The White Chapel of Senwosret I
The White Chapel of Pharaoh Senwosret I, also known as the Jubilee Chapel of Senwosret I, was built during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom. During the New Kingdom, it was dismantled and used as filling for the Third Pylon of Karnak’s temple in the Amun-Re Precinct.
The dismantled fragments were discovered inside the Third Pylon of Karnak’s main temple, which was built during Amenhotep III’s reign, in 1927, and were carefully removed between then and 1930. These components were subsequently combined to form the structure that may be seen today at the Karnak Open Air Museum.
The white chapel is composed of limestone. Its columns have high-quality reliefs that are rarely found elsewhere at Karnak, depicting Pharaoh Senwosret being crowned and embraced by Amun, Horus, Min, and Ptah.
Along the base of the exterior walls, a series of reliefs represent the emblems and deities of Egypt’s nomes, or regions. Upper Egypt’s nomes are on the western side, whereas Lower Egypt’s nomes are on the east.
Senwosret I
During his long reign, Senwosret I sent several quarrying expeditions to Sinai and Wadi Hammamat, as well as building countless shrines and temples throughout Egypt and Nubia. He constructed the famous temple of Re-Atum in Heliopolis, which was the focus of sun worship. He erected two red granite obelisks to commemorate his Year 30 Heb Sed Jubilee. One of the obelisks survives, and it is Egypt’s oldest standing obelisk. It is today located in the Al-Masalla (Obelisk) neighbourhood of the Al-Matariyyah district, near the Ain Shams district (Heliopolis). It stands 67 feet tall and weighs 120 tonnes, or 240,000 pounds.
Senwosret I is known to have built a number of notable temples in Ancient Egypt, including the Temple of Min at Koptos, the Temple of Satet on Elephantine, the Montu-temple at Armant, and the Montu-temple at El-Tod, where the king’s extensive inscription is preserved.
To mark Senwosret I’s Year 30 Jubilee, a shrine (known as the White Chapel or Jubilee Chapel) was built at Karnak, complete with exquisite, high-quality reliefs. It has now been effectively recreated using various stone blocks unearthed by Henri Chevrier in 1926. Finally, Senusret renovated the Temple of Khenti-Amentiu Osiris in Abydos, among other large construction projects.
Some of Senwosret I’s court members are well-known. Intefiqer, the vizier at the start of his reign, is mentioned in numerous inscriptions and has a tomb near to Amenemhat I’s pyramid. He appears to have maintained this position for an extended length of time, and was succeeded by a vizier named Senusret. Two treasurers are recorded from the king’s reign: Sobekhotep (year 22) and Mentuhotep. The latter had a massive tomb near to the king’s pyramid, and he appears to have designed the Amun temple in Karnak.
Several high stewards have been attested. Hor is known from many stelae and an inscription near the Wadi el-Hudi, where he appears to have led an expedition in search of amethysts. One of the stelae is dated to the ninth year of the king. A certain Nakhr succeeded in office, as documented about the king’s year 12. He had a tomb at Lisht. A particular Antef, son of a woman named Zatamun, is mentioned again on numerous stelae, one from year 24 and another from year 25 of Senusret I. Another Antef was the son of a woman named Zatuser and was most likely a top steward during the king’s reign.
