Called a khat by Egyptians, this was a table of offerings in temples and tomb chapels, in use from the earliest eras on the Nile. An altar fashioned out of travertine alabaster was included in the sun temple of NIUSERRE of KARNAK at THEBES with a pink granite altar. The New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.) altars had evolved into vast stone tables with ramps and steps that added to their dominance. The limestone altar of the god Re-Horakhte at DEIR EL-BAHRI, on the western shore of Thebes, had ten steps leading to its dais. The ATEN altars at ’AMARNA were designed with ramps and courtyards. In the Late Period (712–332 B.C.E.), altars with horned designs were used, made of stone or brick blocks with raised corners.
