3200BC – 1AD

Ar. Maria Lourdes T. Rigunay, UAP

3200BC – 1AD Egypt is known as the Land of the

Pharaoh Pharaohs were rulers of Egypt who was

deified as gods. They influenced the life of the people and its architecture.

A narrow strip of fertile, alluvial soil along the Nile with barren land, rugged cliffs and arid desert plateau.

The Nile is considered as the lifeblood of Egypt it being used as trade route, means of communication. The overflowing and

fertilizing waters of the Nile made the desert useful.

Most cities started to grow along its banks.

Stones such as limestone, sandstone, alabaster, granite, quartzite and basalt were used for construction.

These made many monumental structures durable.

The gigantic scale was due to the methods of quarrying, transporting, raising enormous blocks of stone into position.Sun-dried bricks were reinforced

with palm and papyrus leaves. Its exposure to sunlight made it stronger.

Timber was used for boats (acacia), mummy cases (sycamore), logs for roofing (date palm).

Palm leaves, reeds and rushes were used to frame or reinforce mud-brick construction. Mat from leaves was used for

panels, partitions and fences.

There are only two seasons: spring and summer. Snow was unknown; storm and rain are rare thus

contributing to the preservation of buildings. Brilliant sunshine resulted in the simplicity in

design. Interiors were lighted through doors and roof slits,

thus there were no need for windows. Unbroken massive walls allows for hieroglyphics or

pictorial representations of religious ritual, historic events and daily pursuits.

Roof drainage was not important thus they used flat roof of stone to cover buildings and exclude heat.

The inflexible rule of the pharaoh determined the social and individual conditions of the people. Pharaohs were considered as gods, demi-gods,

mystery priest, builders but rarely are fathers of their people.

Craftsmanship was highly developed like weaving, glass blowing, pottery turning, and metal working, making musical instruments, jewelry and furniture.

There was a pursuit of learning in astronomy, mathematics, philosophy as practices by the priests, and literature written in papyri.

Egyptian Architecture

According to Manetho, early Egypt is composed of 30 dynasties divided into the following kingdoms:

3200-2130BC (1st –10th dynasty)

A period of mastaba and pyramid building

Archaic Period 1st-2nd dynasty where Menos formed Memphis as

capital and civilization progressed, art of writing and hieroglyphics developed.

Tombs were of the mastaba type

Old Kingdom 2nd - 5th dynasty where Thebes was the chief city. The royal mastaba evolved towards the true pyramid, shown

by the step pyramid of the Pharaoh Zoser of Sakkara.

Pyramid of Djoser Very first of any of the

pyramids built in Egypt, built during the Old Kingdom's 3rd Dynasty.

254 feet tall, with seven steps.

Djoser ruled about 2668-2649 BC

Built for Djoser by master architect Imhotep

The Sphinx located on the Giza plateau, was carved on the 4th dynasty by pharaoh Chephren or Khafre Carved out of the native

bedrock has the body of a lion

and Pharaoh Chephren's face

Became associated with the Egyptian god Harmakhis 

1st Intermediate period 6th-10th dynasty Where the royal

pyramid fully evolved in the culmination represented by the Great Pyramid at Gizeh by Pharaoh Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos.

The most famous pyramids in Egypt are the Pyramids of Gizeh, built more than 2,000 years B.C. to shelter and safeguard the souls of Egyptian pharaohs.

2130-1580BC (11th-17th dynasty)

A period where temples and pyramids where built by different pharaohs.

The sacred lake

The pylon

The courtyard

The hypostyle hall

The second hall

The sanctuary

Menhutep II Led a progressive recovery of political stability and

mastery of the arts. Built terraced mortuary temple at Dor el-Bahari

which combined a small solid pyramid raised on a high base with a rock-cut tomb deep into the base of a sheer cliff.

Amenemhet I Consolidated the administrative system Surveyed the country and set boundaries for

provinces Carried out irrigation and re-opened quarries Restored temples of the Great Temple of Karnak

Senusrets I Erected the

Heliopolis (earliest known large obelisks)

Amenemhet III Fostered art and

industry and irrigated the Fayum and built the Labyrinth

1580-332BC (18th-30th dynasty)

Thothmes I Began additions to the temple

of Ammon, Karnak, which is considered as the most imposing building in Egypt.

The first pharaoh to be buried in the rock cut “corridor” Tombs of the Kings in the Theban Mountain.

Queen Hatshepsut Patronized arts of peace Re-established religious rites and built the

funerary temple of Der-el-Bagari.

