Medinet Habu (temple)
Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, from the air on the East side. The long wall facing the camera is the Northeast wall.
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 Shown within Egypt
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| Location | Medinet Habu |
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| Coordinates | 25°43′10.92″N 32°36′2.52″E / 25.7197000°N 32.6007000°E |
| Type | mortuary temple |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1859 and 1899 |
The Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu is an important New Kingdom period structure in the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt. Aside from its size and architectural and artistic importance, the temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III.
As for much of ancient Egypt, the first European to describe the temple in modern literature was Vivant Denon, who visited the temple in 1799-1801. Champollion described the temple in detail in 1829.
Initial excavation of the temple took place sporadically between 1859 and 1899, under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities. During these decades the main temple was cleared, and a large number of Coptic period buildings, including a substantial Coptic Church in the second court, were destroyed without notes or records being taken.
The further excavation, recording and conservation of the temple has been facilitated in chief part by the Architectural and Epigraphic Surveys of University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, almost continuously since 1924.
The temple, some 150 m long, is of orthodox design, and resembles closely the nearby mortuary temple of Ramesses II (the Ramesseum). The temple precinct measures approximately 210 m (690 ft). by 300 m (1,000 ft) and contains more than 7,000 m2 (75,347 sq ft) of decorated wall reliefs. Its walls are relatively well preserved and it is surrounded by a massive mudbrick enclosure, which may have been fortified. The original entrance is through a fortified gate-house, known as a migdol (a common architectural feature of Asiatic fortresses of the time).
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