The Ramesseum

What is the Ramesseum?

The Ramesseum is the "temple of millions of years" that Ramesses II built on the West Bank to keep his cult alive after death, begun early in his 66-year reign. In ancient times it was called the House of Usermaatra-Setepenra, united with Thebes; the name Ramesseum was coined by the French scholar Jean-François Champollion when he visited in 1829.

The temple was laid out on the classic plan of two pylons, two courts, a great hypostyle hall and a sanctuary, surrounded by mud-brick storerooms, workshops and a palace. Built close to the edge of the floodplain, much of it was undermined by the Nile and later quarried, so today it is a romantic part-ruin rather than a complete building.

On the north side of the hypostyle hall are the remains of a small temple to Ramesses II's mother, Tuya, and his great royal wife Nefertari. Ostraca found in the grounds suggest the temple also housed a school where young scribes practised their writing.

A French-Egyptian mission has been excavating and restoring the site since the early 1990s, and new paths and reconstructed walls have made the layout much easier to read than it was a generation ago.

Is this the statue from Ozymandias?

Yes: the fallen granite colossus here is the statue that the Greek historian Diodorus described as the tomb of "Ozymandias", and it is the image behind Percy Bysshe Shelley's 1818 sonnet. Ozymandias is a Greek rendering of User-maat-Ra, one of Ramesses II's throne names.

The seated statue originally stood around 18–19 metres high and is estimated to have weighed about 1,000 tonnes, making it one of the largest free-standing statues ever carved in Egypt. It now lies in huge fragments near the second pylon: you can see part of the torso, an upper arm and a foot, and the king's name carved on the shoulder. The scale only really sinks in when you stand beside a single finger.

Shelley's poem was written as a large granite head of Ramesses II, taken from this temple by the explorer Giovanni Belzoni, was on its way to London. That head, known as the Younger Memnon, is in the British Museum.

What else is there to see?

Beyond the colossus, look for the Battle of Kadesh reliefs on the pylons, the Osiride pillars of the second court and the astronomical ceiling in a small hall behind the hypostyle.

• Kadesh reliefs: Ramesses II's campaign against the Hittites in about 1274 BC is shown on the first and second pylons. On the second, Hittite soldiers tumble into the River Orontes, and the half-drowned Prince of Aleppo is held upside down by his men to drain the water. Our Battle of Kadesh guide explains what really happened.
• Osiride pillars: statues of the king as Osiris, arms crossed, line the second court; a few still have their heads.
• The hypostyle hall: 29 of the original 48 columns still stand, with papyrus capitals.
• The astronomical ceiling: in the first small hall beyond, stars and constellations include one of the earliest known depictions of the twelve-month Egyptian calendar.
• Mud-brick storerooms: the long vaulted magazines behind the temple are among the best-preserved ancient brick vaults in Egypt.

How does the Ramesseum compare with Medinet Habu?

If you only have time for one, choose Medinet Habu for completeness and colour, and the Ramesseum for its atmosphere and the Ozymandias story. Ramesses III modelled Medinet Habu closely on the Ramesseum about 100 years later, so the two are close cousins, one intact and one in ruins.

Seeing both in a day is easy and rewarding, as the Ramesseum is only around ten minutes' drive north of Medinet Habu. Lovers of poetry and Ramesses II will want the Ramesseum; first-time visitors with limited time usually get more from Medinet Habu.

Planning your visit

Allow 45 minutes to an hour, ideally in the late afternoon when the sandstone turns gold and the site is almost empty. The Ramesseum is in the middle of the West Bank, about 25 minutes by car from East Bank hotels, and a few minutes from both the Colossi of Memnon and the Tombs of the Nobles, which sit on the hillside directly behind it.

There is little shade, so bring water and a hat. Ground is uneven in places but mostly flat. Tickets are sold at the entrance; check prices and hours on egymonuments.gov.eg before you go. Restoration work sometimes closes sections, so do not be surprised by scaffolding.