Hey
I'm a bit confused between Malkata and Amenhotep III's mortary temple.
Firstly why is Amenhotep III's palace (malkata) on the west bank instead of the east? Isnt the west bank for the dead?
No idea why it was built there... It's kinda in the middle of nowhere actually. :-/
Perhaps there was an ancient settlement there... It's hard to tell.
Don't think that the west bank is only for the dead - it's the other way around. The dead are usually buried in the west.
And does any of Malkata remain?
It's a typical settlement; there's some foundations left. Some artefacts have been found, particularly the well-known ceramic type known as "Malkata ware", which is a blue/yellow geometic decoration usually around the neck of vessels.
There's not much else there. Check out wikipedia as there's a photo uploaded there.
Remember that settlements are usually made from mudbrick, so have gone long ago. Temples in contrast are made from stone and thus remain.
And the Colossai of Memmnon are part of Amenhotep III's mortuary temple right? Does any of that remain?
Yes that's correct. Less of the temple remains than Malkata actually.
Much of the mortuary temple was actually reused in the nearby temple of Merenptah; if you go to the museum attached to that temple, you can see both sides of blocks which have Amenhotep III's stuff one one side and Merenptah's on the other... The decoration itself is beautiful and vivid.
A lot of the temple was taken between antiquity and now, unfortunately. The outline of the temple and some of the interior can be / has been mapped, and the two well-known statues are still there, of course, and a few smaller statues of Sobek.
Like the rest of Egypt, there's still a fair bit of work happening in both places. Parts of Malkata are being excavated by the Japanese, I think. And another group (can't remember which - possibly the Egypt Exploration Fund (London)) is excavating around the mortuary temple.
It's a fascinating place. If you ever go there, make sure you climb up the Theban mountain (variously spelled the "Qurn", "Gurn", etc) on a clear day as you can see all of this. You can look out to Malkata, Medinet Habu, etc on one side, Deir el-Bahri and the Valley of the Kings on the other, and then Karnak and Luxor Temple in the distance.
