Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri (, , ) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of the Theban Necropolis.
History
Deir el-Bahari, located on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes (modern Luxor) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs that has served as a major religious center for over two millennia. Its history begins with the 11th Dynasty when Pharaoh Mentuhotep II (c.2061-2010 BCE) constructed his funerary temple here to commemorate the reunification of Egypt after the First Intermediate Period. Mentuhotep's terraced complex, integrating a royal tomb into a temple platform, pioneered the cliffside temple style later emulated by New Kingdom rulers.
Centuries later, the 18th Dynasty queen Hatshepsut erected her famous temple Djeser-Djeseru, designed by her architect Senenmut, directly beside Mentuhotep's complex. To make room for her temple, the Mortuary temple of Amenhotep I, which was constructed approximately 50 years earlier, was demolished. Richly decorated reliefs in Hatshepsut's temple celebrated her divine birth, commercial expedition to Punt, and association with Amun-Ra, cementing the temple's significance in state religion and royal propaganda.
Later, Thutmose III added a smaller temple, Djeser-Akhet, just above hers. By the Third Intermediate Period, Deir el-Bahari became a burial ground for priests and a hiding place for royal mummies such as those discovered in the DB320 cache in 1881.
Archaeological exploration in Deir el-Bahari began ramping up in the late 19th century. Édouard Naville's excavations from 1893 to 1906, sponsored by the Egypt Exploration Fund, revealed both Hatshepsut's temple and Mentuhotep II's complex. This was followed by Herbert Winlock's Metropolitan Museum of Art expeditions (1911-1931), which unearthed significant finds, including statues of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III and caches of ritual objects. The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology began extensive restoration work in the 1960s, stabilizing Hatshepsut's temple and recovering Thutmose III's largely destroyed shrine. Meanwhile, the site's significance as a necropolis continued into the Ptolemaic Period, when parts off Hatshepsut's temple were reused for cults of Imhotep and Amenhotep, Son of Hapu. Deir el-Bahari's rich history reflects its role as a sacred landscape where kings and priests were memorialized, divine legitimacy was protected, and Theban religious traditions flourished across changing dynasties.
Associated deities The purpose and significance of the structures and burials at Deir el-Bahari is closely related with the deities associated with Deir el-Bahari and the greater Theban Necropolis.
Hathor was a prominent goddess at Deir el-Bahari, venerated as a divine mother, protector, and patroness of the necropolis. The cliffs at Deir el-Bahari were sacred to Hathor before pharaonic construction, with Mentuhotep II likely honoring her cult when building there. His temple complex included shrines for royal women, priestesses of Hathor, underscoring the goddess’s significance. Hathor, regarded as “Lady of the West,” was often depicted as a cow emerging from the cliffs to welcome and nourish souls. Hatshepsut’s temple featured a chapel of Hathor with Hathor-headed columns and reliefs of offerings, highlighting Hathor’s enduring role in funerary rites and royal worship from the Middle to New Kingdom.
Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification, was revered as a guardian of tombs and guide of souls. Known as “He Who is Upon His Mountain” and “Foremost of the Westerners,” Though later eclipsed by Osiris in theology, Anubis remained essential as the patron of embalmers, and continued to be invoked as the guardian of tomb doors and the guide who conducts the "weighing of the heart" judgement for souls. At Deir el-Bahari, Hatshepsut’s temple featured a dedicated Anubis chapel on the north side of the middle terrace. Well-preserved reliefs show Anubis receiving offerings, reflecting his role in embalming rites and transition to the afterlife, with archaeological evidence confirming his importance across the Theban Necropolis.
Osiris, god of death and resurrection, became increasingly central to Theban funerary religion. Osiris is depicted as a mummified king wearing the Atef-crown and his mythology as the murdered and resurrected ruler made him the divine guarantor of rebirth for the deceased. The worship of Osiris at Deir el-Bahari can be traced to the Middle Kingdom when King Mentuhotep II incorporated Osirian symbolism into his mortuary cult. Osiris' cult was fully integrated into royal mortuary temples at Hatshepsut's Djeser-Djeseru, over twenty-five life size Osiride statues of the queen in Osiris form stood against the pillars of the upper terrace.
Meretseger, a cobra goddess local to the Theban Necropolis, personified the sacred peak overlooking the royal tombs and was called “She Who Loves Silence.” She guarded the necropolis, especially the Valley of the Kings, envisioned as a cobra atop the mountain watching for tomb robbers. Her cult is evidenced by votive stelae and artisans' graffiti, portraying her as both a punisher of wrongdoers and a merciful healer who forgave the penitent.
