Dayr al-Baḥrī

or Deir al-Baḥrī

Temple site, Egypt.

Located on the western bank of the Nile River near the remains of Thebes and opposite the ruins of Karnak, it encompasses the remains of three temples associated with three different Egyptian rulers: the funerary temple of King Mentuhotep II (built с 1970 BC); a temple built by Thutmose III (с 1435 BC); and the terraced temple of Queen Hatshepsut (built с 1470 BC), much of which has been restored.

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▪ archaeological site, Egypt

also spelled  Deir el-Bahri 

 Egyptian archaeological site in the necropolis of Thebes. It is made up of a bay in the cliffs on the west bank of the Nile River east of the Valley of the Kings (Kings, Valley of the). Its name (Arabic for “northern monastery”) refers to a monastery built there in the 7th century CE.

      Of the three ancient Egyptian (Egypt, ancient) structures on the site, one, the funerary temple of King Mentuhotep II (built c. 1970 BCE), has lost much of its superstructure. The second, the terraced temple of Queen Hatshepsut (built c. 1470 BCE), was uncovered (1894–96) beneath the monastery ruins and subsequently underwent partial restoration. A fuller restoration of the third terrace, sanctuary, and retaining wall was started in 1968 by a Polish archaeological mission, which also found a third temple, built by Thutmose III about 1435 BCE, above and between the two earlier temples. All three temples were linked by long causeways to valley temples with docking facilities. Situated under one of the cliffs, Hatshepsut's temple in particular is a famous example of creative architectural exploitation of a site. All three temples were largely destroyed by progressive rock falls from the cliffs above.

      During the Third Intermediate period (Egypt, ancient) (1075–656 BCE) the area of Dayr al-Baḥrī was used as a private cemetery, and in the Ptolemaic period (Egypt, ancient) the sanctuary of Amon in Hatshepsut's temple was refurbished and rededicated to the deified individuals Imhotep and Amenhotep, son of Hapu. The temple of Hatshepsut was the site of a terrorist attack in 1997 in which more than 60 people, many of them tourists, were killed.

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