And although he does not directly call it a pyramid, his narrative undoubtedly identifies it as a pyramidal structure. HCP Bell (1903:14) also adds  that “[the] top of the building has collapsed but it is still high, at 53 feet, [which is over 16 metres. And] at the ground level it is a 39 [feet] 2 inches square building, [that is, almost 12 metres]” (Ibid.:204).

Southeast Asian affinities

In terms of the construction’s origins, Anura Manatunga (2009:204) claims that Sathmahal Prasada, together with Gal Vihara statues and Pothgul Vehera, shows more likely Southeast Asian affinities. Her theory is also supported by earlier authorities (Ibid.:204-205). Reginald Le May (1885-1972), a British art historian and a Honorary Member of the Siam Society, writes in A Concise History of Buddhist Art in Siam (1962:97-98) that Sathmahal Prasada bears some similarity to a bigger and taller pyramidal structure of Wat Kukut in Northern Thailand, which is additionally contemporary to the Polonnaruwa Quadrangle (Ibid.:205). Among other contemporary Thai constructions similar to Sathmahal Prasada, the book Sri Lanka and South-East Asia: Political, Religious and Cultural Relations from A.D. C. 1000 to C. 1500 by W. M. Sirisena (1978:123) also enumerates Suwanna Chedi in Wat Phrathat Hariphunchai, which is also pyramidal in its structure (Ibid.:204).

On the other side, HCP Bell (1903:14-15) claims that Sathmahal Prasada resembles more Khmer constructions of the Angkor complex in Cambodia (Manatunga 2009:204). Accordingly, the construction would be “an architectural link between the simplest form of rectangular pyramid such as Ka Keo, [possibly Ta Keo] with plain vertical walls and strait of stairs up the middle of each side and the elaborate towers at Mi-Baume, [in Angkor Wat] and other similar shrines” (Bell 1903:14 in: Manatunga 2009:204).

Mysteries come in pairs

Nowadays, in its ruined but still pyramid-like shape, Sathmahal Prasada is usually compared to an equally mysterious Khmer temple in Cambodia, namely, the unique pyramid of Prasat Thom (Prang) of Koh Ker, which also features seven platform, or to Baksei Chamkrong temple in Siem Reap (Mohan 2019; Saumya 2020; “Polonnaruwa” 2021; Lapkura 2021). Possibly significant is the fact that the both temples were once dedicated to Shiva and built around the tenth century AD. (Mohan 2019; Lapkura 2021). What is more, they resembles some Mayan temples built in Mesoamerica, though on a smaller scale (Lapkura 2021).

On the whole, the construction of Sathmahal Prasada is entirely distinctive from other ancient temples in Polonnaruwa or other buildings, characteristic of Sri Lanka (Mohan 2019; Saumya 2020; “Polonnaruwa” 2021; Manatunga 2009:204). There are no such architectural parallels found in the country or in the South Asia (Mohan 2019; Manatunga 2009:2004). In fact, both tourists and archaeologists are puzzled, while looking at the construction (Mohan 2019).

The mysterious pyramidal structure of Polonnaruwa has been named in modern times as Sathmahal Prasada, which literally means a seven-storey building. Its original name is unknown, whereas most of the constructions in the city is identifiable. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

Pyramids also come in pairs

In all ancient civilisations, there are similar pyramidal constructions, built in different time and in various places around the world (Mohan 2019; Lapkura 2021). Stepped pyramids exist in Egypt, Mexico, in lands of the former Ancient Mesopotamia (ziggurats), and in India (Mohan 2019). Generally, such structures appear in a given area usually in numbers and, as it has been speculated, there is also another stepped pyramid in Sri Lanka, possibly once built on top of the Sigiriya Rock (Ibid.). The latter is sometimes referred to as the Great Pyramid of Sri Lanka, in comparison to Sathmahal Prasada, which is much smaller in scale but more completely preserved than its possibly larger equivalent of Sigiriya (Ibid.).

