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Secondary sourcePhotograph

Punt Expedition Relief

Ismoon

A carved relief from Hatshepsut's mortuary temple depicting the landscape of Punt, commemorating a royal trading expedition.

This relief, from Hatshepsut's own temple, records a trading expedition she sponsored during her reign.

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Sandstone relief wall at Hatshepsut's mortuary temple showing a Punt landscape: stilted houses, palm trees, incense trees, a bird, and zigzag decorative bands along the bottom.
Punt expedition relief, mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahari. Photograph by Ismoon, 2020.

About this source

What it is

This is a sandstone relief from the walls of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari, dating to her reign in the fifteenth century BCE. It shows a landscape of Punt, with stilted houses, palm and incense trees, a bird, a cow, a fish, and a turtle in water.

Why it matters

The relief commemorates a trading expedition to the land of Punt that Hatshepsut sponsored, one of the achievements she chose to record on her temple walls. Scenes like this were a way for rulers to advertise their successes and connect themselves to distant, exotic lands.

Look closer

  • What details of plants and animals did the carvers choose to include, and why might those details matter?
  • Why would a pharaoh want a trading expedition carved permanently into a temple wall?
  • What is left out of this scene that you might want to know about the expedition?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hatshepsut on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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View of the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, a tiered stone building with long colonnades and ramps set against towering tan limestone cliffs under a clear blue sky. Small figures and a low shelter are visible in the foreground.Artifact

Primary source

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

Senenmut and/or Hapuseneb (attributed) · c. 1479–1458 BCE

Photograph of a carved sandstone relief panel at Karnak. Columns of hieroglyphs divide the panel. On the left, a figure in a tall crown strides with one arm raised. On the right, a standing figure in a kilt faces left. Blue sky and a palm tree appear at the edge.Photograph

Secondary source

Hatshepsut Dancing Before Min, Karnak Relief

Carole Reeves · 1989

Painted relief on a temple wall showing men carrying a tree in a basket with a pole, between stylized incense trees and a palm, in orange, red and cream colors, with hieroglyphs above and a wave-pattern band below.Sculpture

Primary source

Punt Expedition Reliefs

Royal workshops of Hatshepsut · c. 1470 BCE

Photograph of a dark grey stone sculpture of a head, mounted on a red rectangular pedestal against a white background. The head has a tall, smooth-topped headdress, carved eyes, nose and mouth, and a worn surface. Catalogue label MM 11423 appears at lower right.Sculpture

Primary source

Sculpture Head Probably of Hatshepsut

Photograph of a seated limestone statue of a figure wearing a royal headcloth with a pleated nemes and a false beard-less face, hands resting on the lap, seated on a block with hieroglyphic inscriptions on its side.Sculpture

Primary source

Seated Statue of Hatshepsut

c. 1466 BCE

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