= Paper =
B. LURSON, "Entre fouilles et remplois ptolémaïques. Architecture et décoration du temple de Touy", in B. LURSON (ed.), "De la mère du roi à l’épouse du dieu. Première synthèse des résultats de la fouille du temple de Touy et de la tombe de Karomama – Von der Königsmutter zur Gottesgemahlin. Erste Synthese der Ausgrabungsergebnisse des Tempels von Tuja und des Grabes von Karomama" (
Connaissance de l'Egypte Ancienne, 18), Brussels, 2017.
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In this contribution, the author presents a study of the architecture and decoration of the Temple of Tuya, of which first results were published in 2010, based on the stone fragments found during the excavation seasons and on the blocks of the temple found reused in Medinet Habu.
Fragments of Hathoric capitals, newly discovered during the 2015 excavation season, are published. Their stratigraphic context allows for specifying their original architectural setting with some certainty: the Hathoric columns of one of the hypostyle halls.
Blocks reused in the Ptolemaic extensions of the Small Temple of Medinet Habu are presented and studied. This study results in the identification of a new episode of the divine birth cycle including a depiction of the Theban Ennead and of a procession of the daughters of Ramses II. As for the blocks reused in the gateway of the Ptolemaic pylon, they show the remains of Tuya’s titulary, a geographical procession situated below a cavetto cornice, a large scene depicting the king or queen seated, and two scenes showing the coronation of Nefertari. The question of the original architectural setting of these blocks is addressed.
A discussion on the function of the temple ends the contribution. Its identification as a birth-house is reconsidered. Based on new elements, the author proposes to interpret the temple as a monument of royal ideology, mainly built for extolling the women of the royal institution: The mother of the king and the Great Wife.
Keywords : Temple of Tuya, Ramesseum, Birth Legend, Nome procession, Hathor capital, Temple decoration, Medinet Habu
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