Amun ("The Hidden One") was the supreme god of Thebes, originally a local air deity who rose to national prominence as "Amun-Ra". He is typically depicted as a man with a double plumed crown, sometimes fused with the sun god Ra, reflecting his role as a creator and solar deity. Amun's worship at Deir el-Bahari began in the Middle Kingdom: the mortuary complex of Mentuhotep II was likely among the first west Theban temples designed to receive the barque of Amun during festivals. In the New Kingdom, Hatshepsut built the central sanctuary of her terraced temple for Amun-Ra, placing his cult chapel at the heart of Djeser-Djeseru. Inscriptions and reliefs from the site honor Amun's oracles and his role in legitimizing Hatshepsut's kingship, underscoring Amun's status as king of the gods and patron of pharaohs at the Theban Necropolis.
Mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II
Mentuhotep II, the Eleventh Dynasty king who reunited Egypt at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, built a very unusual funerary complex. His mortuary temple was built on several levels in the great bay at Deir el-Bahari. It was approached by a causeway leading from a valley temple which no longer exists.
The mortuary temple itself consists of a forecourt and entrance gate, enclosed by walls on three sides, and a terrace on which stands a large square structure that may represent the primeval mound that arose from the waters of chaos. As the temple faces east, the structure is likely to be connected with the sun cult of Ra and the resurrection of the king.
From the eastern part of the forecourt, an opening called the Bab el-Hosan ('Gate of the Horseman') leads to an underground passage and an unfinished tomb or cenotaph containing a seated statue of the king. On the western side, tamarisk and sycamore trees were planted beside the ramp leading up to the terrace. At the back of the forecourt and terrace are colonnades decorated in relief with boat processions, hunts, and scenes showing the king's military achievements.
Statues of the Twelfth Dynasty king Senusret III were found here too.
The inner part of the temple was actually cut into the cliff and consists of a peristyle court, a hypostyle hall and an underground passage leading into the tomb itself. The cult of the dead king centred on the small shrine cut into the rear of the Hypostyle Hall.
The mastaba-like structure on the terrace is surrounded by a pillared ambulatory along the west wall, where the statue shrines and tombs of several royal wives and daughters were found. These royal princesses were the priestesses of Hathor, one of the main ancient Egyptian funerary deities. Although little remained of the king's own burial, six sarcophagi were retrieved from the tombs of the royal ladies (Ashayet, Henhenet, Kawit, Kemsit, Muyet and Sadhe). Each was formed of six slabs, held together at the corners by metal braces and carved in sunken relief. The sarcophagus of Queen Kawit, now in the Cairo Museum, is particularly fine.
The burial shaft and subsequent tunnel descend for 150 meters and end in a burial chamber 45 meters below the court. The chamber held a shrine, which once held the wooden coffin of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep. A great tree-lined court was reached by means of the processional causeway, leading up from the valley temple. Beneath the court, a deep shaft was cut which led to unfinished rooms believed to have been intended originally as the king's tomb. A wrapped image of the pharaoh was discovered in this area by Howard Carter. The temple complex also held six mortuary chapels and shaft tombs built for the pharaoh's wives and daughters.
Archaeological finds
One of the most significant finds at the site is a collection of statues of King Mentuhotep II in various forms. In the court of the temple a sandstone head of Mentuhotep II was found buried and is now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Several seated statues of Mentuhotep II were also found buried possibly indicating a ritual of buried objects Some of the recovered statues show the king wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, emphasizing his role as a unifier in the First Intermediate Period. At each corner of the temple, foundation deposits were discovered consisting of small tablets made of wood, alabaster and bronze. The deposits contained pottery fragments, animal bones (likely from ritual sacrifices), and tools used in temple construction. These deposits suggest ritual offerings at the start of construction likely intended to sanctify the temple space.
Excavations revealed tree holes that indicated that sycamore fig trees were planted in the temple's forecourt. Some tree holes contained buried statues which is believed to link the practice of tree planting with ritual protection or regeneration beliefs. Flower beds and irrigation features were also found, indicating that the temple complex included gardens as part of its landscape.
Some walls of the temple showed evidence of Ptolemaic or later modifications, indicating that parts of the temple were reused in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. There were traces of later burials including a cemetery with poor burials stretching into the temple complex. The temple was likely partially dismantled and repurposed during the New Kingdom, possibly during the nearby construction of Hatshepsut's temple.
Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut
The focal point of the Deir el-Bahari complex is the Djeser-Djeseru meaning "the Holy of Holies", the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. It is a colonnaded structure, which was designed and implemented by Senenmut, royal steward and architect of Hatshepsut, to serve for her posthumous worship and to honor the glory of Amun.
Djeser-Djeseru sits atop a series of colonnaded terraces, reached by long ramps that once were graced with gardens. It is built into a cliff face that rises sharply above it, and is largely considered to be one of the "incomparable monuments of ancient Egypt". It is tall.
The unusual form of Hatshepsut's temple is explained by the choice of location, in the valley basin of Deir el-Bahari, surrounded by steep cliffs. It was here, in about 2050 BC, that Mentuhotep II, the founder of the Middle Kingdom, laid out his sloping, terrace-shaped mortuary temple. The pillared galleries at either side of the central ramp of the Djeser Djeseru correspond to the pillar positions on two successive levels of the Temple of Mentuhotep.