Royal Residences in the New Kingdom from 1550 BCE

The New Kingdom has considerable archaeological evidence of the pharaohs’ palace complexes. This, in addition to the depictions of domestic life in the tomb paintings, has provided insights into palace life. The palace construction and decoration had to signify the importance of kingship and reflect the pharaoh’s political and religious power. It would contain images of the gods and elaborate, decorative murals. There would be many rooms and houses for the pharaoh’s family palace officials, foreign envoys and the harem. The palaces tended to be constructed from lime-washed mud bricks, unlike the sandstone and granite temples. Amenhotep’s palace, ‘Palace of the Dazzling Orb and the House of Rejoicing’, covered 30 hectares and incorporated a festival hall, canal, courtyard lake, several palaces, and a throne on a raised dais, signalling his dominion over Egypt. Palaces covered the length of the New Kingdom extending from Nubia to the Nile delta.