The King’s mortuary temple lies on the eastern facade of the pyramid of Djedkare Isesi, built on sloping ground which had to be levelled before construction could begin. Two massive towers in the form of a pylon originally fronted the mortuary Temple of Djedkare Isesi. However, their purpose is still unclear, and it appears they did not contain any rooms. Fragments of reliefs found in the temple area suggest that it was once richly decorated, but it has been severely damaged, and the site has never been completely excavated.
Location of Mortuary Temple of Djedkare Isesi
The Mortuary Temple of Djedkare Isesi lies on the east face of the main pyramid of Djedkare Isesi, Saqqara necropolis.
Layout
The symmetrical plan seems similar to other pyramid temples of Dynasty V, with an entrance hall and a central collonaded court with magazines on either side. The 16 pink granite columns in the court bore the names and titles of Djedkare-Isesi. The inner and outer parts of the temple were separated by a transverse corridor, and beyond this was a chamber with five statue-niches, an antechamber and an offering hall. On the western side, a false door was incorporated into the face of the pyramid.
It is the first known mortuary temple to have had two massive masonry pylons guarding its entrance. Most pyramid complexes built after Djedkare’s did not have such pylons. Similar pylon-like constructions had already been used for the Abusir pyramid of Niuserre, but they were not located at the complex’s entrance.
Mortuary temple
The layout of Djedkare Isesi’s mortuary temple. In order:
- 1) Causeway leading to the temple between two pylons;
- 2) Entrance hall; Storerooms;
- 4) Courtyard;
- 5) Transverse corridor;
- 6) Five niche chapels;
- 7) Vestibule;
- 8) Antichambre carrée
- 9) Storerooms
- 10) Offering hall,
- 11)Pyramid courtyard;
- 12) Cult pyramid and enclosure;
- 13) Large structure of unknown purpose;
- 14) Portico;
- 15) Cemetery.
Causeway
The causeway that leads up to the mortuary temple has not been excavated. It is known to have a straight sloped path, running slightly southwards for 220 m (722 ft; 420 cu). The ground where the mortuary temple was constructed sloped sharply down towards the desert, needing extensive preparation before laying the foundation. Dimensions for the causeway are speculative, based only on the trace remains of existing foundations. It had walls approximately 2.4 m (7.9 ft) thick, with a path between them no more than 2.6 m (8.5 ft) wide. Its height remains unknown, though it is clear that it was covered based on blocks found painted with stars, a typical motif for the ceiling. It appears to have been made entirely of white limestone, the same material that makes up the causeway to Sahure’s pyramid, with walls decorated with raised relief. The causeway connects to the temple entrance hall between two large pylon structures, an innovation from Nyuserre’s pyramid, which was square with slightly inclined walls. The pylons were once 6 m (20 ft; 11 cu) tall but have reduced to 4.5 m (15 ft). Stairs may have led to the terrace but likely had no rooms inside. Their function is unclear. A water drain made of crudely cut and carelessly set quartzite blocks was discovered alongside the causeway.
Outer temple
The temple’s entrance hall had an alabaster paved floor and likely a vaulted ceiling, as indicated by the size of the walls. It terminated into an open courtyard paved with alabaster and adorned with sixteen pink granite palm form columns. As in Sahure’s mortuary temple, the columns bore the names and titles of the complex’s owner, Djedkare Isesi. The courtyard measures 23.45 m (76.9 ft; 44.75 cu) by 15.7 m (52 ft; 30.0 cu). It supported an ambulatory whose ceiling was decorated with stars. Stone thieves have damaged or removed the room’s columns, walls and pavement. The courtyard also once had a water drain built of red quartzite running along its axis and a relief-decorated alabaster altar.
