The Mahat chapel of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II is an ancient Egyptian funerary chapel (Egyptian: ''mahat'') built by king Mentuhotep II (reigned c. 2046 BC – 1995 BC) at

Abydos Abydos may refer to: *Abydos, a progressive metal side project of German singer Andy Kuntz * Abydos (Hellespont), an ancient city in Mysia, Asia Minor * Abydos (''Stargate''), name of a fictional planet in the '' Stargate'' science fiction universe ...

. The remains of the well preserved chapel were found in 2014. The chapel was discovered on 23 April 2014, after noting a ground

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...

in front of a house in Abydos, because of illegal excavations. The Tourism and Antiquities Police was able to find the illegal diggers and the Ministry of Antiquities was sending several archeologists for investigating the remains. The remains of the chapel are very close to the enclosure of the temple of Temple of Seti I. About 20 meter north of the funerary chapel there are the remains of a similar one, belonging to the

New Kingdom New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

king Ramesses I. The excavations have so far unearthed a chamber 2.6 m wide and about 4.2 m below modern floor level. The walls are built of fine limestone and decorated with reliefs. They show different deities and king Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II. A longer inscription states that the chapel was erected for Osiris,

Khentiamentiu Khenti-Amentiu, also Khentiamentiu, Khenti-Amenti, Kenti-Amentiu and many other spellings, is an ancient Egyptian deity whose name was also used as a title for Osiris and Anubis. The name means " Foremost of the Westerners" or "Chief of the Weste ...

, Wepwawet and ''all gods who are in Abydos''. The inscription calls the chapel ''mahat'' and reports that a canal was dug for the chapel. At Abydos there are several royal chapels. This one is so far the oldest.Ayman Damarany, Yasir Abd el-Raziq, Ashraf Okasha, Josef Wegner, Kevin Cahail, Jennifer Wegner: ''A new temple: the mahat of Nebhepetre at Abydos'', in: ''Egyptian Archaeology'' 46 (Spring 2015), 3-4

References

{{Landmarks of Abydos Abydos, Egypt sites Ancient Egyptian buildings and structures Buildings and structures completed in the 20th century BC 20th century BC in Egypt Buildings and structures of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt 2014 archaeological discoveries Mentuhotep II