Ramesses III - Chronological Dispute

Chronological Dispute

Some scientists have tried to establish a chronological point for this pharaoh's reign at 1159 BC, based on a 1999 dating of the "Hekla 3 eruption" of the Hekla volcano at Iceland. Since contemporary records show that the king experienced difficulties provisioning his workmen at Deir el-Medina with supplies in his 29th Year, this dating of Hekla 3 might connect his 28th or 29th regnal year to c. 1159 BC. A minor discrepancy of 1 year is possible since Egypt's granaries could have had reserves to cope with at least a single bad year of crop harvests following the onset of the disaster. This implies that the king's reign would have ended just 3 to 4 years later around 1156 or 1155 BC. A rival date of "2900 BP" or c.1000 BC has since been proposed by scientists based on a re-examination of the volcanic layer. However, no Egyptologist dates Ramesses III's reign to as late as 1000 BC.

• Ramesses III's mummy

• Finely painted reliefs from Ramesses III's Khonsu temple at Karnak

• Ramesses III's mortuary temple at Medinet Habu.

• A painted ceiling of Nekhbet at Ramesses III's mortuary temple at Medinet Habu.