Remarques sur les modifications apportées aux inscriptions dans la salle N du temple de Ouadi es-Seboua

Abstract

The decoration of Wadi es-Sebua temple’s room N, built and decorated by Ramses II, consists of scenes and inscriptions. The inscriptions are ribbons of texts (bandeaux), situated under the scenes, containing a royal titulary and a dedicatory inscription, a column of text situated at the northern end of the western wall and one at the southern end, as well as the columns of text decorating the jambs of the four doors giving access to the secondary chapels. Now, the bandeaux appear to be secondary inscriptions, engraved after the completion of the decoration of the room, while the columns of text clearly show corrections. This paper addresses these modifications, studying them in detail. An attempt is made to date them and a hypothesis is put forth to explain the fact that the bandeaux were subsequently engraved. This hypothesis is founded on the identification of the statues the dedicatory inscriptions refer to.