Malkata (or Malqata; ), is the site of an Ancient Egyptian palace complex built during the New Kingdom, by the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III. It is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Upper Egypt, in the desert to the south of Medinet Habu. The site also included a temple dedicated to Amenhotep III's Great Royal Wife, Tiy, which honors Sobek, the crocodile deity.
thumb|350px|The ruins of the west villas of the Ancient Egyptian palace, Malkata; north is at the top.
Royal Village
thumb|Polychrome glass vase from Malkata. [[Walters Art Museum. The city had an extensive glass industry, the first in Egypt]]
There are various structures in the desert, consisting of several residential palaces, a temple of Amun, a festival hall, elite villas, houses for the relatives of the royal family, apartments for attendants, and a desert altar termed the Kom al-Samak, all of which were constructed of mud bricks. Built mostly out of mud-brick, it was Amenhotep's residence throughout most of the later part of his reign. Construction began around year 11 of his reign and continued until the king moved there permanently around his year 29. Once completed, it was the largest royal residence in Egypt.
To the east of the palace a large ceremonial lake was dug. The palace area was connected to the Nile through a system of canals, which end in a large harbour or quay, now called Birket Habu (Hapu's Lake). While excavating the Birket Habu Egyptologists David O'Connor and Barry Kemp discovered fragments of painted wall plaster from a palace they termed Site K. This palace had apparently been demolished when the lake was built in the last decade of Amenhotep III's reign. These fragments of painted decoration are significant as their artistic style closely resembled that of the Minoan civilization, similar to those found at the earlier Thutmosid palace of Tell el-Dab’a in the Delta. Birket Habu was used as an important feature of Amenhotep III's heb-sed festival in year 30 of his reign; it was also used as a super highway as it was connected to the Nile. The man made harbor acted as a location for goods and transportation being brought to Malkata.