Origins of the Karnak Temple in Egypt

Ruins of the Temple of Egypt. Courtesy of Ben Pennington.

Famous for the victory relief of Pharaoh Shushanq I (biblical Shashak) within biblical archeology, the temple complex at Karnak was one of the most important religious sites of ancient Egypt. However, since the beginning of excavations at the site, the origins of Karnak have been better understood. Publication in journal Antiquitiesan international team of archaeologists has taken a major step toward solving this mystery, and the answer may provide fascinating insights into ancient Egyptian cosmology.

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Construction of Cosmic Creation

Excavators take core samples at the Egyptian temple at Karnak. Courtesy of Benjamin Pennington

Located near the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes, the Karnak Temple was dedicated to Amun-R, Monto and Mut, with the temple of Amun-R comprising the central part of the complex. While Karnak was in use for about 3,000 years, Egyptologists still debate when the site was first used as a temple and exactly what the initial site looked like. Although the earliest archaeological remains date to the late 3rd century AD, some scholars have argued that the site was first occupied at least a millennium earlier based on evidence found outside the site. Unfortunately, because the temple was in continuous use for such a long time, very few of the site’s earliest layers can be securely identified.

To address this issue, an international archaeological team conducted the most comprehensive geoarchaeological survey of the site ever conducted. The team analyzed 61 sediment cores that were systematically collected in and around the temple, with an average depth of more than 20 feet. They also studied 142 cores from past excavations. The team analyzed the cores by type of sediment and then dated each sediment layer by the presence of pottery shards found in the cores. This process allowed the team to reconstruct the topological evolution of the site both before and after its occupation, and then to cross-date each change in that topology.

Based on this analysis, the team proposed that the site became habitable only around 2520 BC, since before that date the area was under the rapid flow of the Nile for a significant part of the year. Although occupation of the site may have begun shortly thereafter, the earliest fragments of clay date to between 2305 and 1980 BC, making the temple’s establishment more likely, but not as ancient as some have suggested.

Paleolandscape Reconstruction at Karnak. Courtesy of Benjamin Pennington ET.

However, Karnak’s age wasn’t the only interesting detail the covers revealed. For most of the temple’s early history, Karnak was an island, with channels of the Nile flowing on either side. Over time, these channels became silted, both naturally and through human intervention. According to one of the study’s co-authors, Dominic Barker, “The river channels around the site shaped how the temple might have developed and where new construction would have occurred over older rivers as they silted up.”

This feature may explain why this site was chosen to build a temple dedicated to the Egyptian creator god. Egyptian texts from the Old Kingdom (c. 2591–2152 BCE) describe how Ra Amun manifested himself as the High Earth, emerging from the “lake”. Karnak Island would have been the only high land that was surrounded by water in the area of ​​ancient Thebes. Furthermore, with the annual flooding of the Nile, the island would likely have shrunk considerably, only to then apparently be submerged again at the end of the flood season. In a press release, the paper’s lead author, Benjamin Pennington, said, “It is tempting to suggest that the Thrin elite chose the location of the crank for a new form of the creator god ‘Ra Amun,’ because it fit the cosmogonical view of a high plain emerging from the surrounding waters.” “Later Middle Kingdom texts (c. 1760–1980 BCE) develop this idea, with ‘primitive mounds’ rising from the ‘waters of chaos.’

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