EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

APOORVA KULKARNI

DHRUBOJYOTI SONOWAL

GAYATRI SAOJI

KASTURI KULKARNI

SAGAR CHOUDARY

MAITREYI YELLAPRAGADA

BY

1st Semester B.Arch 2007 VNIT

This presentation is a small effort in trying to understand the marvelous works and architecture laid down by

Egyptians which stand out as the greatest structures in the history of

mankind.

LOCATION OF THE EGYPTIA

N CIVILISA

TION

factors INFLUENCING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE and settlement

GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS

• Egypt is situated in the valley of the river Nile.

• It is bounded by the Mediterranean sea in the north and Red sea in the east.

• Major trade was carried out through river Nile and hence Egypt is called ”Gift of Nile”.

GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

• Clay rich in minerals was available in the delta.

• Clay was used to make sun-dried bricks.

• Palm leaves, reeds etc were mixed with clay to strengthen it.

• Lime stone and sand stone were also used in construction along with brick.

• Red or grey granite was used to make columns and architraves.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

• Only two seasons - Spring and Summer.

• Climate - usually warm and bright.• No big openings were provided to

houses for protection from intense heat.

• Snow, frost, storm and rain were unknown. Hence, flat roofs were constructed.

RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS

• Egyptians worshipped heavenly bodies like sun, moon ,and stars.

• Animals were also worshipped.• Thus, many temples were constructed.• They believed in life after death and

this led to construction of tombs and the pyramids.

• Pharaohs ( sons of sun)- were also worshipped.

CARVINGS HIGHLIGHTING THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT

NAMES OF EGYPTIAN GODS

• Amon - god of war and conquest • Mut - mother of all things.• Khons - the moon god.• Ptah - a creator.• Sekhmet - goddess of war.• Osiris - god of death.

Social conditions

• Recording historical events on temples and social matters on tombs was a social custom.

• Pharaohs employed prisoners of war and slaves for agriculture and building construction.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

• Was columnar and trabeated.• Main structures were tombs and

temples.• Consisted of massive walls made of

sun-dried mud bricks and were reinforced by reeds, papyrus and palm branch ribs.

• Walls were broad at base to provide stability.

• The flat, massive walls were ornamented with the explanatory Heiroglphs.

• The houses were usually one or two storied.

• Very few windows and openings were provided in order to avoid the intense heat. Light entered only through the doors and roof slits.

• Flat roofs were constructed owing to scarcity in rainfall.

• Natural Vegetation forms were used for ornamentation of the structures under which lotus, palm, and papyrus were extensively used.

SPHINXES

-THE MYTHICAL MONSTER

FRONT VIEW

SIDE VIEW

SPHINX IS A MYTHICAL MONSTER HAVING THE BODY OF A LION AND THE HEAD OF A MAN, HAWK, RAM,

OR WOMAN.

SAQQARA- CITY OF THE DEAD

EGYPTIAN COLUMNS

• Have distinctive character and exhibit vegetable origin like lotus stalk, papyrus leaves etc.

• Column height – 6 times the diameter of base.

• Circular shaft was curved near base.

Column capitals

PYRAMIDS

• Egyptians believed in life after death.• They preserved the bodies in pyramids

stating this religious condition.• Pyramids were built during life time of a

pharaoh for the preservation of his dead body so that it would attain immortality and would come back to life.

• MASTABAS were tombs belonging to the noblemen. The mastaba at Gizeh, and mastaba at saqqara being the most famous amongst the remains.

the pyramids of egypt

The pyramid of cheops

• One of the greatest known pyramids.

• Cheops was son of Seneferu.

• Built in lime-stone.ENTRANCE TO THE

PYRAMID OF CHEOPS

PYRAMID OF CHEOPS• Pyramidal base measures 230.5 m and has

height of 146 m.• Four equilateral sides facing four cardinal

direction making an angle of 52051’ with the ground.

• From north an entrance is provided nearly at a height of 17m from the ground.

• A small corridor is provided which descends from the entrance at an angle of 260 to the subterranean chamber.

• An Ascending corridor rises at an angle of 300 towards the queen’s chamber.

• This corridor is widened into a large passage which is now well known as the Grand Gallery.

• The Grand Gallery contains a passage 2.1 m wide and 2.3 m high covered by corbelled

vault.• At the end of Grand Gallery is the King’s

Chamber which has granite sacrophagus.• King’s chamber is 10.36 m long , 5.23 m wide

and 5.8 m high.• It’s ceiling was lined with granite and covered

with five tiers of stone beams.• Two air shafts were provided for ventilation of

the king’s chamber.• One similar was provided for the queen’s

chamber.

A – ascending passage

B – Grand Gallery

C – Queen’s chamber

D – King’s chamber

E – descending passage

F – Air-shaft

G – Secret chamber

INDEX

SECTIONAL ELEVATION OF THE PYRAMID OF CHEOPS

DESCENDING PASSAGE

KING’S SACROPHAGUS

GRAND GALLERY

ASCENDING PASSAGE

TEMPLES

• Were rectangular in plan.• Two types of Temples -- Cult Temples for the gods. -- Mortuary Temples or tombs for

the Pharaohs and nobles. • Parts of the temple --- great enclosures,

series of rooms, pillared court, hypo-style halls, chapel etc.

• Residences of priests were in the temple courtyard.

TEMPLE OF KHONS• A cult temple dedicated

to Khons.• Rectangular plan.• Fronted with obelisks.• Impressive sphinxes and

massive pylons at the entrance.

• Height of the temple goes on decreasing from front to rear.

• Roof was supported by 28 massive columns arranged on three sides by double colonnade. STATUE

OF KHON

Temple of khons at karnak

Hypo-style Halls

At karnak

BENT PYRAMID OF SENEFERU

• Seneferu was the father of Cheops• It’s angle of inclination of the side

changes at about half way up from 540 in the lower part to 430 only in the upper.

• It has two entirely independent tomb chambers.

• It has a plan of dimensions 187 m x 187m.

• Local stones with Tura limestone were used in construction.

Pyramid at

Seneferu

Bent pyrami

d at Dashur

STEP PYRAMID OF ZOSER

• World’s remarkable first large scale monument in stone.

• In the beginning, it was just a mastaba which was then converted to four stepped pyramid for Zoser.

• But, due to some technical changes, it was then made 6 stepped.

STEP PYRAMID OF ZOSER

SECTIONAL ELEVATION

THANK YOU