Two pyramids found on the island

After Praveen Mohan (2019), Sathmahal Prasada is actually a perfect match for the pyramid on top of Sigiriya; it features bricked ramps and is also built with the lime mortar set between the bricks. It is furthermore composed of the four sides, with a bricked quadrangle base, like at Sigiriya (Ibid.). It also contains a remaining flight of stairs made of bricks, on the west side of the pyramid, leading up to the first storey (Manatunga 2009:2004; Mohan 2019). Looking at Sath Mahal Prasada, it is also possible to speculate how the Great Pyramid of Sigiriya would have looked like before its upper part was demolished (Mohan 2019).

Carved figures with disfigured identity

The only feature that may give some insight into the origins of Sathmahal Prasada are sculpted statues; namely, “[the] centre of each storey of the building has niches on all four sides. A standing figure, [possibly] of a deity made of bricks and stucco is projected on these niches” (Manatunga 2009:2004).

The area between the twelfth century’s shrine of Hatadage and the pyramid of Sathmahal Prasada of the unknown age. There is another mysterious construction; namely, the stone wall featuring visible polygonal masonry. Such elements, as the pyramid and the boundary hedge question the real origins and age of the site of Polonnaruwa. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

An anomaly regarding the sculpture is that the faces of all the statues carved around the stepped pyramid are entirely chopped off, erased or disfigured (Mohan 2019). It could not be an effect of natural forces as the visible destructions are strikingly similar on all the four sides of the structure (Ibid.). Consequently, it can be claimed that the statues’ faces were meant to be deliberately destroyed and so their identity was to be forgotten together with the name of the pyramid’s builder and the true origins of the construction itself (Ibid.).

Polygonal masonry in Polonnaruwa

Yet before I approached the towering façade of Sathmahal Prasada, my attention was immediately drawn by a stone henge separating the remnants of an ancient shrine of Hatadage, built by King Nissanka Malla in the twelfth century, and the pyramidal construction itself. Interesting was the fact that the wall featured polygonal masonry, where huge megalithic stones of various sizes and shapes had been dressed together in a way they resembled a jigsaw puzzle. I also observed that surfaces of each polygonal stone had been cut either with straight or rounded sides but all had joints perfectly fitting adjacent blocks. Sometimes among two or more larger slabs, there were tiny polygonal stones, matching perfectly the free space between them. I was just amazed. The same type of polygonal masonry is very characteristic of megalithic constructions not only in Asia but also in the whole world. Is the wall contemporary to the bricked pyramid of Polonnaruwa? Or maybe it is even more ancient as possibly are some examples of megalithic masonry at Sigiriya … (see: Denied Pyramid on Top of the Rock of Sigiriya)

The question of the lost civilization appears again

Nowadays, all the four entrances to the pyramid of Sathmahal Prasada are completely sealed off and there are guards preventing anybody from walking inside it (Mohan 2019). Such precautions are said to protect people from being at danger in case the structure accidentally collapses (Ibid.).

Two friendly macaques were sitting down on the bricked wall of the Eastern Gate. They are apparently attracted by passing tourists, or rather by contents of their bags and backpacks. In the background, the facade of Sathmahal Prasada. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

‘It is a pity that Sathmahal Prasada cannot be properly restored and seen also from the inside’, I thought, while observing its upper part, narrowing behind a bricked wall of the Eastern Gate to the city. Two friendly macaques were sitting down on it, visibly attracted by passing tourists, or rather by contents of their bags and backpacks.

For a while I was observing with pleasure their graceful movements over broken bricks of the wall.

‘Oh, how much this bricked wall differs from that beside Sathmahal Prasada’, I was still considering the matter of the seen example of polygonal masonry.

Finally, gathering all the facts about the two archaeological sites of Sri Lanka, with their partially surviving constructions, namely the said gigantic stepped pyramid on top of Sigiriya and the smaller one in Polonnaruwa, it can be understood that there was possibly once an ancient civilisation who built pyramidal structures and created polygonal megalithic walls on the island, as elsewhere, anyway, in the whole ancient world (Mohan 2019).

Featured image: The area between the twelfth century’s shrine of Hatadage and the pyramid of Sathmahal Prasada of the unknown age. There is another mysterious construction; namely, the stone wall featuring visible polygonal masonry. Such elements, as the pyramid and the boundary hedge question the real origins and age of the site of Polonnaruwa. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Polonnaruwa” (2021). Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3z9ObwE>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

“Satmahal Prasada” (2021). Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3DhCmaj>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

“Wat Phra That Hariphunchai” (2021). Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3j5Fw8H>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

Amazing Lanka (2021). “Sathmahal Prasadaya (Seven Storied Palace)”. In: AmazingLanka.com. Available at <https://bit.ly/3j4XZm0>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

Bell H. C. P. (1903). Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey 1903, 1906, and 1910. Government of Ceylon.

