A chapel inside a pylon

If you think recycling is a modern thing – think again. Through the many centuries of Ancient Egypt, the various pharaohs and their architects have been recycling stones and material from buildings around them. 

While the world was busy following Howard Carter and his great discovery of Tutankamons hidden tomb, the Director General of Egyptian Antiquities Service, Pierre Lacau, orders the Director of the archaeological works in Karnak, Henri Shevri, to restore Pylon III. After an earthquake the massive Pylon III at Karnak was partly destroyed and had lied scattered for many years.

Henri Shevri had to dismantle the pylon completely to do so, and in this process he found thousands of old building blocks belonging to 11 different old building structures.

Among the 11 different structures was a temple, now known as The White Chapel, built by King    Senusret I in the 12th dynasty (1971-1926 BC).

The great King Amenhotep III 

It was King Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty (1391-1353 BC)  who built Pylon III in its time, Amenhotep III was one of the many builders of the impressive temple constructions at Karnak in Luxor, and when he erected the massive Pylon III, he simply used nearby buildings and temples as filler in the huge construction as this pylon was. This was not unusually and even some of Amenhotep III’s many huge temples and constructions would also end as filler material for later pharaohs ambitious projects.

King Senusret I – crazy with ancient Egypt, literature and architecture

Senusret I was one of the greatest pharaohs in Egypt in the 12th Dynasty and during his long reign he invested in both architecture, art and literature which all prospered during his time.

He found linking himself with the past important and renovated prominent Old Kingdom sites and added new structures at cult sites and religious sanctuaries all over Egypt.

Many of these structures did not survive, but The White Chapel did, thanks to Amenhotep III.

The White Chapel 

The White Chapel was built as a throne from which Senusret I could sit and enjoy the jubilee festivals in honor of his 30 year long reign. And what a throne it was. Senusret I called it “The Horus Throne”. It was erected in white limestone and set on a high base with stepped ramps on both sides. It has 16 pillars and a roof with a curved cavetto corniche and decorative water sprouts.

Amazing reliefs

All the pillars are covered in amazing bas-reliefs with the most detailed carving of different scenes depicting the pharaoh with the important Gods. 

Normally you would see the artists paint details like feathers, jewelry and curves on fabric after the carving, but on this chapel the carving is incredibly minute and extremely detailed.  It is just fascinating.

 On the doorways the reliefs are sunken and as an interesting feature on the base you can see accounts from a survey of Egypt. Here the most important sites in Egypt like The Nile and different provinces are being named and its measurements document                     ted.

After Senusret I this beautiful building survived all the way up to the 18th Dynasty when Amenhotep III used it as filler in his Pylon III at Karnak Temple. But if it haven’t been for Amenhotep III we would probably never have been able to see the beautiful bas-releifs on this small chapel. 

Because of the mortar holding the many filler building blocks together inside Pylon III the reliefs has been protected from erosion and mechanical destruction.

So let’s give Amenhotep III a great Thank You mighty Pharaoh, for his re-cycling, which preserved this great construction from Senusret I.

You can visit The White Chapel when you visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor.