Ramesses II Portal Temple

• Site of Nineteenth Dynasty (New Kingdom) temple built by Kings Seti I and Ramesses II on the edge of the desert necropolis near the starting point of the processional route of the festival of Osiris

• Built on top of earlier 12th and 13th Dynasty (Middle Kingdom) offering chapels in the votive zone where chapel-builders received offerings during the festival procession

• First excavated by David O’Connor for the Penn-Yale Expedition from 1967 to 1969

• Read about the early Penn-Yale excavations and discoveries at the Portal Temple

Photos (1), (2) Discovery of a colossal statue of Ramesses II by David O’Connor in 1967