White Chapel

White Chapel of Senosret I
White Chapel of Senosret I
	Northern facade of the White Chapel
Built	1971 BCE to 1926 BCE (Senusret)
Demolished	1390 BCE to 1352 BCE (Amenhotep III)
	Open Air Museum, Karnak Temple

The White Chapel of pharaoh Senusret I, also referred to as the Jubilee Chapel of Senusret I, was built during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. During the New Kingdom it was demolished and used as filler for the Third Pylon of the temple of Karnak, Precinct of Amun-Re.^[2]

In 1927, the dismantled pieces were found inside the Third Pylon of the main temple, constructed in the time of Amenhotep III, at Karnak, and between 1927 and 1930 all of the pieces were carefully removed. These pieces were then assembled into the building that is seen today in the Karnak Open Air Museum.^[3]

The White Chapel is made of limestone. Its columns hold reliefs of a very high quality, which are hardly seen elsewhere at Karnak, and depicts Pharaoh Senusret being crowned and embraced by Amun, Horus, Min and Ptah.

All along the base of the outer walls runs a series of reliefs depicting the emblems and deities of the nomes, or provinces, of Egypt. On the western side are the nomes of Upper Egypt, and on the eastern side are the nomes of Lower Egypt.

Images on the White Chapel

White chapel reliefs
White chapel reliefs
Nomes shown on the White chapel

References

^ ^a ^b "White Chapel of Senusret I". Madain Project. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
^ Blyth, Elizabeth (2006). Karnak: Evolution of a Temple. London: Routledge. p. 15.
^ Lacau & Chevrier 1969

Lacau, P &, Chevrier, H. (1969). Une Chapelle de Sesostris 1er. Service des Antiquities, Cairo.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Arnaudiès, Alain; Beaux, Nathalie; Chéné, Antoine (2015). Une chapelle de Sésostris Ier à Karnak. Paris: Soleb. ISBN 9782918157236.