Ancient and Egyptian Architecture

1. Ancient and Egyptian Architecture Architectural History ACT 322 Doris Kemp

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Old Kingdom Architecture: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

8. Old Kingdom Architecture:Mastabas http://www2.gp4success.org.uk/egypt/ARTICLES/mastabas.htm

9. Old Kingdom Architecture:Mastabas http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/digital_egypt/3d/pictures/meydum5.jpg

10. Old Kingdom Architecture: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

11. Old Kingdom Architecture: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

12. Old Kingdom Architecture: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

13. Old Kingdom Architecture: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

14. Old Kingdom Architecture:Saqqara Photo: Sullivan

15. Old Kingdom Architecture:Saqqara Photo: Sullivan

16. Old Kingdom Architecture: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

17. Old Kingdom Architecture:Pyramid at Medum Photo: Sullivan

18. Old Kingdom Architecture: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

19. Old Kingdom Architecture:Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza Photo: Sullivan

20. Old Kingdom Architecture:Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza • 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 atop ramps to be placed at higher levels Photo: Sullivan

21. Old Kingdom Architecture:Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza • Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza • 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

22. Old Kingdom Architecture:Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza • Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza • 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

23. Old Kingdom Architecture: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

24. Old Kingdom Architecture:Additional Giza Structures • Mycerinus • Built after Chefren’s Pyramid • c. 2500 B.C. • The last of the large Egyptian steep pyramids Photo: Sullivan

25. 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

26. Middle and New Kingdom: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

27. Middle and New Kingdom:Beni Hasan Photo: Sullivan

28. Middle and New Kingdom:Mortuary Temples • 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

29. Middle and New Kingdom: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

30. Middle and New Kingdom:Mortuary Temples • Temple Complex of Khafre • One of the most impressive preserved temple complex’s Photo: Sullivan

31. Middle and New Kingdom: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

32. Middle and New Kingdom:Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples • 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

33. Middle and New Kingdom:Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples Photo: Sullivan

34. Middle and New Kingdom:Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples • 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

35. Middle and New Kingdom:Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples Photo: Sullivan

36. Middle and New Kingdom: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

37. Middle and New Kingdom:New Kingdom Mortuary Temples Photo: Sullivan

38. Middle and New Kingdom:New Kingdom Mortuary Temples • 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

39. Middle and New Kingdom:New Kingdom Mortuary Temples • 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

40. Middle and New Kingdom:Egyptian Civil Architecture • Evidence shows that life in Egypt was somewhat secular • Evidence of country houses and cities where trade flourished

41. Middle and New Kingdom:Egyptian Civil Architecture • 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

42. Middle and New Kingdom:Egyptian Civil Architecture Photo: Sullivan

43. 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

44. Ancient and Egyptian Architecture Architectural History ACT 322 Doris Kemp