Toppled colossal seated figure of Ramses II and Osiride pillars in the second court of the Ramesseum, Necropolis of Thebes, Egypt

"The temple complex -for it originally consisted of two temples and a palace as well as many administrative buildings- was first called 'The Ramesseum' by Champollion. It was constructed for Ramesses by two architect-foremen, Penre of Coptos and Amenemone of Abydos, and built with a number of original features. Unfortunately, like so many of the mortuary complexes of western Thebes, the life of the temple was not to be long. The mighty statue of the seated Ramesses II, which now lies toppled and fragmented in the temple's second court, originally was set up on the south side of the entrance into the Ramesseum's second court. The second court was originally bounded by a portico on three sides, with Osiride statues of the king against the pillars of its eastern and western sides. Here too, colossi were set up, though only the black granite head of one remains." [Wilkinson R., 2000: The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames and Hudson]. "Ancient Thebes spanned the Nile River. The east bank is the site of modern Luxor and El Karnak, and was formerly the city of the living, with great temples and residences. On the west bank was the city of the dead, the "Necropolis of Thebes," containing the valleys of the royal tombs, royal mortuary temples, and the houses of priests and workers devoted to the dead." [The J.P.Getty Fund: Thesaurus of Geographic Names]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from January 8, 1947 to end of June 1947.