Karnak > Temple complex overview > Amenhotep I Calcite Chapel

Amenhotep I Calcite Chapel

Originally built by Amenhotep I - 1525 BCE to 1504 BCE (Show in timemap)
Modified by Hatshepsut - 1479 BCE to 1458 BCE (Show in timemap)
Destroyed by: Thutmose III - 1479 BCE to 1425 BCE ( (Show in timemap))

Other works initiated by Amenhotep I:
Middle Kingdom Court, Amenhotep I Limestone Chapel

Other works initiated by Hatshepsut:
Obelisks of Festival Hall West Pair, Palace of Ma'at, 8th Pylon, Obelisks at Contra Temple, Obelisks of Wadjet Hall, Wadjet Hall, Red Chapel, Pylon and Festival Court of Thutmose II

Other works destroyed by Thutmose III:
Red Chapel

Other shrines:
Amenhotep II Shrine, Contra Temple, Osiris Catacombs, Osiris Coptite, Osiris Heqa-Djet, Palace of Ma'at, Central Bark Shrine, Ramesses II Eastern Temple, Ramesses III Temple, Red Chapel, Sety II Shrine, Taharqo Kiosk, Thutmose III Shrine, White Chapel, Edifice of Amenhotep II, Chapel of Hakoris, Amenhotep I Limestone Chapel, Station of the King and Corridor

Introduction

The chapel of Amenhotep I was a roofed rectangular structure made of large blocks of calcite with access doors on its short sides. The interior relief scenes are the oldest surviving depictions of the sacred bark of the statue of the god Amun-Ra of Karnak. Each of the chapel's exterior sides were decorated with a single scene related to temple festivals. The chapel has been reconstructed in modern times in the "open air museum" at Karnak.

Measurements: The chapel is 3.6m across, 6.75m deep, and 4.5m high.

Phase: Amenhotep I

Amenhotep I built the chapel as a ritual space to house the bark of Amun-Ra. Wooden doors on the shrine's short ends could be closed to protect the sanctity of the god. Left incomplete by Amenhotep I, the decoration on the chapel's south wall was finished by Thutmose I. Scholars believe the chapel originally stood in the so-called "Middle Kingdom Court," serving as the main bark shrine for the portable bark of Amun-Ra.

Construction materials: white calcite ("Egyptian alabaster"), wood

About the reconstruction model of this phase

The digital model of the chapel was created based on the reconstruction drawings of Carlotti (1995: pl. XI). Its location was based on the reconstructions of the early Amenhotep I form of Karnak by Graindorge (2002: fig. 4).

Photographs of the chapel in the "open air museum" in Karnak were used to recreate the appearance of the interior and exterior walls of the structure. A plain calcite stone pattern was used to decorate the roof.

Phase: Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut may have moved the bark from the central area of the temple to a position along the southern festival processional, just south east of her new pylon (pylon seven). In its place she erected her own bark shrine, the "red chapel."

Destruction: Thutmose III

Thutmose III may have dismantled or moved the shrine, building an identical calcite chapel near the seventh pylon. The king gave his new shrine the same name as the shrine of Amenhotep I. Where the Amenhotep I chapel was placed at this time is unknown.

In the reign of Amenhotep III, the calcite chapel was used as fill in the king's construction of the third pylon.

Bibliography and Sources Used for Model Construction

Carlotti, Jean-François (1995), “Contribution à l' étude métrologique de quelques monuments du temple d'Amon-Rê à Karnak.” Cahiers de Karnak, vol. X, 65-127.

Graindorge, Catherine (2002), “Der Tempel des Amun-Re von Karnak zu Beginn der 18.Dynastie,” in Ägyptologische Tempeltagung : Würzburg, 23.-26. September 1999, vol. 5. : , 83-90.

Graindorge, Catherine and Philippe Martinez (1989), “Karnak avant Karnak.” Bulletin de la Société française d'égyptologie, vol. 115, 36-55.

Selected photos of existing state