Ancient Egyptian Architecture

The land of the Pharaohs

the ancient name was
Kemi, or the black land

the Nile River

A narrow strip of fertile,
alluvial soil

STONE

chief material employed, not only
for construction but also for decoration.

Soft stones

limestone, sandstone, and alabaster.

Hard stones

granite, basalt, quartile and porphyry

Egyptian architecture’s gigantic scale

was made possible not only by the materials, but
also by the methods employed in the
quarrying of enormous blocks of stone, and
in transporting and raising them into
position

2 seasons

Spring & Summer.

The climate is warm, storm and even rain are rare

Climactic

Sufficient light reached the interior through doors and roof
slits

resulting to unbroken massive
walls protecting the interior from the fierce heat of the sun

no need for windows

Polytheistic

in practice through the cult
of many gods representing natural
phenomena and the heavenly bodies

Ancient Egyptians

the cult of the dead. His complex religion
revolved from the elaborate rituals of life to
the afterlife.

Pyramids

were built for the preservation of the bodies

Religion

is the dominant element in their structures.

Mummification

Permanent habitation for the sould and through mutilation. Made the dead harmless. secured with walls granite

Theban Triad

Ammon

Mut

Khons

Ammon

sun god

mut

wife of ammon

khons

moon god

memphis triad

plah

sekhmet

nepertem

plah

Creator

sekhmet

goddess of war

nepertem

son

Osiris

god of the dead

horus

sky god

hathor

goddess of love

set

god of evil

serapis

bull god

Dynasty

when a king or other ruler
passes their position down in their
family and that family is in power for
a long time

Pharaoh

the Egyptian
equivalent of king. The word
means “great house”

1st type of Egyptian tomb

“Mastaba” or tomb houses

4th Dynasty

building of many pyramids
Seneferu at Medum and Dahshur,
Cheops who built the Great
Pyramid, while Chephren erected
the second, and Mykerinos the
third, all at Gizeh

The Great Pyramid at Giza
built for

khufu

Sphinx built for

khufu’s son Khafre

Middle kingdom

the practice of pyramid construction disappeared
 Focus in architectural development was however still on tombs and burial chambers
 Two categories of structures came into use- mortuary temples &underground tombs
 Pharaohs began to care for their public
 Canals, and dams, and draining swampland
 Period of great political and social stability
 Creation of an empire
 Why are periods of stability usually times of cultural achievement?

“Temple of De’r-el-Bahari”

Construction of mountain-side terraced funerary by Queen Hatshepsut

the most powerful empire in ancient world and shifts religions to

Egypt and poly-mono-poly

Architectural character

Simplicity, Solidity, Grandeur

Materials

SUN-BAKED BRICKS made from puddled clay and reeds
STONE AND GRANITE seen in the later monumental style

System of construction

COLUMNAR AND TRABEATED

Ornamentations

Sphixes

Sphinxes

mythical monsters, with the body of a lion and the head
of a man, hawk, ram, or woman adorned Egyptian temples

Plans

Symmetry is the most important rule in Egyptian Planning

WALLS

Thick, solid and unbroken by windows also used to support the structures

Interior

Hieroglyphics

Exterior

Batter Walls

Openings

Windows were not used

roofs

flat

Columns

Simplest forms of support, used to record events

SEVEN TYPES OF EGYPTIAN COLUMNS

1. Square pillar
   2. Polygonal column
   3. Palm-type column (date palm)
   4. Bud and Bell column (lotus bud)
   5. Foliated capital column
   6. Hathor headed column (prototype of the caryatid) – an Egyptian goddess
   7. Osiris pillars

Three main architectural tombs

1. Mastabas or bench tombs

2. Rock-hewn or cut tombs

3. the royal pyramids

1. Mastabas or bench tombs

Rectangular, flat roofed structures with sloping sides about 75
degrees

INNER SECRET CHAMBER known as “SERDAB” which contained Statues of the deceased family members

OUTER CHAMBER OR OFFERING CHAMBER with “STELE” - an upright stone slab inscribed with the name of the dead.

Chamber containing the Egyptian coffin called the '“SARCOPHAGUS”

ROCK-HEWN or CUT TOMBS

Tombs that were meant to offer the
same levels of comfort to the dead
person enjoyed in his former life.
• Entire rooms were replicated
around the burial chamber, cut
deep in the rock.
• Sacrificial chambers were
invariably built on hillsides on the
high West bank of the Nile.
• Used by the nobility

THE ROYAL PYRAMIDS

Pyramid - A massive burial structure made of stone with
square base and
four sloping triangular sides meeting at the apex.
Entrances normally were on the north side. Four sides
oriented at the four cardinal points.

Different parts of a pyramid

1. Offering Chapel
2. Mortuary Temple
3. Valley Building
where embalment,
interment
rites took place.

Three Types of Pyramid

1. STEP PYRAMID
2. SLOPE PYRAMID
3. BENT PYRAMID

Temples

were sanctuaries where only kings and priests can
penetrate

MORTUARY TEMPLES

worship of pharaohs or built in honor of pharaohs

CULT TEMPLES

worship of gods or built in honor of gods and deities