Brown D., Brown J. Findlay A. (2005). “Polonnaruwa”. In: 501 Must-Visit Destinations: Discover Your Next Adventure. London: Bounty Books.

Coomaraswamy A. K. (1965). History of Indian and Indonesian Art. New York: Dover Publication.

Free images at Pixabay. Available at <https://bit.ly/3fTQX0u >. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

Lapkura (2021). “Sathmahal Prasada”. In: Lapkura.com. Available at <https://bit.ly/2UEc40l>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

Le May R. (1962). A Concise History of Buddhist Art in Siam. Tokyo: Charles F. Tuttle.

Manatunga A. (2009). ”Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia during the Period of the Polonnaruva Kingdom”. In: Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia. Kulke H., Kesavapany K., Sakhuja V. eds. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asia Studies.

Mohan P. (2019). “Secret Pyramids Discovered in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka?”. In: PraveenMohan Youtube Channel. Available at <https://bit.ly/3CtIFH1>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

Saumya (2020). Polonnaruwa. Sri Lanka. In: Stories by Saumya. Available at <https://www.storiesbysoumya.com/ancient-city-polonnaruwa-sri-lanka/>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

Sirisena W. M.  (1978). Sri Lanka and South-East Asia: Political, Religious and Cultural Relations from A.D. C. 1000 to C. 1500. Leiden: F.J. Brill.

UNESCO (2021). “Ancient City of Polonnaruwa”. Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0. In: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Available at <https://bit.ly/3sFqE41>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

Werk E. (2008). “Wat Kukut (Wat Chama devi), Lamphun, Thailand – Example of Dvaravati art”. In: Wikipedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3y5fyXf>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

Wickremasinghe D. M. De Z. (1928). “The Slab Inscription of Kirti Nissanka Malla at Ruvanvali Dagaba, Anuradhapura”. In: Epigraphia Zeylanica, Volume II. Government of Ceylon.  

Wulff Hauglann M. (2020). “10 Must-See Things in The Ancient City Polonnaruwa”. In: Nerd Nomads. Available at <https://bit.ly/3sEmyJN>. [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021].

Rabad – a Wide Trade Craft Suburbs of the Arabic Countries

A suburb of eastern cities with private buildings, craft workshops and others. In Muslim Spain, a district of the city where no military crew was stationed. Rabad first developed in the cities of Central Asia, in the twelfth century AD., however, the term mostly refers to a suburb of the city in the Arab countries of North Africa. There ‘rabad’ is mostly regarded as the periphery “and ‘non-elite’ quarters or neighborhoods” (Ennahid, UCLA Global 2008) as it has always been situated further away from the urban center than the so-called ‘elite’ quarters, clustered around it.

Therefore, the contemporary ‘rabad’ “designates a residential neighborhood located at the periphery of cities, [reserved for crafts], and occupied by the marginalized [or poorest citizens]” (Ennahid, UCLA Global 2008).

Featured image: A bird’s eye view of Fez. Urban areas with trade craft suburbs, situated further away from the city center (usually a medina quarter) are referred to as ‘rabad’. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Ennahid S., UCLA Global (2008). “From Rabad to Habitat Social: An Urban-Cultural History of the Suburbs of Fez”. Abstract of paper to be presented by Said Ennahid, Al-Akhawayn University at the conference: “Fez, Morocco, Crossroads of Knowledge and Power: Celebrating 1,200 Years of Urban Life” In: UCLA Global. International Institute. Available at <https://bit.ly/3dDycPk>. [Accessed 23rd February, 2021].

PWN (1997-2021). Słownik terminologiczny sztuk pięknych, p. 341. Kubalska-Sulkiewicz K., Bielska-Łach M., Manteuffel-Szarota A. eds. Wydanie piąte. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN

PWN (2007). “Rabad”. In: Encyclopedia PWN: Literatura i sztuka. Available at <https://bit.ly/37FRHTT>. [Accessed 23rd February, 2021].

