Accessibility of the Amun temple complex at Karnak in the New Kingdom: A reassessment

This article examines the accessibility of the Amun temple complex at Karnak during the New Kingdom. It focuses on the three areas closest to the temple exterior, which are usually considered more permeable than others: the courtyards at the west entrance, the sector near the east gateway, and the southern area, including the tenth pylon and the southern processional way. Sources commonly cited in support of an occasional wide accessibility of certain temple's areas – contra-temples, places of hearing, intermediary statues, grooves (cupules), and appeals to the living – are here re-examined. The article nuances the idea that the temple was accessible to the wide populace during religious festivals and was completely sealed off during the rest of the year, and proposes that it was indirectly permeable to the surrounding Theban community throughout the year.