Limestonr Doorway From the Palace
During the Nineteenth Dynasty a great many changes started to happen in Egypt. In the year 1225 BC King Ramses II had died at the age of over ninety leaving the throne to his thirteenth son Merenptah (IV.150). When Merenptah began his rule he was well into his later years in life, approximately in his mid fifties. Although Merenptah only reigned for roughly ten years, his days were filled will both battle and rejoice many that have shaped artifact imagery that has been uncovered within the past century. One particular artifact that I would like to describe can be found at the University Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. The piece is a limestone doorway from the palace of King Merenptah at Memphis (see Appendix A). This piece represents one of six identical doorways in King Merenptah's palace. The doorway is covered with hieroglyphics that tell many stories of Merenptah's life and symbolic features of Egypt. Before I can describe the details of the hieroglyphs, a brief history of Merenptah's reign should be told. This history develops when the king took office, through his many battles over past grudges and territorial locations, and where and how he died.
On April 15 a battle commenced which lasted six hours ending with the Egyptian archers driving the allies from the field (I. These lintels also showed two familiar caricatures of the king representative of his times at war and peace. Although Ramses II had distinctly made efforts so that no one would destroy ancestral artifacts, King Merenptah disrespected many monuments including those of his father. This doorway also shows many similarities of the six doors leading into the apartments. The other six rooms were considered apartments where guests of the king stayed during visits. Records show that after Ramses II passed, no wartime outbreaks occurred immediately, but just three years after Merenptah assumed reign there was a widespread revolt against the new king (I. The "Great Hall" of the palace was where ceremonies and parties were held in association with the king, and also acted as a main corridor in which seven different rooms split off of. Each carving was also decoratively inlaid with blue faience (III. Two slabs are used as the jambs, doorway sides, and two slabs make up the lintel with accompanying overhanging cornice (III. Justification cannot be given nor a definite motif behind the death of Merenptah and the fire following his death, but one can see why many people would be upset with his decisions. After forcing foreign troops to join him, Meryey invaded Egypt in early April.
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