ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

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Azizur khan

LOCATION.
Located in Africa on the northern edge of the Sahara desert. The Nile river bisects through the land from the south to the north. The Nile river is a seasonal river that flows its bank yearly to create a fertile valley. The ancient Egypt lived in the fertile valley and grew their crops.

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS.

IMPORTANCE OF RIVER NILE . The Nile and its delta was the guiding force of ancient Egyptian civilization . It was a very predictable river , over flowing its bank every year from July to October, The floods leave a rich black silt that is fertile and is farmed by the people. During the floods ,people were freed from farming to engage in other activities including building works. The Nile was also the highway of Egypt connecting upper and lower Egypt. The Nile also offered protection from invasion by outsiders.

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS.

During the floods ,people were freed from farming to engage in other activities including building works. The Nile was also the highway of Egypt connecting upper and lower Egypt. The Nile also offered protection from invasion by outsiders. The Nile offered symbolic sense of direction to the people forming the primary principle in architectural organization.

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS.

Government. At the center of ancient Egyptian civilization was a strong government headed by pharaohs. The pharaohs provided stability and unified sense of purpose.

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS.

Religion. The Egyptians were religious people. They believed in many gods Different symbols were used to represent gods and temple and were built and dedicated to them . The pharaohs were also held as living gods.

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS.

Religion Egyptians also believed in life after death. They believed that when they die there soul called Ka would live in them for ever. For the Ka to live it needed either the body of the dead person or copy of it in the form of statue. The Ka will return each night to the body or statue. If both the body or statue is destroyed the Ka would die.

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS.

Mummification. To ensure the availability of a body to the Ka of a dead person, the Egyptians develop a process of preservation called MUMMIFICATION. The process involves cutting and open the body and removing all the internal organs and brain. The body is then packed in natron to dry it out . It is then soaked on oil to preserve it .

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS.

Architectural ideas. Ancient Egyptians viewed earthly dwellings as temporary. They paid little attention to house construction. The tomb was seen as the permanent dwelling for the after life. Tremendous effort was exerted in tomb construction. The mummified dead body was buried in a stone box called sarcophagus. They believed that a dead person needs all his worldly goods. The tomb was usually packed by with all the treasures of a dead person. If anything could not be provided it is painted on the walls of the tomb. Tombs also have charms to protect the dead persons and his property.

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS.

Next it is wrapped in special cloth called mummy cloth. The mummy is then coated with wax and a face is painted on its wrapped head . The mummification of a pharaoh took a period of 72 days. Once mummification is finished burial ceremonies are performed and the body is ready for burial.

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS MASTABA.

Mastaba is an Arabic word. The mastaba tombs are so named because they resemble the benches outside shops in the markets. The mastaba tombs beside the Pyramids were laid out on a grid, providing laneways for access to the tombs. The earliest method of burial in ancient Egypt was in shallow pits in the desert.

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS MASTABA.

The desert dries the body and preserve them. When animals preyed on the bodies of the people they dug deeper. In the end they built a bench like structure called Mastaba.

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS MASTABA.

Internally a mastaba consist of three parts a burial, chamber, a serdab and a chapel. The burial chamber is 30 ft below the ground surface. It is connected to burial chamber above the ground through a shaft. Burial chamber is a place for the burial of a dead person.
Burial chamber shaft

sarcophagus

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS MASTABA.

In the chamber is found the sarcophagus were the dead body is placed . The burial chamber is packed with all the necessary needed in after life. After burial , the shaft to the burial chamber is sealed. The serdab and chapel are located above ground. The serdab is a room were the statue of the dead person is kept. The statue acts as a substitute for body in case it is destroyed.

Plan of mastaba

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS MASTABA.

Egyptians believed that the Ka must return to the body or a copy of it each night. If both body and statue is destroyed the Ka would die. The chapel is were the Ka is supposed to live for ever. It has a false door leading to the land of the door.

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS STEPPED PYRAMID.

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS STEPPED PYRAMID.

King Zoser was a powerful pharaoh of the third dynasty of the old kingdom. The step pyramid was built for the king Zoser by Imhotep. It was built as a funeral complex in the necropolis at Saqqara. Imhotep initially conceived of the tomb as a large mastaba of stone.

