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The Great Columns |
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The main east-west axis of the Hypostyle Hall is dominated by a double row of 12 giant columns, each rising to a height of 21 meters (70 ft). All the columns in the hall represent papyrus stalks, and the 12 great ones have open capitals imitating the feathery blossoms of flowering papyrus. The diameters of these giant bell-shaped capitals are 5.4 meters (18 ft), wide enough to support 100 men. Papyrus stalks are not cylindrical but have three sides with ridges along each edge. The columns are round, but a slight ridge runs up each column like a vertical seam in imitation of the plant. |
The double row of open-flower
papyrus columns in the central nave of the Great Hypostyle Hall. Each one is
21 meters high.