Ancient and Egyptian Architecture

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Ancient and Egyptian Architecture

• Architectural History
• ACT 322
• Doris Kemp

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Topics

• Egyptian Civilization
• Egyptian Architectural Characteristics
• Mastabas
• Saqqara
• Pyramid at Medum
• Khufus Pyramid at Giza
• Additional Giza Structures
• Characteristics
• Beni Hasan
• Mortuary Temples
• Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
• New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
• Egyptian Civil Architecture

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Egyptian Civilization

• Egypt and Mesopotamia are the earliest known
  recorded civilizations
• Nile River was the driving force for ancient
  Egypt
• Egyptians were obsessed with the afterlife and
  the dead
• These beliefs had a great impact on the culture
  and its architecture

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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

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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

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureMastabas

• 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

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureMastabas

• 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

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureMastabas
http//www2.gp4success.org.uk/egypt/ARTICLES/masta
bas.htm
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Old Kingdom ArchitectureMastabas
http//www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/digital_egypt/3d/pictu
res/meydum5.jpg
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Old Kingdom ArchitectureSaqqara

• 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

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureSaqqara

• 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

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureSaqqara

• 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

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureSaqqara

• 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

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureSaqqara
Photo Sullivan
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Old Kingdom ArchitectureSaqqara
Photo Sullivan
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Old Kingdom ArchitecturePyramid 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

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Old Kingdom ArchitecturePyramid at Medum
Photo Sullivan
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Old Kingdom ArchitectureKhufus 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

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureKhufus Pyramid at Giza
Photo Sullivan
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Old Kingdom ArchitectureKhufus Pyramid at Giza

• Khufus 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
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Old Kingdom ArchitectureKhufus Pyramid at Giza

• Khufus Pyramid at Giza
• Queens Chamber
• The original burial place
• Located underground, beneath the Great Pyramid
• Kings Chamber
• Replaced the original chamber
• Constructed within the pyramid itself
• Considered one of the finest examples of
  megalithic architecture in existence

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureKhufus Pyramid at Giza

• Khufus Pyramid at Giza
• Grand Gallery
• Grandiose passage leading from the entrance to
  the Kings Chamber
• Originally intended to be used only once, for the
  kings burial

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Old Kingdom ArchitectureAdditional 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
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Old Kingdom ArchitectureAdditional Giza
Structures

• Mycerinus
• Built after Chefrens Pyramid
• c. 2500 B.C.
• The last of the large Egyptian steep pyramids

Photo Sullivan
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Middle and New KingdomCharacteristics

• 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

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Middle and New KingdomBeni 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

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Middle and New KingdomBeni Hasan
Photo Sullivan
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Middle and New KingdomMortuary Temples

• Mortuary Temples
• Followed the decline of the pyramids and the
  concealment of burial chambers
• Developed into Egypts most important monumental
  form
• Funerary complexes set before the Old Kingdom
  pyramids are some of the most striking mortuary
  temples

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Middle and New KingdomMortuary Temples

• Mortuary Temples
• Usually comprised of three interconnected parts
• A temple near the Nile where the kings body was
  embalmed
• A mortuary temple where rituals were performed
• A long, narrow causeway between thick walls
  connecting the two temples

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Middle and New KingdomMortuary Temples

• Temple Complex of Khafre
• One of the most impressive preserved temple
  complexs

Photo Sullivan
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Middle and New KingdomMiddle Kingdom Mortuary
Temples

• The Sphinx
• Represented the god Re-Harakthe on guard over the
  kings tomb
• Contained an intricately constructed set of
  interiors

Photo Sullivan
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Middle and New KingdomMiddle 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

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Middle and New KingdomMiddle Kingdom Mortuary
Temples
Photo Sullivan
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Middle and New KingdomMiddle 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

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Middle and New KingdomMiddle Kingdom Mortuary
Temples
Photo Sullivan
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Middle and New KingdomNew 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

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Middle and New KingdomNew Kingdom Mortuary
Temples
Photo Sullivan
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Middle and New KingdomNew 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
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Middle and New KingdomNew 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

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Middle and New KingdomEgyptian Civil
Architecture

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

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Middle and New KingdomEgyptian 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

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Middle and New KingdomEgyptian Civil
Architecture
Photo Sullivan
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References

• Sullivan, Mary http//www.bluffton.edu/sullivanm
  /
• http//www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wdpt1.htm
  l
• Trachtenburg/Hyman Architecture From Prehistory
  to Postmodernity
• Wodehouse/Moffett A History of Western
  Architecture

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Ancient and Egyptian Architecture

• Architectural History
• ACT 322
• Doris Kemp