Stepped pyramid

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS STEPPED PYRAMID.

Dissatisfaction with the result led to the stacking of mastaba on one of top of another. The result was the step pyramid with 5 sloping set backs. The step pyramid is the intermediate step between mastaba and the geometric pyramid.

Stepped pyramid

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS STEPPED PYRAMID.

The step pyramid was 200 feet high with 6 giant steps. The burial chamber is entered from the north side and is 92 feet high. On either side of the chamber are store rooms for the kings treasures. The serdab is located on the north side of the funerary temple. The step pyramid stands at the middle of the large complex

Entrance to the burial chamber to the north

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS STEPPED PYRAMID.

Plan of zosers funeral complex

EARLY KINGDOM TOMBS STEPPED PYRAMID.

The fence wall of the funeral complex has a breaking pattern of about 200 projections an recessions. Fourteen out of these were larger than the others and 13 out of fourteen had false door. The false door were for the use pharaohs Ka.

ATTEMPTS AT PYRAMID BUILDING.

After the step pyramid there were several attempts at building a pure geometric pyramid. Among the prominent attempts were the pyramid at medun and two pyramids built by Snefru at Dahshur.

ATTEMPTS AT PYRAMID BUILDING.

King Huni made the first attempt at building a pure pyramid at medun. He constructed a seven step pyramid with a square plan and height of 93.5 m or 213 ft and an angle of incline of 51 degree. Eventually the steps were filled in and a smooth outer facing turned it into a true pyramid.

ATTEMPTS AT PYRAMID BUILDING.

Pharaoh Snefru made two attempts at pyramid construction. The first pyramid was the Bent pyramid at Dahshur. The bent pyramid at Dashur had a square plan with a height of 102meters. The pyramid had a change of angle midway leading to its being called the Bend pyramid

Bent pyramid at Dahshur

ATTEMPTS AT PYRAMID BUILDING.

Snefrus second pyramid was the north pyramid, where he buried. It had a low pitch of 43 degrees instead of 52 degrees making it look stunted. A true pyramid has an angle of 52 degrees.

THE PYRAMIDS AT GIZA.

The construction of the true pyramid was achieved during the reign of Cheops , son of Snefru. This was located at Giza. This pyramid is called as THE GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA because of its huge size. The pyramid is constructed on a square plan and it is 482 ft high.

The great pyramid of Cheops( kufu) Giza

THE PYRAMIDS AT GIZA.

Two additional pyramids were subsequently built at Giza. The second largest in the center was built by Chefren ,the son of Cheops. The third and the smallest was built by mykerinos,the son of Chefren. The three together are referred as the great pyramids of Giza.

THE PYRAMIDS AT GIZA.

The three are aligned diagonally along the projection of the of the diagonal of the great pyramid. The small pyramids close to them were built for their queens.
Plan of the great pyramid of Giza

THE GREAT PYRAMID OF CHEOPS.

The great pyramid has a unique internal arrangement. It has a chamber built below the base of the pyramid. Another chamber was built above it known as the queens chamber. A larger burial chamber was built at the center of the pyramid.

Section of the great pyramid of Cheops.

THE GREAT PYRAMID OF CHEOPS.

This is the chamber were the king was buried in his sarcophagus. The king chamber was 35 x 17 ft in plan and 19 ft high. Both the king and the queen chamber were connected to the entrance on the north side. Two air shafts also connect the kings chamber to outside for ventilation. Once the king is buried the burial chamber is covered forever.

Section of the great pyramid of Cheops.

THE SPHINX AT GIZA.

Located in Giza and it is the great sphinx with the body of a lion and head of Chefren. The reason of its construction is not clear. A theory hold that it was produced from leftover material. It may also have been carved to stand guard over the temple and the tomb of Chefren.

The sphinx at Giza.

PYRAMID CONSTRUCTION.
How were the pyramid constructed ? There is no accurate knowledge about the method of construction of the pyramids. It is believed that 1,00,000 men worked 3 months each year to build the pyramids. 1.The lime stones used were quarried from nearby and transported by lever action.

PYRAMID CONSTRUCTION.
They were paid in food clothing's and drinks. 2.The other method was they constructed ramps to transport the lime stones.