Hello and welcome back to the History of Egypt podcast.

Episode 164B, Renovation Station.

This is part two in our look at the monuments of Hormheb in the great temple of Karnak.

Today, we explore some of the king's lesser-known, but still fascinating works,

including his efforts to renovate, remodel, and even move monuments of earlier kings.

The year was 1329 BCE, and Karnak Temple was bustling.

Architects and builders were hard at work on pylons for King Horem Heb.

Egypt's pharaoh had commissioned these marvels for Amun Ra and other deities, and over the course of his reign, those buildings would rise high. We have now explored the pylons which Hortemheb erected,

the great gates along the temple's main road. But while these structures are impressive,

there are also many interesting buildings that Hormeb commissioned.

These buildings are small and sometimes out of the way, but they are interesting and worth exploring.

Pylon 9 and pylon 10 form a unit, a distinct area in southern Karnak.

This area is connected to the rest, and if you are going from north to south,

you won't necessarily notice the changes between different rulers.

But archaeological work beneath the surface has unveiled many secrets in Karnak's landscape.

It turns out that Hormheb's builders altered this area significantly.

It seems that while building his new monument, the new king was quite happy to move or even

demolish older structures. In his quest for marvels, Egypt's pharaoh totally reshaped this area.

Today, pylons 9 and 10 stand at either end of a vast courtyard. But before their construction,

this area was not empty. Back in the day, this southern precinct was dominated by small shrines erected by earlier

kings. One of these is particularly interesting, because it's an early example of Egyptians moving,

a troublesome in the way monument. Decades before Horemeb, this part of Karnak was dominated by a court.

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