Last Queen in the Valley of the Kings

Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple had been finished; it rose unsurpassed in its beauty and solitude on white terraces, surrounded by columns, against the background of a dark massif of mountains (Żylińska 1972-1986:65).

Temple tells a story

Having come back from the land of Punt, the Queen began to decorate the walls of her temple (Żylińska 1972-1986:65). She had her history painted on them, from the moment when her mother, Queen Ahmose, was visited by the god Amun-Re, through her birth, the announcement of her succession to the throne, the history of the trip to Punt, until the day when she would give her divine body under the protection of the goddess Nut, asking her to make place for her among the stars lest she die forever (Ibid.:65-66).

Porticos have pillars reconstructed by archaeologists, decorated on the front with colossal Osirian statues representing the Queen in the form of the god Osiris. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

A transverse ramp led us to the middle level of the temple, with a similar architectural shape to the lower one, but more extensive (Lipińska 2008:161). On both sides of the portico closing the courtyard from the west, there are chapels of collaterally worshiped deities in the temple (Ibid.:161). The Hathor chapel was built on the south side, and the Anubis chapel on the north side (Ibid.:161,163). In the chapel of the goddess Hathor, embodied by Hatshepsut, both pillars and smooth, cylindrical columns topped with so-called Hathor’s capitals were built (Ibid.:164).

The north side of the central courtyard is occupied by a colonnade that was never completed (Lipińska 2008:163). The northern portico is decorated with bas-reliefs illustrating the legend of the divine birth of Hatshepsut (Ibid.:163). The southern portico, on the other hand, is decorated with the highly detailed image of the exotic land of Punt, famous and unusual in the history of ancient Egypt, where the Queen went with a trade expedition (Ibid.:163).

The third story of the Temple has a different spatial layout and here are the main rooms of the monument (Lipińska 2008:164). From the second, central courtyard, we climbed the ramp again (Ibid.:164). At the end of the way up, we were greeted by another terrace with porticoes on either side (Ibid.:164). Porticos have pillars reconstructed by archaeologists, decorated on the front with colossal Osirian statues representing the Queen in the form of the god Osiris; they are five meters high each (Ibid.:164). The entrance is on the axis and leads through a red granite portal (Ibid.:164). It guided us to the inner courtyard, behind which there is a barque shrine, partially carved into the rock and deeper, in the very heart of the temple, there is the sanctuary or the holy of holies (Ibid.:164). On both sides of the inner courtyard there were additionally chapels: on the north side an open courtyard with the altar of solar worship, and on the south side, there was a tomb chapel and two sarcophagi: one for Hatshepsut and the other for her earthly father; these were their sacrificial halls (Lipińska 2008:164; Żylińska 1972-1986:66). For everything that Hatshepsut undertook and everything that she did, she did with her father Thutmose the First in mind, who placed her over his son and appointed her his successor (Żylińska 1972-1986:66).

Hatred Queen

However, not everyone worshiped the Queen as their Pharaoh (Żylińska 1972-1986:67). For the son of Thutmose the Second, Hatshepsut was an ordinary usurper (Ibid.:67). Thutmose the Third hated her with the hatred of all the years spent in the shadow of her divinity (Ibid.:67). He wanted to fill them with the toil of military expeditions, the clamour of battles, the march through the deserts and the glory of the military victory (Ibid.:67).

Deir El Bahari; Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple. Photo by Nina Evensen (2015). Colours intensified. Photo source: Free pictures at Pixbay.

Eventually his wish came true (Żylińska 1972-1986:67). The news of the war fell on Egypt like a vulture from high above; Syrian cities revolted against the Egyptian crews, demolished Egyptian holy statues and proclaimed independence from Pharaoh’s rule (Ibid.:67-68). On the day of the Egyptian army’s departure, Hatshepsut handed over the highest military power to Thutmose (Ibid.:68). A few months later, news began coming into Thebes announcing the victory of the Egyptian army (Ibid.:68). All Egypt was in a frenzy of joy (Ibid.:68). It was the first triumph of war in over thirty years that struck and drunk city dwellers like young wine (Ibid.:68). Only mothers cried for their slain sons and worried that their bodies were not properly prepared for the journey to the Land of the Dead and that their souls might not have been brought to the Judgment of Osiris and so died for eternity (Ibid.:68-69).

