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Ancient and Egyptian Architecture

Topics

■ Egyptian Civilization ■ Egyptian Architectural Characteristics ■ Mastabas ■ Saqqara ■ Pyramid at Medum ■ Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza ■ Additional Giza Structures ■ Characteristics ■ Beni Hasan ■ Mortuary Temples ■ Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples ■ New Kingdom Mortuary Temples ■ Egyptian Civil Architecture

Egyptian Civilization

■ Ancient Egyptian Periods: ■ Old Kingdom (c. 3200 – 2158 B.C.) ■ Middle Kingdom (c. 2134 – 1786 B.C.) ■ New Kingdom (c. 1570 – 1085 B.C.)

■ Landscape ■ Nile Valley cliffs provided a rich assortment of

building stone ■ Varieties include sandstone, granite, and alluvial clay for

bricks

Egyptian Architectural Characteristics

■ Egyptians commonly imitated nature in their architecture ■ In a historical sense, nature is a key element in

architecture, no matter the culture ■ Only recently has this process been neglected

Old Kingdom Architecture: Mastabas

■ Mastabas ■ First known Egyptian tombs ■ Bench-shaped masses rising above 30 ft. ■ Composed generally of sun-baked mud brick ■ Featured sloping walls and a flat roof ■ Burial chamber usually was surrounded by storage

rooms ■ Used to store goods for the deceased to take along their

journey in the afterlife


■ Mastabas ■ Serdabs

■ State chambers that featured an effigy of the deceased

■ False doors were included to allow for the soul of the deceased to escape the structure

■ Mastabas served as a model for the later Egyptian pyramids


http://www2.gp4success.org.uk/egypt/ARTICLES/mastabas.htm


http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/digital_egypt/3d/pictures/meydum5.jpg

Old Kingdom Architecture: Saqqara

■ Saqqara ■ Enormous funerary complex built by the Great King

Zoser in 2750 B.C. ■ Key features:

■ Residence for the king in the afterlife (tomb) ■ Replica of the royal palace ■ Stage for the enactment for the rituals of kingship


■ Saqqara ■ Designed by Imhotep

■ The first recorded architect in history ■ Would later be considered a god by the Egyptians

■ First conceived as a mastaba with huge stone blocks ■ Unlike earlier mastabas which used mud-bricks


■ Saqqara ■ The complex was repeatedly enlarged over time

■ Layers were added in an upward fashion ■ These additions by Imhotep eventually created the

first Egyptian pyramid ■ Step pyramid

■ Differs from the geometrically perfect pyramids (i.e. the Great Pyramids)

■ Successive layers of smaller structure added upwards


■ Saqqara ■ Stands 204 ft. , present day ■ Surrounded by a 33 ft. high wall ■ Entrance Hall

■ Columns are used to imitate the bundles of reeds found along the Nile

■ Real reeds were commonly used to construct residential structures during this time


Photo: Sullivan

Old Kingdom Architecture: Pyramid at Medum

■ Pyramid at Medum ■ c. 2704 – 2656 B.C. ■ Demonstrates Egyptian attempts at building a steeped, rather

than stepped pyramid ■ Geometrically perfect pyramid ■ Requires at least a 52° angle from the horizontal

■ Outer layers were insufficiently supported ■ Gave way to the immense pressure

Old Kingdom Architecture: Pyramid at Medum

Photo: Sullivan

Old Kingdom Architecture: Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza

■ Pyramid at Giza ■ The first successful steep pyramid ■ Created by the great pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in

Greek) ■ Also known as the Great Pyramid ■ Originally 482 ft. high on a plan of 760 ft. ■ Modern scientists remain puzzled on its construction


