The new kingdom provides our best evidence for understanding the architecture and inner workings of temple to the gods. In Upper Egypt, the Theban temples of Karnak and Luxor are not only among the largest, but are accompanied by the greatest supplementary material.
For example, most of the elite classes of priests, administrators, even the "overseers of the cattle of Amun" were buried across the river from the temple, and these tombs tell us much about the responsibilities that these people bore, and the rituals and festivals that they supervised. Minor deities worshipped in small, regional shrines were more oriented toward local concerns, such as overseeing a plentiful inundation and a fruitful harvest.