Twelve storage rooms accessed from the transverse corridor are flanking the entrance hall. A pair of corridors separated by a doorway leading to the southern storage rooms. The western corridor is poorly preserved; the eastern corridor is in better condition. The east corridor is 1.6 m (5.2 ft) wide, and its preserved sections are 14.25 m (46.8 ft) long. The passage was built of limestone, though only the paved floor has been kept. A 2 m (6.6 ft) thick wall separated the corridor from the southern pylon. The storage rooms had walls around 1.05 m (3.4 ft; 2.00 cu) thick and measured about 2.6 m (8.5 ft; 5.0 cu) wide by 8.75 m (28.7 ft; 16.70 cu) long. The storage rooms north of the entrance hall are similar in size but are in far worse condition.
Inner temple
The courtyard connects to the transverse corridor, with a low staircase in its west wall leading into the inner temple. The inner temple occupied an area of 29.55 m (96.9 ft; 56.39 cu) by 41.56 m (136.4 ft; 79.31 cu) built on a raised platform some 66 cm (26 in; 1.26 cu) high. The chambers of the inner temple were initially paved with alabaster, but only the limestone-paved storage rooms have any original floor remaining.
A small passage leads into the chapel with its five statue niches, followed by a vestibule to a small square room with a single granite column at its centre – the antechamber carée – before terminating at the offering hall. The chapel has disintegrated; its dimensions are indeterminable, as are the dimensions of the red granite-lined statue niches. South of the chapel is the remains of a vestibule measuring 6.33 m (20.8 ft; 12.08 cu) by 6.90 m (22.6 ft; 13.17 cu). This room is connected to the antechamber carrée and a series of rooms further south.
The antichambre carée measures 4.7 m (15 ft; 9.0 cu) by 4.2 m (14 ft; 8.0 cu). Its north, east, and part of the south walls are lost. Its central column supported the room’s ceiling and bore the names and titles of Djedkare Isesi and an image of Nekhbet, the goddess of Upper Egypt. This column is palm-shaped; it was made of red granite with a diameter of 0.65 m (2.1 ft) at the top and 0.73 m (2.4 ft) at its bottom. Some previously discovered relief fragments may have come from this room. They depict scenes of deities possessing Was-sceptres and ankh symbols, Upper and Lower Egypt shrines, acts of slaughter, and bowing officials.
Once, a red granite doorway on the north wall of the antechamber allowed access into the offering hall. The offering hall of the temple is similar to other contemporary offering halls in different complexes, except that the false door was carved into the masonry of the pyramid. The hall’s walls are the thickest of any room in the inner temple at 2.6 metres (8.5 ft; 5.0 cu) deep, owing to two rows of limestone blocks carved into a vault. The ceiling, of which little remains, was painted dark blue and decorated with yellow stars. The chamber measured between 15.7 metres (52 ft; 30.0 cu) and 18 metres (59 ft; 34 cu) deep by 5.25 m (17.2 ft; 10.02 cu) wide, indicating that it might have been larger than typical for the period. It can be inferred from contemporary sources that the hall contained an alabaster altar, table, basin, and drainage system. Though nothing, except a few scraps of alabaster that may belong to the altar, of these installations remains.
Surrounding the inner temple were storage rooms on either side. The southern storage rooms were accessed from the vestibule. The four magazines measured 12.2 m (40 ft; 23.3 cu) deep but narrowed in width from 2.1 m (6.9 ft; 4.0 cu). Most notably, these storage rooms extend into the main pyramid. The northern storage rooms were divided into rows. The eastern row was accessed from the statue chapel. The western rows were accessed from the offering hall. They were not interconnected. The east row probably comprises eight chambers, with six storage rooms reconstructed, each measuring 3.6 m (12 ft; 6.9 cu) by 2.06 m (6.8 ft; 3.93 cu). The layout of these rooms appears to be particular to this temple. The western rows comprised four rooms each. Each room was 6.3 m (21 ft; 12.0 cu) deep and 2.1–2.6 m (6.9–8.5 ft; 4.0–5.0 cu) wide. As in the southern storage rooms, the westernmost row of the northern storage rooms extended into the pyramid. It is unclear whether the storage rooms of the temple were two stories high, as attested in other mortuary temples, as the walls are poorly preserved.
