C.3 Keywords

Ancient Egypt

Akenaton

The pharaoh who established the practice of monotheism in Egypt.

Amulet

An object to ward off evil or to aid the wearer’s luck.

Ashlar Masonry

Carefully cut and regularly shaped blocks of stone, fitted together without mortar.

Atlantid

A male statue column.

Bilateral Symmetry

The same design on each side of a vertical axis.

Block Statues

Cubic stone image of the deceased.

Canopic Jars

Containers in which the organs of deceased persons were placed.

Capitals

Cushions at the top of columns.

Causeway

A raised pathway leading to a valley.

Clerestory

The part of a building with windows that rises above the roof of the rest of the building.

Colonnade

A row of columns usually spanned by a lintel.

Egyptology

The study of ancient Egyptian culture and religion.

Engaged Column

A column attached to a wall.

Fluting

Vertical grooving on a column.

Fresco

Painting on plaster, either wet or dry.

Hatshepsut

The woman who proclaimed herself pharaoh.

Hieroglyphics

Egyptian picture writing.

Hypostyle Hall

A hall with a roof supported by columns.

Imhotep

The first artist in recorded history and architect of King Djoser’s pyramid.

Ka

An immortal life force that lives on in the corpse after death.

Mastaba

An ancient Egyptian rectangular structure with sloping sides over a subterranean tomb chamber.

Mortuary Temple

A temple for the preparation of the body and the worship of the dead.

Mummification

The process used to preserve human bodies for the immortal ka.

Necropolis

A city of the dead.

New Kingdom

The time when Egypt was at its height.

Old Kingdom

The time when Egyptian artists codified representation and construction methods.

Palette

A stone slab with a circular depression.

Papyrus

A plant native to Egypt used to make a paper-like writing material.

Personification

An abstract idea represented in bodily form.

Pharaoh

The ancient Egyptian god king.

Pier

A vertical free-standing masonry support.

Pilaster

A flat rectangular vertical member projecting from a wall.

Portico

A roofed colonnade or entrance porch.

Pylon

A massive gateway with sloping walls.

Re

The sun-god of Egypt.

Sarcophagi

Coffins.

Sphinx

A mythical Egyptian beast with the body of a lion and the head of a human.

Sunken Relief

Incised into the surface of the stone.