A view to a sanctuary chamber on the upper platform of the Temple of Hatshepsut, Luxor’s west bank, Egypt. Photo by Przemyslaw “Blueshade” Idzkiewicz (2004). CC BY-SA 2.5. Colours intensified. Photo and caption source: “Deir el-Bahari” (2020). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

Hatshepsut proclaimed Thutmose the Third the co-regent of Egypt, and they were to share power together (Żylińska 1972-1986:69). There were also rumours that he was going to marry Princess Neferure (Ibid.:69). And when people had ceased to worry about the change and to speculate whether the Queen’s stepson would be satisfied with his assigned share of power, Hatshepsut unexpectedly passed away (Ibid.:69). Nobody ever found out under what circumstances she died (Ibid.:69). Yet not long ago, it was still a mystery of history.

Mystery of the history

Moreover, Hatshepsut’s body mysteriously vanished from the sarcophagus she had chosen for herself, and in which she would have given her immortal soul into the hands of the goddess Nut; when the sarcophagus was reopened again, it turned out that the queen’s mummy originally buried there disappeared without a trace (Żylińska 1972-1986:69; Quilici 2007). However, the Hatshepsut’s sarcophagus had never been deposited in her Mortuary Temple, which was rather a cenotaph (Quilici 2007; Lipińska 2008:171). The Hatshepsut’s last resting place was to be in the Valley of the Kings, intended for the Pharaohs (Lipińska 2008:171). This place, due to its seclusion and difficult access, provided a better protection against robbers (Ibid.:171). It is also believed that the choice of the site could equally be influenced by the landscape, above which the mighty triangular peak of El-Kurn has stood, towering over the valley like a colossal pyramid (Ibid.:171).

Site plan of Deir el-Bahari (in French). Drawing by Gérard Ducher (user:Néfermaât) (2006). CC BY-SA 2.5. Drawing and caption source: “Deir el-Bahari” (2020). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

Already at the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty, to which Hatshepsut belonged, the existing way of building a royal tomb and a mortuary temple in one sepulchral complex was given up (Lipińska 2008:171). It was considered that the separation of these two elements may have contributed to a better protection of the tomb, which had since been placed in the distant, hard-to-reach rocks of the mountain massif in Western Thebes (Ibid.:171). These are complexes belonging to both the Valley of the Kings and of the Queens (Pharaohs’ wives). It seems that this chapter in the sacred sepulchral architecture of Egypt was initiated by the second ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Amenhotep the First (Ibid.:171). His son and Hatshepsut’s father, Thutmose the First, on the other hand, introduced the construction of a new type of royal necropolis in the Valley of the Kings, a desert valley on the other side of the massif closing the Deir el-Bahari Valley from the west (Ibid.:171).

Deir el-Bahari with Hatshepsut’s temple, temple of Thutmosis III and Mentuhotep II, West Thebes, Egypt. Above the necropolis complex towers the mighty triangular peak of El-Kurn, like a colossal pyramid, which had probably influenced the choice of the place by the pharaohs. Photo by Nowic (2003). CC BY-SA 3.0. Colours intensified. Photo and caption source: “Deir el-Bahari” (2020). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

Hatshepsut’s mummy was buried in the tomb labelled today as KV20, the deepest tomb in Egypt, situated over ninety-one metres underground, in the Valley of the Kings (Quilici 2007). “It was probably the first royal tomb to be constructed in the valley, […] distinguished from other tombs in the [area], both in its general layout and because of the atypical clockwise curvature of its corridors. […] KV20 was the original burial place of Thutmose I […] and later was adapted by his daughter Hatshepsut to accommodate both her and her father” (“KV20” 2020).

The Name to be forgotten

After Hatshepsut’s death, no mourning rituals were announced, and no coronation ceremony took place, as if Thutmose the Third had been a Pharaoh since his father’s death (Żylińska 1972-1986:69). Sometime after these events, by the orders of the new Pharaoh, teams of workers began the painstaking work of destroying all traces of Hatshepsut’s existence (Ibid.:69).

