Ancient and Egyptian Architecture

Ancient and Egyptian
Architecture
Architectural History
ACT 322
Doris Kemp
Topics
 Egyptian Civilization
 Egyptian Architectural Characteristics
 Mastabas
 Saqqara
 Pyramid at Medum
 Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
 Additional Giza Structures
 Characteristics
 Beni Hasan
 Mortuary Temples
 Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
 New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
 Egyptian Civil Architecture
Egyptian Civilization
 Egypt and Mesopotamia are the earliest known
recorded civilizations
 Nile River was the driving force for ancient
Egypt
 Egyptians were obsessed with the afterlife and
the dead
 These beliefs had a great impact on the culture and
its architecture
Egyptian Civilization
 Ancient Egyptian Periods:
 Old Kingdom (c. 3200 – 2158 B.C.)
 Middle Kingdom (c. 2134 – 1786 B.C.)
 New Kingdom (c. 1570 – 1085 B.C.)
 Landscape
 Nile Valley cliffs provided a rich assortment of
building stone
 Varieties include sandstone, granite, and alluvial clay
for bricks
Egyptian Architectural
Characteristics
 Egyptians commonly imitated nature in their
architecture
 In a historical sense, nature is a key element in
architecture, no matter the culture
 Only recently has this process been neglected
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Mastabas
 Mastabas
 First known Egyptian tombs
 Bench-shaped masses rising above 30 ft.
 Composed generally of sun-baked mud brick
 Featured sloping walls and a flat roof
 Burial chamber usually was surrounded by storage

rooms
 Used to store goods for the deceased to take along their
journey in the afterlife
Mastabas
 Mastabas
 Serdabs
 State chambers that
featured an effigy of the
deceased
 False doors were included
to allow for the soul of the
deceased to escape the
structure
 Mastabas served as a
model for the later
Egyptian pyramids
Mastabas
http://www2.gp4success.org.uk/egypt/ARTICLES/mastabas.htm
Mastabas
http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/digital_egypt/3d/pictures/meydum5.jpg
Saqqara
 Saqqara
 Enormous funerary complex built by the Great
King Zoser in 2750 B.C.
 Key features:
 Residence for the king in the afterlife (tomb)
 Replica of the royal palace
 Stage for the enactment for the rituals of kingship

Saqqara
 Saqqara
 Designed by Imhotep
 The first recorded architect in history
 Would later be considered a god by the Egyptians
 First conceived as a mastaba with huge stone

blocks
 Unlike earlier mastabas which used mud-bricks
Saqqara
 Saqqara
 The complex was repeatedly enlarged over time
 Layers were added in an upward fashion
 These additions by Imhotep eventually created the
first Egyptian pyramid
 Step pyramid
 Differs from the geometrically perfect pyramids (i.e. the Great
Pyramids)
 Successive layers of smaller structure added upwards
Saqqara
 Saqqara
 Stands 204 ft. , present day
 Surrounded by a 33 ft. high wall
 Entrance Hall
 Columns are used to imitate the bundles of reeds found
along the Nile
 Real reeds were commonly used to construct residential
structures during this time
Saqqara
Photo: Sullivan
Saqqara
Photo: Sullivan
Pyramid at Medum
 Pyramid at Medum
 c. 2704 – 2656 B.C.
 Demonstrates Egyptian attempts at building a steeped,
rather than stepped pyramid
 Geometrically perfect pyramid
 Requires at least a 52° angle from the horizontal
 Outer layers were insufficiently supported
 Gave way to the immense pressure
Pyramid at Medum
Photo: Sullivan
Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
 Pyramid at Giza
 The first successful steep pyramid
 Created by the great pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in
Greek)
 Also known as the Great Pyramid
 Originally 482 ft. high on a plan of 760 ft.
 Modern scientists remain puzzled on its

construction
Photo: Sullivan
 Khufu’s Pyramid at
Giza
 Many scientists theorize
its massive stone blocks
were quarried and
transported by large
sleds and barges
 Blocks were then lifted Photo: Sullivan
atop ramps to be placed
at higher levels
 Queen’s Chamber
 The original burial place
 Located underground, beneath the Great Pyramid
 King’s Chamber
 Replaced the original chamber
 Constructed within the pyramid itself
 Considered one of the finest examples of megalithic

