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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
Old Kingdom Architecture: Mastabas
■ 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
Old Kingdom Architecture: Mastabas
http://www2.gp4success.org.uk/egypt/ARTICLES/mastabas.htm
Old Kingdom Architecture: Mastabas
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
Old Kingdom Architecture: Saqqara
■ 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
Old Kingdom Architecture: Saqqara
■ 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
Old Kingdom Architecture: Saqqara
■ 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
Old Kingdom Architecture: Saqqara
Photo: Sullivan
Old Kingdom Architecture: Saqqara
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
Old Kingdom Architecture: Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
Photo: Sullivan
Old Kingdom Architecture: Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
■ 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
Old Kingdom Architecture: Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
■ 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
Old Kingdom Architecture: Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
■ 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
Middle and New Kingdom: 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
Middle and New Kingdom: Mortuary 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
Middle and New Kingdom: Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
■ 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
Middle and New Kingdom: Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom: Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
■ 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
Middle and New Kingdom: Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
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
Middle and New Kingdom: New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom: New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
■ 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
Middle and New Kingdom: New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
■ 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
Middle and New Kingdom: Egyptian Civil Architecture
■ 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
Middle and New Kingdom: Egyptian Civil Architecture
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