Twenty-two early photographs of Karnak’s sphinx avenue, gateways, Great Court and wider ruins, made between 1851 and the 1860s, plus one undated stereograph of the ram avenue.
Karnak’s way in was an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes leading to great gateways, with a village at the temple’s feet and palm groves around it. Houses stood close to the walls, and much of the ground inside was covered in rubble. This page is the starting point for our three Karnak galleries: it holds the approaches, gateways and general views, and the other two are listed just below. The long avenue joining Karnak to Luxor Temple, opened to the public on 25 November 2021, has its own Avenue of Sphinxes guide. For tickets and the route round the site, see the Karnak Temple guide.
Five views of the rows of sphinxes that lead to Karnak, from Teynard in 1851–52 to Beato in the 1860s.
The avenue of ram-headed sphinxes leading towards the First Pylon, Karnak’s western entrance; the catalogue gives 1864 from the source caption, which is unverified. See the row of statues, each with the ram’s head of Amun and a small figure of the king between its paws. Sphinx avenues organised ceremonial movement between sacred spaces and were used for processions.
The avenue of ram statues approaching the temple. No exact date is recorded; the catalogue suggests a stereograph view of about 1910, not confirmed. See how the avenue runs away from the camera.
The avenue of sphinxes in Frith’s view of around 1857, seen from the south-west with two rows of headless sphinxes and some local men in the foreground. The largely intact Ptolemaic gateway in the south-western wall of the precinct stands in the middle ground, with the pylon of the Temple of Khonsu behind it and the remains of the Ninth Pylon on the right. Notice how many statues are broken.
Teynard’s view of the sphinx avenue, made in 1851–52 and printed in 1853–54, years before Frith and Beato. Compare the three pictures to see how the statues and the ground around them change. It is a general view taken from Point G on Teynard’s survey plan.
Sphinxes with human and ram heads, seen from Point Y on Teynard’s plan, 1851–52. See how the two kinds differ: one has a human face, the other the ram’s head of Amun. The Cleveland Museum of Art, which holds another print of the plate, says the ram-headed sphinx is only nine feet long and held a statue of a human between its paws.
Six views of the gateways of Karnak, from the Ptolemaic Gate to the great northern and southern gates. The numbered pylons, including Teynard’s “First” and “Third” Pylon plates, are in Karnak’s pylons, obelisks and granite sanctuary in old photos.
The Ptolemaic gate at Karnak, dated to the 1860s. It was built when Greek-speaking kings ruled Egypt, and the old title spells it “Plotomae”. Notice how the gate stands against the ground around it.
The Great Northern Gate at Karnak, photographed by Teynard in 1851–52. Observe the size of the gateway and the walls that frame it. As its name says, it lies on the north side of the complex: the British Library describes the view as looking south-westwards towards the propylon leading to the precinct of the Temple of Montu, north of the Amun-Ra complex. The plate was taken from Point X on Teynard’s plan.
The Great Southern Gate at Karnak, seen from Point C on Teynard’s plan, 1851–52. Compare it with the northern gate in the previous picture. It is a separate plate from the Tenth Pylon in the pylons gallery. The Library of Congress record for Teynard’s general view from Point B lists the Great Southern Gate together with the avenue of rams and the temple he calls the “Grand Temple du Sud”. The catalogue entries do not say which gateway it is, so this gallery does not identify it further.
The first gateway at Karnak in Frith’s series, around 1857. Royal Collection Trust identifies it as the largely intact Ptolemaic gateway in the south-western wall of the precinct of Amun-Re, with the pylon of the Temple of Khonsu behind it and some local men beside the gateway. Remains of sphinxes lie in the foreground, and the Ninth and Eighth Pylons are partly visible on the right. Note the line of the walls rising above the rubble.
A sculptured gateway and figures at Karnak, in Frith’s series of around 1857. See the carved figures on the stone and at how the gateway frames the opening.
A second view of the sculptured gateway and figures, dated 1857. The two pictures share one old title. Compare them to see what changes with the camera’s position.
Nine wide views of the ruins and the courts in front of the temple, including the Great Court.
A broad view of Karnak from the south, photographed on the Prince of Wales’s 1862 tour. See how much of the precinct is still rubble and sand, with walls and columns rising from the debris.
The Temple of Amun precinct at Karnak, dated 1862. Observe the mix of standing walls and fallen blocks, which shows how little had been cleared by 1862.
A general view at Karnak, titled simply “Carnac” in Frith’s series of 1857. Note the broad spread of ruins rather than any single building.
The ruins at Karnak viewed from Point B on Teynard’s plan, photographed in 1851–52 (print 1853–54). The British Library catalogue describes a view from the western avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, looking north-eastwards towards the pylon of the Temple of Khons at the south-west corner of the Amun-Ra Temple complex, with a free-standing propylon in the foreground and the ruins of the main temple on the skyline. Notice how the ruins spread across the ground.
Karnak’s ruins viewed from the north-east, photographed by Teynard in 1851–52. Compare it with the south view of 1862 at the start of this section. Together they show the precinct from two sides. The British Library describes this view as taken from a point on the north-east perimeter wall, looking south-westwards towards the main body of the Temple of Amun-Ra, with the obelisks in the middleground, right of centre.
The area in front of what old titles call the palace at Karnak, 1851–52. See the open ground between the camera and the walls.
A second view in front of the palace, taken from Point H on Teynard’s plan, 1851–52. Compare it with the previous picture to see how the camera position changes the scene.
The courtyard of the temple, seen from Point I on Teynard’s plan and photographed in 1851–52 (print 1853–54). The British Library describes it as a view from the forecourt looking south-east towards the second pylon, with a long colonnade leading to the great hypostyle hall and a lone surviving papyrus column in the right foreground. See how the walls enclose the open space.
The old title calls this the Court of Shishak, around 1857. Shishak is the biblical form of Shoshenq I, a king of the 22nd Dynasty whose building is linked with the great court at Karnak; Royal Collection Trust describes a view across the forecourt of the precinct, with the entrance to the Hypostyle Hall in the middle ground. Observe the mix of standing columns and broken walls. The Great Court is the large open space visitors cross just after the First Pylon.
Two pictures of the green setting around the temple, and of the village that stood beside it.
A group of date palms at Karnak, seen from Point A on Teynard’s plan, 1851–52. Notice how green the setting beside the temple was. Palm groves and villages formed part of the cultivated landscape around the monuments.
The village beside the Karnak temple precinct, dated to the 1860s, with palms and, according to the source record, the Nile waterfront. See how close the houses stand to the ruins. Today the temple is a fenced site with a ticketed entrance, and the village lies outside it.
Who and when. Five sources lie behind these pictures. Félix Teynard photographed Karnak in 1851–52 and published his plates as Égypte et Nubie in about 1858; ten of his views are here. Six are from Francis Frith’s 1857 Nile series. Three are catalogued by Royal Collection Trust, which holds the prints; three are matched by title. Francis Bedford made two views in 1862, and Antonio Beato three in the 1860s. One more, of the ram avenue, may be a stereograph by Underwood & Underwood and is undated.
Reading the photographs. The early pictures here show the sphinxes near Karnak itself, long before the Karnak–Luxor avenue was excavated; for early views of the temple at the avenue’s other end, see Luxor Temple in old photos. Old titles such as “Point C” are Teynard’s survey-plan references, so the headings describe each view instead. Note the rows of sphinxes and count how many survive in each picture, and compare Teynard’s avenue of 1851–52 with Beato’s view of the 1860s.
Medium, size and old title for each picture appear under the photograph itself. Links go to the holding institution’s record where one is available.