Le Temple de Ptah a Karnak: Travaux Du Centre Franco-Egyptien d'Etude Des Temples de Karnak

Located on the northern edge of the precinct of Amon-Re at Karnak, the temple of Ptah has not been studied since the pioneering work of Georges Legrain in 1899 and 1900. A CFEETK (MAE-CNRS USR 3172) programme was begun in 2008 and aims to develop an overall understanding of this edifice which was built by Thutmose III and enlarged and decorated up until the beginning of the Roman period. The first two planned volumes will contain, for the first time, the ensemble of epigraphic material from the temple (facsimiles and hieroglyphic texts) as well as a comprehensive photographic coverage that was undertaken in 2013 after the completion of a large programme of restoration and preservation. The documentation gathered in these volumes is evidence of the leading role occupied by Ptah in Theban theology. In the beginning, Amon-Re was the host of Ptah and Hathor in this temple but theologians of the Ptolemaic period introduced Somtus the child and Imhotep, the deified architect. Throughout its long history, over fifteen hundred years of functioning, the temple of Ptah was a favoured spot at Karnak, receiving Amon-Re and Osiris at the moment of their processional outings.