Thebes – Temple Dêr el Bahri. Photo by Ephtimios Freres – Rare Books and Special Collections Library; the American University in Cairo, early twentieth century. Public domain. Photo and caption source: “Deir el-Bahari” (2020). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

In the Sphinx Avenue and in the porticoes on the third-level terrace of her temple, the stonemasons smashed the heads with the face of the Queen, then they threw her statue in coronation garments from a granite base and proceeded to demolish her representations in relief (Żylińska 1972-1986:69). First they hammered her eyes, then they knocked down the uraeus from her forehead, and when they did so, they smashed the statue into thousands of pieces, by throwing it from the height of a two-story building (Ibid.:69). All inscriptions with the name of Hatshepsut were being erased with chisels for many months (Ibid.:70). In their place, engravers carved the name of Thutmose the Third or his son Amenhotep the Second (Żylińska 1972-1986:70; Quilici 2007). Also the papyri with the Queen’s edicts were destroyed, and her painted images were covered with thick layers of plaster (Żylińska 1972-1986:70).

Preserving the name of the dead was essential in ancient Egypt as they would not have been recognised by gods. And if the name of a mummy had been forgotten, they would not have been able to enjoy the Eternal Life and their souls would have disappeared into nothingness. Just in the same way as it was going to happen with the soul of deceased Hatshepsut. Erased from the list of Pharaohs, without a sarcophagus, not prepared for the way to the Land of Osiris, she was to fall apart, disappear from memory and dissolve into emptiness (Żylińska 1972-1986:70).

Thutmose the Third began his reign of Egypt by denying the existence of the last divine Queen of Egypt, who was a Pharaoh (Żylińska 1972-1986:70).

Rebirth of the Pharaoh

Thirty-five centuries later, the remnants of the desecrated statue of the Queen were excavated from the sand layers, as the stonecutters had left them, and a team of archaeologists carefully put them back together, restoring the statue of the divine Hatshepsut to its original shape (Żylińska 1972-1986:69). Similarly, Osiris’ statues with her features were discovered and reconstructed, along with other covered or smashed images of the Queen, who became one of the most famous and colourful, yet mysterious Pharaohs of Egypt (Lipińska 2008:164-166).

Osiris’ statues with Hatshepsut’s features were discovered and reconstructed, along with other covered or smashed images of the Queen. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

Since 1961, the Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple has been reconstructed by Polish archaeologists and other specialists, initially under the supervision of a Polish famous archaeologist, Kazimierz Michałowski (Lipińska 2008:165; see: Saint Anne of Nubia – “It Will Make You Speechless”). During the reconstruction of the retaining wall, which is the background for the temple, a terrace carved in the rock was discovered, probably to protect the temple from rock fragments falling down (Ibid.:165). The destruction of the temple was not made entirely by Thutmose the Third himself; It experienced many further destructions, for example, in the Late Period, and was rebuilt in the Ptolemaic and Coptic times (Ibid.:165). The Ptolemaic enlarged the sanctuary of Amun, creating another one behind it, devoted to the cult of the three healer deities (Ibid.:165). Deir-el Bahari was then famous for miraculous healings, where the sick came even from distant Greece (Ibid.:165-166). In the Coptic times, a Christian monastery was built on the upper level of the temple, and the valley owes its name to the monastery: Deir-el Bahari means ‘northern monastery’ (Ibid.:166).

Beside the Stepmother anyway

During the work in the Deir el-Bahari Valley, Polish archaeologists unexpectedly also found the ruins of the temple of Thutmose the Third, located in the vicinity of the temple of Hatshepsut, his hatred stepmother (Lipińska 2008:166). The construction of the Temple of Thutmose the Third began when, at the Pharaoh’s order, the statues of Hatshepsut were smashed and carvings with her names erased from the walls, which was associated with the destruction of all the traces of the reign of the Queen-Pharaoh (Ibid.:166). Although Thutmose the Third was one of the greatest Pharaohs in history, it is ironically, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, and not the ruins of the Temple of Thutmose the Third, that arouses widespread admiration today, and the very name of the Queen, so shamefully removed, is much more often mentioned by visitors to Deir el-Bahari.

