Of all the enormous monuments throughout Egypt and Nubia that Ramesses II the Great ca. 12791212 BCE left behind his temple at Abydos built early in his reign stands as one of his most elegant monuments with its simple architectural layout and dramatic and graceful painted relief scenes. Though best known for its dramatic reliefs depicting the battle of Kadesh the temple also offers a wealth of information about religious and social life in ancient Egypt. It reflects for example the strenuous efforts of the early Ramessides to reestablish the Osiris cult in Egyptand particularly at Abydosin the aftermath of the Amarna period. Over a sevenyear period the authors of The Temple of Ramesses II in Abydos conducted a field project with the aim of producing an uptodate and comprehensive architectural photographic and epigraphic record of the temple. This lavish volume the first of two documenting their results is presented in two parts Part 1 Exterior Walls and Courts and Part 2 Chapels and First Pylon is the first of two volumes documenting their results. It presents more than two hundred detailed line drawingsaccurately rendered according to modern epigraphical standardsof the temples carved relief scenes placed alongside their corresponding fullcolor photographs. The result is a masterpiece of modern epigraphic research and publication. Volume 2 Pillars Miscellany and Inscriptions will contain additional elements of the temple as well as translations of the inscriptions found in the temple. Volume 1 consists of of two books with a total of over 400 illustrations and Preface. Volume 2 will include a further 270 illustrations.