Passageway of the Second Pylon

A cartouche of Ramesses I usurped by Ramesses II. Although the relief was recut by Ptolemy VI, the later king was careful to leave the original cartouche intact. In the drawing on the left, the blue lines are traces of Ramesses I's throne name.

Ultimately, credit for this discovery should go to Ptolemy VI himself. If he had not carefully preserved the original appearance of these usurped cartouches— when all the reliefs around them were being completely transformed— we would never have known that Ramesses I was responsible for these inscriptions. Ptolemy may even be considered the first Egyptian epigraphist, since he could apparently "read between the lines" and recognize the original author of usurped cartouches and not just Ramesses I's.

Ptolemy VI inserted the names of two other kings into these inscriptions— Ramesses III and Taharqa. In doing so, he was apparently paying homage to three kings who had built monuments in the vicinity of the Second Pylon. Ramesses II was officially given credit for the Second Pylon, while Ramesses III had built a small temple just in front of the south wing of the Second Pylon.