Amenophis III Built the greater part of the Temple of Luxor Added the pylons and sphinxes at Karnak Erected the colossi at Memnon

Rameses I Began the great

Hypostyle Hall at Karnak

Seti I Restored many

monuments and built the Temple of Abydos, his own sepulcher at the tombs of the Kings.

The Colossi of Memnon Two colossal statues of Amenhotep III [ca 1386-1349 BC]

placed at the entrance of his mortuary temple. Each was carved from a single block of stone, stands 68 feet

high and weighs 70 tons.

Rameses II (“The Great”) Built the Rock Temples of Abu Simbel,

the Hypostlye Hall at Karnak and the Ramesseum at Thebes.

Egyptian Architecture

Monotheistic in theory but polytheistic in practice.

They worshiped natural gods, heavenly bodies and animals as personifications of gods.

Awe and submission to the great power represented by the sun

Belief in the future state, making dwelling houses as temporary lodging and tombs as permanent abode

No division between gods and kings Supremacy of the gods in the hidden

world Powers of priests were in touch with

both worlds.

Osiris – chief god; a man god who died and rose again; god of death.

Isis – wife of Osiris, goddess of fertility Horus – sky god Hathor – goddess of love Set – god of evil Serapis – bull god

The keynote to the architectural character was:

Simple, massive and monumental Impressive by its solemnity and

gloom Solidity, suggesting its intention to

last eternally

Columnar and trabeated Massive funerary monuments and

temples were built of: stone using post and lintel construction columns carry the stone lintels supporting

a flat roof roof or ceiling supported by rows of

columns received light from clerestories

One of the principal characteristics of Egyptian architecture

Made use of sun dried mud-brick diminishing course by course towards the top with inward inclination towards the top.

The use of the characteristic Egyptian “gorge” cornice or kheker cresting, which was the result of the pressure of the roofs against the top of the wall reeds.

The use of surface decoration derived from the practice of scratching pictures (hieroglyphics) on the early mud-plaster walls were common, thus there was no projecting ornaments.

The leading external features of Greek architecture, are NOT used externally in Egyptian buildings, which normally have a massive blank wall crowned with the characteristic "gorge" cornice of roll and hollow moulding. 

Early period columns were often made from one large monolithic block

Later periods columns were usually built up in sectional blocks

Vegetable origin – the shafts of bundles of plant stems gathered at the base

Principal motif was derived from the lotus bud, the papyrus flower, or the palm

Placed close together to support the heavy stone entablature above

Brightly painted and elaborately carved

Above the capital, a low abacus usually connected the column to the architraves placed above it.

Capital, the top of the column, had a plant theme. At the transition of the capital to the shaft, five bands might be

found representing the lashing which held together the bundle of stems of which the earliest columns were made.

Bundles of papyrus stalks used as supports in mud huts were transformed into the majestic carved stone papyrus columns and capitals of the temples.

PAPYRUS COLUMN: SMOOTH SHAFT, OPEN CAPITAL PAPYRUS COLUMN: BUNDLED SHAFT, CLOSED BUD CAPITAL; AKA CLUSTERED COLUMN

LOTUS COLUMN: LOTUS AND VOLUTE CAPITAL

LOTUS COLUMN

PAPYRUS COLUMN: SMOOTH SHAFT, CLOSED SINGLE BUD CAPITAL ( SEEN ALSO AT LUXOR TEMPLE)PAPYRUS

COLUMN: SMOOTH SHAFT, OPEN BELL CAPITAL;AKA OPEN PAPYRUS COLUMN

Hathor-headed  Capitals formed of

heads of the goddess supporting the model of a temple front at Philae Temple of Isis Birth House colonnade

Flat Made from flat

reed and mud

Characteristic of Egyptian art: Simple but symbolic Small number of moldings were employed A sense of general uniformity and the

absence of change Use of bright colors and relief Use of conventionalized carvings and

paintings

1. Zigzag or chevron2. Lozenges or diamond-shaped

parallelogram3. Rope and feather4. Continuous coil spiral5. Diaper pattern6. Quadruple spiral

1. Vulture – symbolizes protection and material care, usually found on the ceilings, cavetto cornices and gateways.

2. Winged disk with globe – used for jewelries and head dresses

3. Cobra or ureans – symbolizes death and sued as decorative elements for the friezes of the cavetto cornice

4. Beetle or scarab – a purely ornamental motif and usually place on mummy cases; symbolizes creation of life and death.

5. Human head (Head of Hathor) used as column capital

A rectangular flat-topped, funerary mound, with battered sides covering a burial chamber below ground with the following provisions:

Serdab – a completely enclosed room where the head of a statue of the deceased is contained

Stele – an upright stone slab inscribed with the name of the decease, funerary texts and relief carvings intended to serve in the event of failure in the supply of daily offerings. It is found in the offering room.

