Abstract
The Sphinxes Avenue extends from Karnak to Luxor temples for about 2,700 m. There is evidence that Queen Hatshepsut from the Eighteenth Dynasty had been the first to build this processional road, with sphinxes in her own likeness. However it was Amenhotep III, who first instituted the sphinx lined avenue between the 10th pylon of Karnak Temple and the precinct of Mut Temple and to the South of Khonsu temple at Karnak. Then the project was stopped during the reign of Akhnaten, but was continued by King Tutankhamun although the sphinxes have usurped, reworked and repositioned many times by later kings. The present sphinxes avenue dates back to the reign of Nectanebo I who inscribed various dedicatory texts on the bases of the sphinxes. The Sacred Road was first discovered in 1949 by Z. Ghonaim in front of Luxor temple. Subsequent excavations by M. Abdelqadr and M. Abdelraziq (between 1958 and 1964) substantially increased the initial exposure, revealing the Avenue from Luxor temple to the rear of Luxor Polis station which was existed in front of Luxor temple in 1936. By the end of these excavations, a total of sixty-two sphinxes had been revealed. Between 1984 and 1991 M. Al-Saghir excavated three more portions of the Avenue. The recent excavations started in 2005 in the different sectors according to the Luxor Governorate Strategy. The team working on this project had been under my direction from 2005 through 2013. The master plan of Luxor aims to excavate, to restore, and to install a site-management program designed to integrate the Avenue of Sphinxes into Luxor City. The recent excavations brought to light precious information that enriches our knowledge of Ancient Theban history.
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Boraik, M. (2018). The Sphinxes Avenue Excavations to the East Bank of Luxor. In: Folli, M. (eds) Sustainable Conservation and Urban Regeneration. Research for Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65274-0_2
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