Layout of temple complex

Th e above diagram gives the standard layout of ancient Egyptian temples. Unlike modern churches, Egyptian temples were not places where ordinary people could congregate. Quite the opposite in fact - only a few top officials would be allowed to join the priests in the hypostyle courtyard, and only for certain feasts. Progressing towards the sanctuary, only priests with increasingly high rank would be allowed to enter the various halls and only the high priest or the king could enter the sanctuary itself to place offerings in front of the divine statue. Note how the hypostyle courtyard is open to the sky and thus bright while hypostyle hall is darker since the main wall is half closed. The sanctuary, with its low ceiling and no windows, would have been almost totally dark. The pylon represents the mountains between which the sun rises every morning. Not shown in this diagram is the brick wall that would have surrounded the temple and the sacred lake that would have been part of the site. The sacred lake represents the universe before time began and its water would have been used for purification purposes.

Pyramid Complex Master Plan

The pyramid-complex of Unas consisted of two parts separated by a long, transverse corridor : the foretemple had an entrance hall and a pillared court and the secret, inner temple included a hall with five statue niches, an antechamber (a high square room with in the middle a single granite pillar) and a sanctuary. A network of storerooms enclosed these elements. There the offerings and sacred objects for the royal ritual were kept. A temenos wall surrounded the complex. Today it is in ruin, and the pyramid reduced to a small heap of debris. The temple design itself is also lost.