Ancient Egyptian Temples In The New Kingdom, Late And Ptolemaic Periods

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which lay an open court. The shrine was kept in the sanctuary, whose doors were shut and sealed all year long, and only opened for great festivals. Outside the temple walls were the residences of the priestly staff and other ancillary structures. The walls of the temple were covered with animated images and ritualistic carvings. The temple entrances usually included landing quays and processional ways in front of the temple's outer enclosure walls.
In the Old Kingdom mortuary temples, the path leading from the landing quay was roofed. A false door was a common element within the Old Kingdom sanctuary, which was located inside temples within pyramid complexes. To the ancient Egyptians, this door represented access to the sanctuary by the gods for mortuary temples, or access to the outside world by the gods in the case of non-mortuary temples. It was usually located in the very back of the sanctuary, and other decorations within the sanctuary usually depicted the daily ...

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