Amenhotep I Limestone Chapel

Originally built by Amenhotep I - 1525 BCE to 1504 BCE (Show in timemap) Destroyed by: Amenhotep III - 1390 BCE to 1352 BCE ( (Show in timemap))

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

Other works destroyed by Amenhotep III: Thutmose IV Peristyle Hall, Obelisks of Festival Hall West Pair, White Chapel, Amenhotep II Shrine, Pylon and Fes- tival Court of Thutmose II

Other shrines: Amenhotep I Calcite Chapel, Amenhotep II Shrine, Contra Tem- ple, 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, Station of the King and Corridor

Introduction

The limestone chapel of Amenhotep I was a replica of the “white chapel” of Middle Kingdom king Senusret I. The chapel was almost identical in size and design to the earlier “white chapel.” Both may originally have stood to the west of the temple precinct.

Measurements: Each of the columns measure 2.56m in height and are approxi- mately 0.6m across and 0.6m deep. The platform on which the columns rest is 1.18m high and 6.80m by 6.45m.

Phase: Amenhotep I

The chapel may have served as a statue shrine or portable bark shrine for the image of Amun-Ra or the king. The chapel seems to have remained standing long enough to be incorporated into the “festival hall” of king Thutmose II.

Construction materials: limestone Renderings of the Limestone Chapel as completed during the reign of Amenhotep I. Amenhotep I Limestone Chapel Destruction: Amenhotep III

When Amenhotep III decided to construct the third pylon, he dismantled all the chapels within the “festival court” of Thutmose II. Amenhotep’s limestone chapel was used as building fill within the new pylon.

About the reconstruction model of this phase

Image resource: Rendering of Amenhotep I Limestone Chapel, by UCLA

Because the chapel of Amenhotep I was a copy of the Middle Kingdom Senusret I “white chapel,” the dimensions of the “white chapel” were used to create a model of the Amenhotep chapel.

A plain limestone pattern was used to recreate the chapel’s stone color.

Bibliography and Sources Used for Model Construction

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