Volume II Plate 28 - Longitudinal section of the Ramesseum ~ The Ramesseum was the mortuary temple of Ramesses II, and today the remains of the complex include a royal palace and a large number of mud-brick granaries and storerooms, as well as a small temple dedicated to Ramesses' mother, Tuya, and wife, Nefertari.

Inside the first courtyard was the colossus of Ramesses II, a carving from one block of granite that once stood 70 feet high and weighed more than 1,000 tons. On the granite colossus's shoulder is an inscription describing Ramesses as the "Son of the Sun god, Re". Broken pieces of the remains of this immense memorial are now in museums all over the world.

Past the colossus is the second court. It is flaked both east and west by caryatid pillars depicting Ramesses as the god Osiride, being summoned to rebirth in anew life, tightly wrapped in a shroud with his arms crossed, holding his scepters.

The Ramesseum was also called the Tomb of Osymandyas by the Greek historian Diodorus.

Framed 36 inches x 48 1/2 inches ~ SOLD