In front of Deir el-Bahri; Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple. Photo by Ron Porter (2014). Photo cropped. Colours intensified. Photo source: Free pictures at Pixabay.

The building of Thutmose the Third was situated in the centre of the Valley, obviously on a higher level than the Queen’s temple, despite very unfavourable natural conditions (Lipińska 2008:166). The structure erected had a shape borrowed from both neighbouring temples; those of Mentuhotep the Second and Hatshepsut (Ibid.:166). Tens of thousands of fragments of polychrome reliefs were recovered from the rubble of this, also three-level temple, which was destroyed at the end of the New Kingdom (Ibid.:166). Reconstruction of the wall reliefs allowed to recreate the decoration of the temple after many years (Ibid.:166).

Temples in the Valley of Deir el-Bahari

During the New Kingdom, shortly after the reign of Thutmose the Third, there were three buildings in the Valley of Deir el-Bahari, which must have been once a magnificent complex of architecture harmonizing with the natural landscape of the Valley. At that time, the temple of Mentuhotep had not yet been destroyed (Lipińska 2008:166). Next to it, the temples of Hatshepsut and Thutmose the Third rose in all their majesty (Ibid.:166). The wide processional avenues, running parallel to the bottom of the Asasif Valley, were framed by necropolises with decorated tomb facades (Ibid.:166). As underlined above, the background of the whole necropolis were rock cliffs dominated by the El-Kurn peak with a triangular top resembling a pyramid (Ibid.:166). The rhythm of the horizontal temple porticoes and the sloping ramps of the three temples, each different but consistent with the others in style, must have produced a wonderful effect in the rays of the sun continuously shining from the cloudless sky (Ibid.:166-167). This effect was enhanced by the colour contrasts between the bright brown rocks being the background of the temples, the white and rich polychrome of the buildings, and the green foliage of the trees that used to grow in the lower courtyards (Ibid.:167).

The so-called Hathor chapel on the south side of Temple’s second courtyard. A photographer at work. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

At the foot of the ramp in the courtyard of the Hatshepsut’s Temple, there were also two small pools filled with water (Lipińska 2008:167). Each part of the architectural complex harmonized with each other and with the surrounding environment; they were built gradually over the centuries, and although there is no question of spatial planning, according to scholars, the harmony of the whole complex and the organic connection of the buildings with nature are the main advantages of Deir el-Bahari, as opposed to richer but chaotic buildings in the Amun-Re district of Karnak in Eastern Thebes (Ibid.:167,170).

Hathor looking down from the capitals

I was standing on the south side of Temple’s second courtyard, admiring pillars and columns at the Hathor chapel. They are usually referred to as the Hathor or sistrum columns (The MET 2020). Their capitals show heads of Hathor in the form of a cow on four opposite sides. Each is additionally topped with a naos-sistrum sound-box (Ibid.). Such a capital had been quite typical of Egypt since the beginning of the New Kingdom. Between them, I noticed smooth movements of a photographer nimbly climbing the pillars and columns up and down with a huge camera hanging from his neck. From time to time, he froze in a peculiar pose in his acrobatic dance between the columns, and took a series of pictures of the cow goddess.

Neglected mummy from KV60

Hatshepsut’s story was still on my mind. I was trying to piece it together. Her name was wiped out from the history intentionally, her legacy destroyed, her mummy vanished for centuries (Quilici 2007). Actually, it was officially uncovered in the tomb KV60, located close to the KV20, in 1903 by Howard Carter (Ibid.). It is speculated that Hatshepsut’s mummy had been removed from her original tomb and shifted from place to place for centuries, in order to save it either from grave robbers or a final destruction by the following Pharaohs, taking into account Hatshepsut’s name was being hacked away in the entire Theban region by Thutmose the Third (Ibid.).

Matriarchy had already been over

For some reasons, her image as the Pharaoh must have been removed (Quilici 2007). It was so, along with the names of Senenmut and Hatshepsut’s daughter (Ibid.). By this means, Neferure, Hatshepsut’s desired heir to the throne, would simply vanish from history (Ibid.). Female Pharaoh grooming her own daughter to be her successor to the throne must have been too radical in her plans at the time of patriarchy (Ibid.). This is probably why Neferure’s last resting place is located high in the mountain cliff, In the small opening in the rock, very distant from Thebes and difficult to be found (Ibid.). Moreover, the hacked away name of the Queen was usually being replaced by the name of Thutmose the Third’s son, Amenhotep the Second (Ibid.).

