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The Great Columns |
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Three names in one cartouche. Ramesses IV first changed the "spelling" of his own name before Ramesses VI claimed the cartouches for his own. Note the plaster on either side of the large sun disk in the feathers of the god Amen (right) and Maat (left) . The rest of the plaster used to hide these changes has fallen out. |
Several reigns later, Ramesses IV (ca. 1153-1147 BCE) added his own cartouches over triangular leaf patterns at the base of the shafts. These are difficult to read because this king changed the spelling of his name and recut these inscriptions. Later still, Ramesses VI (ca 1143-1136 BCE) took credit for these by placing his own name inside the cartouches. Plaster was used to cover the earlier versions each time. Most of this is gone, leaving a confusing jumble of hieroglyphs. In some places the plaster remains, testament to a Pharaonic "cover-up." |
