Carnac - Exterior of the Great Hall 1857

Exterior view of the hypostyle hall of the temple complex at Karnak showing a section of the north-eastern exterior wall, carved with hieroglyphs, including a triumphal scene of Sety I (1294-1279 BC) smiting a group of prisoners with his mace in the presence of the god Amun-Re. Karnak, near modern Luxor, is a large complex of religious buildings covering an area of over one hundred hectares. It consists of three major sacred precincts dedicated to Amun-Re (the largest of the three), Mut and Montu, but it also includes other structures built both inside and outside the various precincts. It was built and continually extended and embellished by Egyptian rulers from at least the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) until the Roman period (30 BC-AD 395) but most of its surviving structures date from the second half of the second millenium BC, resulting in Karnak being the largest and best-preserved temple complex of the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC).