Chapelle Rouge
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The Chapelle Rouge or Red Chapel of Hatshepsut was originally constructed as a barque shrine during the reign of the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, during the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.
It was probably originally positioned in the central court of the temple of Amun at Karnak, near Thebes. Behind it Hatshepsut erected several smaller chapels and the Chambers of Hatshepsut.
It consists of two open courts, and is approximately 18 metres long, 6 m wide and 5.5 m high. Its upper part is made of red quartzite (hence the name); the bottom part is of black diorite.
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[edit] Decoration
"The Red Chapel of Hatshepsut was a barque shrine, as we believe was the White Chapel of Senusret I, built with a base and doorways of black granite (or more properly, gray diorite) with walls of red quartzite, from the quarry known as Djebel Akhmar, or "red mountain". Of course, the latter stone explains why the shrine is known as the Red Chapel. Actually, the natural color of the red quartzite varies, so the ancient craftsman painted all the block a uniform red color" [1].
[edit] Destruction
The shrine was probably continued by Thutmosis III, but then dismantled by him at a later date. Some of the blocks were immediately reused in the shrine of Amun that was erected in the heart of Karnak temple. The remaining blocks ended up being used in other monuments throughout Karnak, for example in foundation of the temple of Ptah, in the 9th Pylon. Most of the blocks were used by Amenhotep III as rubble filling for the 3rd Pylon this meant that although hidden, they were perfectly preserved.
[edit] Reconstruction
In 1997 the chapel was partially reconstucted in the Open Air Museum at Karnak.