architecture in existence
 Grand Gallery
 Grandiose passage leading from the entrance to the
King’s Chamber
 Originally intended to be used only once, for the king’s
burial
Additional Giza Structures
 Chefren
 Followed the Great
Pyramid in construction
 c. 2530 B.C.
 Built for the pharaoh
Chefren
 Smaller than the Great
Pyramid
Photo: Sullivan
Additional Giza Structures
 Mycerinus
 Built after Chefren’s
Pyramid
 c. 2500 B.C.
 The last of the large
Egyptian steep pyramids
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom:
Characteristics
 Egyptian tombs return to below the ground
 Many tombs begin to appear in the cliffs of the
Nile Valley
 Builders decide to sacrifice the monumentality
of tombs for security from grave robbers
 Shaft tombs
 Long, underground corridors and chambers hollowed
out of Nile Valley cliffs
 Little architectural significance
Beni Hasan
 Beni Hasan
 125 miles upstream from Giza on the East bank of
the Nile River
 Hollowed out of the Nile Valley cliffs
 Features:
 Colonnaded portico for public worship
 Combined chapel and effigy chamber
Beni Hasan
Photo: Sullivan
Mortuary Temples
 Followed the decline of the pyramids and the
concealment of burial chambers
 Developed into Egypt’s most important
monumental form
 Funerary complexes set before the Old Kingdom
pyramids are some of the most striking mortuary
temples
Mortuary Temples
 Usually comprised of three interconnected parts:
 A temple near the Nile where the king’s body was
embalmed
 A mortuary temple where rituals were performed
 A long, narrow causeway between thick walls

connecting the two temples
Mortuary Temples
 Temple Complex of Khafre
 One of the most impressive preserved temple complex’s
Photo: Sullivan
Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
 The Sphinx
 Represented the god Re-
Harakthe on guard over
the king’s tomb
 Contained an intricately
constructed set of
interiors
Photo: Sullivan
 Mortuary Complex of Mentuhotep II
 Located at the base of the cliff at Dier el Bahari
 The first monumental structure against the Nile
Valley cliffs in Egyptian architecture
 Huge complex developed some 500 years after the
decline of the pyramids
Photo: Sullivan
 Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
 Dedicated to the sun god Amon-Ra
 Located next to the Mortuary Complex of
Mentuhotep II
 Built some 500 years later
 Considered the “least Egyptian” of the Egyptian
monuments
 Closest Egyptians ever came to the architecture of
Classical Greece
Photo: Sullivan
New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
 Thebes
 Originally built in two locations on the East bank
of the Nile River
 Known today as Karnak and Luxor
 Connected by great avenues of Sphinxes

Photo: Sullivan
 Thebes
 Temple of Khons
 Erected around 1100 B.C.
 Original temple that other
structures would be
modeled after in the
construction of Thebes
Photo: Sullivan
 Thebes
 Temple of Amun
 Features two giant
obelisks that were created
for visual accent to the
structure
 Obelisks tested Egyptian
builders to the full
 Great complexity,
detail, and sheer
size
 Created from two giant
stones
Egyptian Civil Architecture
 Evidence shows that life in Egypt was
somewhat secular
 Evidence of country houses and cities where trade
flourished
 Town of Tell el Amarna
 Early example of Egyptian urban planning
 Lies between Luxor and Cairo
 Features:
 Large estates for the wealthy
 Smaller houses for middle class
 Shows signs of slum areas

Photo: Sullivan
References
 Sullivan, Mary; http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/
 http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wdpt1.html
 Trachtenburg/Hyman; Architecture: From Prehistory to
Postmodernity
 Wodehouse/Moffett; A History of Western Architecture
Ancient and Egyptian
Architecture
Architectural History
ACT 322
Doris Kemp

Ancient and Egyptian Architecture

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Ancient and Egyptian

 New Kingdom (c. 1570 – 1085 B.C.)

 Composed generally of sun-baked mud brick

 Featured sloping walls and a flat roof

 Burial chamber usually was surrounded by storage

 Stage for the enactment for the rituals of kingship

 First conceived as a mastaba with huge stone

 Originally 482 ft. high on a plan of 760 ft.

 Modern scientists remain puzzled on its

 Considered one of the finest examples of megalithic

 A long, narrow causeway between thick walls

 Connected by great avenues of Sphinxes

 Shows signs of slum areas

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