Light into Darkness. Light-well Chambers and Solar Courts in First Millennium BC Egypt

The ever growing darkness each visitor encounters when proceeding from the temple/tomb entrance to the central sanctuary/burial chamber is in a number of temples and tombs of the first millennium BC chased away by the appearance of a few rays of sunlight in a small court or light-well chamber. The ensemble combines the openness and lightness of the court with the seclusion and darkness of the space lying beyond, suggesting that the visual aspect (light/dark and hidden/open) must have been an important aspect of the ensemble’s layout and the rituals performed within.

The occurrence of light-well chambers in both the temple and the funerary architecture from the first millennium BC is illustrative of a general development that took place throughout the first millennium BC and fused aspects of the solar cult with funerary aspects and ideas. The lecture aims to shed some light unto the occurrence and function of these light-well chambers in temples of the Ptolemaic and Roman era and retrace its development throughout the first millennium BC.

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