DEIR ELBAHRI

Modern name for a site on the cliffs of the western bank of the Nileopposite Thebes. It was apparently first used to construct the tomb and mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II of Dynasty 11 and the tombs of his successors, as well as the chief officials of the court. During Dynasty 18 it was chosen as the site of the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the building of which was supervised by her official, Senenmut. The temple is well preserved and is famous for its reliefs of the expedition to Punt and the transportation of an obelisk. Next to Deir el-Bahri a mortuary temple was constructed by Thutmose III, but this shrine has been largely destroyed by an earthquake, leaving only a pillared hall with Hathor capitals and a chapel. The site became a Coptic monastery during the Christian period but was later abandoned. Deir el-Bahri was first excavated by Auguste Mariette in 1850, 1862, and 1866. Major excavations were undertaken in the Hatshepsut temple from 1893–1896 and the Mentuhotep II temple from 1903–1907 by a British expedition of the Egypt Exploration Fund. Further work in the area was carried out by Herbert Winlock of the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1911–1931. The Mentuhotep II temple was reexamined by a German expedition from 1965–1972, and the Hatshepsut temple has been the subject of excavation and restoration work by a Polish team since 1961, during which time the Thutmose III temple was also discovered.