Photo: Sullivan


■ Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza ■ Many scientists theorize its

massive stone blocks were quarried and transported by large sleds and barges

■ Blocks were then lifted atop ramps to be placed at higher levels

Photo: Sullivan


■ Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza ■ Queen’s Chamber

■ The original burial place ■ Located underground, beneath the Great Pyramid

■ King’s Chamber ■ Replaced the original chamber ■ Constructed within the pyramid itself ■ Considered one of the finest examples of megalithic

architecture in existence


■ Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza ■ Grand Gallery

■ Grandiose passage leading from the entrance to the King’s Chamber

■ Originally intended to be used only once, for the king’s burial

Old Kingdom Architecture: Additional Giza Structures

■ Chefren ■ Followed the Great

Pyramid in construction ■ c. 2530 B.C. ■ Built for the pharaoh

Chefren ■ Smaller than the Great

Pyramid

Photo: Sullivan

Old Kingdom Architecture: Additional Giza Structures

■ Mycerinus ■ Built after Chefren’s

Pyramid ■ c. 2500 B.C. ■ The last of the large

Egyptian steep pyramids

Photo: Sullivan

Middle and New Kingdom: Characteristics

■ Egyptian tombs return to below the ground ■ Many tombs begin to appear in the cliffs of the Nile

Valley

■ Builders decide to sacrifice the monumentality of tombs for security from grave robbers ■ Shaft tombs

■ Long, underground corridors and chambers hollowed out of Nile Valley cliffs

■ Little architectural significance

Middle and New Kingdom: Beni Hasan

■ Beni Hasan ■ 125 miles upstream from Giza on the East bank of

the Nile River ■ Hollowed out of the Nile Valley cliffs ■ Features:

■ Colonnaded portico for public worship ■ Combined chapel and effigy chamber

Middle and New Kingdom: Beni Hasan

Photo: Sullivan

Middle and New Kingdom: Mortuary Temples

■ Mortuary Temples ■ Followed the decline of the pyramids and the

concealment of burial chambers ■ Developed into Egypt’s most important monumental

form ■ Funerary complexes set before the Old Kingdom

pyramids are some of the most striking mortuary temples


■ Mortuary Temples ■ Usually comprised of three interconnected parts:

■ A temple near the Nile where the king’s body was embalmed

■ A mortuary temple where rituals were performed ■ A long, narrow causeway between thick walls connecting

the two temples


■ Temple Complex of Khafre ■ One of the most impressive preserved temple complex’s

Photo: Sullivan

Middle and New Kingdom: Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples

■ The Sphinx ■ Represented the god Re-

Harakthe on guard over the king’s tomb

■ Contained an intricately constructed set of interiors

Photo: Sullivan


■ Mortuary Complex of Mentuhotep II ■ Located at the base of the cliff at Dier el Bahari ■ The first monumental structure against the Nile

Valley cliffs in Egyptian architecture ■ Huge complex developed some 500 years after the

decline of the pyramids


Photo: Sullivan


■ Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut ■ Dedicated to the sun god Amon-Ra ■ Located next to the Mortuary Complex of

Mentuhotep II ■ Built some 500 years later

■ Considered the “least Egyptian” of the Egyptian monuments ■ Closest Egyptians ever came to the architecture of

Classical Greece


Photo: Sullivan

Middle and New Kingdom: New Kingdom Mortuary Temples

■ Thebes ■ Originally built in two locations on the East bank of

the Nile River ■ Known today as Karnak and Luxor ■ Connected by great avenues of Sphinxes


Photo: Sullivan


■ Thebes ■ Temple of Khons

■ Erected around 1100 B.C. ■ Original temple that other

structures would be modeled after in the construction of Thebes

Photo: Sullivan


■ Thebes ■ Temple of Amun

■ Features two giant obelisks that were created for visual accent to the structure ■ Obelisks tested Egyptian

builders to the full ■ Great complexity,

detail, and sheer size ■ Created from two giant

stones

Middle and New Kingdom: Egyptian Civil Architecture

■ Evidence shows that life in Egypt was somewhat secular ■ Evidence of country houses and cities where trade

flourished


■ Town of Tell el Amarna ■ Early example of Egyptian urban planning ■ Lies between Luxor and Cairo ■ Features:

■ Large estates for the wealthy ■ Smaller houses for middle class ■ Shows signs of slum areas


Photo: Sullivan

References

■ Sullivan, Mary; http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/ ■ http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wdpt1.html ■ Trachtenburg/Hyman; Architecture: From Prehistory to

Postmodernity ■ Wodehouse/Moffett; A History of Western Architecture

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