A massive funerary structure of stone or brick with a square base and four sloping triangular sides, oriented on the cardinal point, meeting at the apex

PARTS OF A PYRAMID Offering chapel with a stele Mortuary temple for the worship of the dead and

deified pharaoh Raised and enclosed causeway leading to the valley

building Valley building in which embalmment was carried

out and interment rites performed.

A type of tomb serving the nobility rather than the royalty.

The sides of the mountain were cut and a small chapel is excavated with chambers descending several hundred feet inside the cliff.

Bani Hasan – 39 tombs of great provincial family which consists of a chamber behind a porticoed façade

Tombs of the Kings, Thebes Corridor type, where stairs,

passages and chambers extend into the mountain side and below the valley floor.

It serves only for the sarcophagus and funerary deposits.

The mortuary temple stood completely detached.

Used for mysterious rites and priestly processions wherein only kings and priest may pass through

TYPES OF TEMPLES Mortuary Temple Cult Temple

For ministrations to deified pharaohs

For the popular worship of the ancient mysterious gods

Entrance pylons – massive slopping towers fronted by an obelisks (pennon poles)

Hypaethral court – a rectangular palisaded court surrounded on three sides by a double colonnade

Hypostyle hall – a pavilion, a pillared hall, a covered structure or a columned vestibule in which the roof rests on columns Clerestory – a device used by the Egyptians to light

the interior of the hypostyle hall. The roof on the center aisle was raised over the side aisle so that light is admitted through an opening over the roofs of the aisle.

Sanctuary (chapels) – surrounded by passages and chambers used in connection with the temple service

Rooms for priests

Hypaethral Court

Pylon

Temple of Amon, Karnak Grandest example of Egyptian

temple and planning. Amenemhat commenced the

planning.

Name of a long-used Egyptian temple near Luxor, the largest of the religious sanctuaries in Thebes. The earliest form of Karnak dates to the Middle Kingdom; it was dedicated to the deity Amun-Re during the rule of 12th dynasty (c. 2000 BC) Pharaoh Senwosert I. Expansions to the site continued throughout Egyptian dynastic history, including extensive additions during the 18th and 19th dynasties of the New Kingdom. The temple fell into disuse during the Ptolemaic period.

Temple of Khonsu, Karnak A cult temple with a most

typical plan: Avenue of sphinxes Obelisks Grand entrance pylon Hypaethral court Hypostyle hall Sanctuary, chapels High girdle wall

Ramesseum, Thebes by Ramesses II

Typical mortuary temple of the New Kingdom

Great Temple, Abu Simbel Most famous rock hewn temple by Ramesses II with

his 65’ high colossal statue

Great Temple, Abu Simbel

Small shrines dedicated to the pries of the Goddess Isis which became the prototype of Greek temple.

These are sanctuaries perpetrating the traditions of the divine birth of a Pharaoh.

Best example if the Temple Island of Elephantine

Birth house – small chamber or room which contains the statue of Isis with an altar surrounded by colonnade or portico of pillars, partly concealed by a low wall and rose on a podium and approached by a flight of steps from one end.

Cyptoporticus - a low wall

Huge monolith, square in plan and tapering to it sacred part, the electrium-capped pyramid at the summit.

The sacred symbol of the sun god Heliopolis.

It usually stood in pairs outside temple entrances.

The height is from 9-10D at the base with the four side cut with hieroglyphics.

Mythical monsters with a body of a lion and head of a man, hawk or ram.

Best example is the Great Sphinx at Gizeh, which represented god Horus and is 65’ high 150’ long, partly rock and partly masonry

Human-headed

Ram-headed

Hawk-headed

Wealthy lived in palaces or villas General population lived in row houses built

of sun-dried mud bricks (chopped straw mixed with sun-dried mud) covered over with a thin layer of plaster.

One or two storey high were built to a simple, square design, with a flat roof

Topped by a terrace where the inhabitants could sit and enjoy the cool, fresh, evening air

Flat or arched ceilings and a parapet roof Rooms looked toward north facing a court Rooms small and dark, with narrow

windows and low ceilings Had a central hall, living rooms with clear

storey, reception suite, service and private quarter

Cellars for storage

Shukran!

“Egypt in Crisis!”