Pillars with the Hathor capitals in the Mortuary Temple, Deir el-Bahri. Photo by Dezalb (2015). Colours intensified. Photo source: Free pictures at Pixbay.

After Kara Cooney, it is possibly the key to the whole campaign against Hatshepsut and severe attempts to destroy her legacy; she and her female heir must have been removed from common memory to avoid a woman descendant to mount the throne in Egypt (Quilici 2007). Therefore the attack on Hatshepsut’s legacy was all about the politics of succession; Thutmose the Third wanted to make sure that the succession remained patrilineal, that it to say, it would be passed down from father to his son (Ibid.). But in order to guarantee a smooth succession, it was essential to remove the Queen and her daughter from history (Ibid.). Eventually, it made Thutmose the Third’s masculine descendants take Hatshepsut’s place (Ibid.).

Tale-tale tooth

Discovered in the first decade of the twenty-first century, the mummy of Hatshepsut has finally found its place among other royal mummies in the Museum of Archaeology in Cairo, Egypt (Quilici 2007). It has her left arm bent in a royal position, the feature typical of deceased Egyptian Pharaohs, and is still well preserved, despite the fact it used to be long transferred from one tomb to another before being finally abandoned and neglected (Ibid.). Identifying the Hatshepsut mummy was only possible by means of an analysis of a tooth found in the canopy box with the Hatshepsut name (Ibid.). Further  studies have also revealed she died at the age between forty and fifty and was killed by an infection in her body (Ibid.).

Walking down the ramp of the Temple. Photo taken by Marek, Copyright©Archaeotravel.

Rescued from oblivion and becoming famous

Owing to the team of specialists, led by the Egyptian archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, the Queen was rescued from oblivion (Quilici 2007). Hatshepsut has regained her position as one of the most powerful women that the world had ever seen on the throne of the Pharaohs (Ibid.).

Since then, the mysterious story of Hatshepsut has attired attention of various scholars and authors, such as an associate professor of Egyptology, Dr Kara Cooney  whose book, The Woman Who Would Be King (2014) greatly underlines Hatshepsut’s legacy.

Author Kara Cooney on Hatshepsut’s Legacy (2014). Kara Cooney, author of “The Woman Who Would Be King” and leading Egyptologist, discusses Hatshepsut, Egypt’s longest reigning female pharaoh and her legacy. Learn more about Hatshepsut at KaraCooney.com. Film source: The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. In: The Crown Publishing Group Youtube Channel.

Featured image: The Mortuary Temple of the Queen Hatshepsut in Deir El Bahari. Photo by Joanna Gawlica-Giędłek (2017). Free images at Pixabay.

By Joanna
Faculties of English Philology, History of Art and Archaeology.
University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland;
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Poland;
University College Dublin, Ireland.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Deir el-Bahari” (2020). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <http://bit.ly/38ldwbX>. [Accessed on 6th January, 2021].

“KV20” (2020). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <http://bit.ly/3omnZcP>. [Accessed on 6th January, 2021].

Free pictures at Pixbay. Available at <https://bit.ly/2LtkZgc>. [Accessed on 7th January, 2021].

Lipińska J. (2008). Sztuka starożytnego Egiptu. Warszawa: Arkady.

Quilici B. (2007). Secrets of Egypt’s Lost Queen. Starring Kara Cooney and Zahi Hawass. Discovery Channel.

The Crown Publishing Group (2014). “Kara Cooney on Hatshepsut’s Legacy”. In: The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. In: The Crown Publishing Group Youtube Channel. Available at <https://bit.ly/3pH7BUO>. [Accessed on 3rd February, 2021].

The MET (2020). “Column with Hathor-emblem capital and names of Nectanebo I on the shaft. 380–362 B.C. Late Period”. In Metropolitan Museum. Available at <http://bit.ly/3q1SMfv>. [Accessed on 6th January, 2021].

Żylińska J. (1972-1986). Kapłanki, Amazonki i Czarownice. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy.