White Chapel
Encyclopedia
For other uses, see Whitechapel (disambiguation)
Currently reconstructed in the Karnak Open Air Museum
, the White Chapel of Senusret II, 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.
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.
The White Chapel is made of a hard white rock called alabaster
. 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 Sepat (Gr: Nome) [Provinces] ensigns and deities; on the western side the ones for Upper Egypt
, on the eastern the ones for Lower Egypt
.
Whitechapel (disambiguation)
Whitechapel is a district in London. Associated with it are:*Whitechapel District *Whitechapel tube station*Whitechapel *Whitechapel and St Georges...
Karnak Open Air Museum
Karnak Open Air Museum, located in the northwest corner of the Precinct of Amon-Re, in the Karnak complex, in the city of Luxor, Egypt, the Open Air Museum contains reconstructions of structures that have been dismantled and buried or hidden inside the massive pylons in the complex.Notable amongst...
, the White Chapel of Senusret II, also referred to as the Jubilee
Sed festival
The Sed festival was an ancient Egyptian ceremony that celebrated the continued rule of a pharaoh...
Chapel
Jubilee Pavilion (hieroglyph)
The Jubilee Festival for the Pharaoh, the Heb Sed is represented in hieroglyphs by a Jubilee Pavilion Hieroglyph. It is Gardiner Sign Listed as no. O23. However it often appears with other pavilion, or festival hieroglyphs: the Hall, no. O22, O22 and an alabaster Basin, no. W3...
of Senusret I, was built during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate...
. During the New Kingdom it was demolished and used as filler for the Third Pylon of the temple of Karnak, Precinct of Amun-Re.
In 1927 the dismantled pieces were found inside the Third Pylon of the main temple, constructed in the time of Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...
, 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.
The White Chapel is made of a hard white rock called alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
. 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
Amun
Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...
, Horus
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
, Min
Min
Min may refer to:*Min , an Egyptian fertility god*Min , a modern working copy of an Ancient Egyptian ship of Hatshepsut's time*Min , a South Korean celebrity most popularly known as a member of miss A*Min *Min River...
and Ptah
Ptah
In Ancient Egyptian Religion, Ptah was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead cosmogony, which was more literally referred to as Ta-tenen , meaning risen land, or as Tanen, meaning submerged land, though Tatenen was a god in his...
.
All along the base of the outer walls runs a series of reliefs depicting the Sepat (Gr: Nome) [Provinces] ensigns and deities; on the western side the ones for Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
, on the eastern the ones for Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
.