Storm Stele) was erected by pharaoh Ahmose I early in the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, c. 1550 BCE.
The stele describes a great storm striking Egypt during this time, destroying tombs, temples and pyramids in the Theban region and the work of restoration ordered by the king.
[1] Broken pieces of this stele were found in the 3rd pylon of the temple of Karnak at Thebes between 1947 and 1951 by French archaeologists.
); it caused darkness in the Western region; the sky was (9) unleashed, without ... ... more than the roar of the crowd; ... was powerful... on the mountains more than the turbulence of the (10) cataract which is at Elephantine.
), to provide them with silver, (16) with gold, with copper, with oil, with clothing, with all the products they desired; after which His Majesty rested in the palace – life, health, strength.
His Majesty then ordered the repair of the chapels which had fallen in ruins in all the country, restoration of the(19) monuments of the gods, the re-erection of their precincts, the replacement of the sacred objects in the room of appearances, the re-closing of the secret place, the re-introduction (20) into their naoi of the statues which were lying on the ground, the re-erection of the fire altars, the replacement of the offering tables back on their feet, to assure them the provision of offerings, (21) the augmentation of the revenues of the personnel, the restoration of the country to its former state.
[4] One interpretation is that the stele is propaganda put out by the pharaoh, to cover up the supposed depredations of officials of the embattled 17th Dynasty drawing upon the financial resources of the temples during the escalating conflict with the Hyksos.
They believe the unusual weather patterns described on the slab were the result of a massive volcano explosion at Thera.