From at least the reign of Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, the south corridor of Sahure's mortuary temple became home to a cult of Sekhmet. The cult's early history is unknown. Borchardt has suggested that it originated in the Middle Kingdom, but there is no evidence to support this conjecture. The earliest attested royal connection to the cult is Thutmose IV of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Further attestations include Ay and Horemheb, Amenhotep III through a faience object with his name, and Seti I and Ramesses II through restoration inscriptions bearing their names. The renewed attention had a negative consequence as the first wave of dismantlement of the Abusir monuments, particularly for the acquisition of valuable Tura limestone, arrived with it. Sahure's mortuary temple may have been spared at this time due to the presence of the cult. Its influence likely waned after the end of Ramesses II's reign, becoming a site of local worship only.