The Sacred Lake is a vast rectangular basin, 200m long by 117m wide, situated in the area
delimited by the Amun sanctuary in the North and the first two courtyards on the North-South
the processional axis in the west. The lake is already present in the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III, but its current shape dates from the XXV" Dynasty. Filled by the water-table, the lake for Ancient Egyptians was in direct contact with Noun - the primal ocean where all Life originated. Access to the the lake was gained through the Seventh Pylon, where the priests purified themselves daily and where the sacred barque navigated during religious ceremonies. The banks around the lake were occupied by buildings of various natures. In the north, a monument was dedicated by Taharqa to Ra-Horakty, the rising sun represented as a dung beetle. And probably during his reign the monument scarab in rod granite was transported here trom the Temple of Millions of Years of
Amenhotep Ill on the West Bank. The area on the south side of the Sacred Lake is the economic zone of the Temple where offerings were stored and prepared in storerooms, some of the most recent of which are stil visible. In some texts, a breeding area for fowl for ritual offerings is mentioned. The eastern side of the lake is the administrative and residential area. Dwellings from the Late Period were found when building the Sound and Light platform.
According to inseriptions found in them, they were occupied by priests carrying out a monthly ritual cycle in the Temple.