[7] Egyptian Architecture (Circa 3000 B.C. -100 A.D.) el 7.1 Formation and Development (i) Geographical condition. Egypt’s landscape varies from the strip of a fertile land in the valley of the river Nile, then arid region and finally to a vast desert. In the lower northern part, | the river meets the Mediterranean Sea and in castern part it extends upto Red Sea. Refer Fig. 711 Egypt has spread its trade through these two Seas to the eastern and western countries. ‘The Nile, the longest, mightiest, life giving river is the conduit of ancient culture and essence of Egypt. Its green valley is the cradle of civilisation, Hence the Egyptian Pharaohs founded their cities from time immemorial | allalong the bank of the Nile both for the living and dead where we generally find massive royal pyramids and priestly temples. Egypt is therefore really the gift of the Nile. (ii) Geological condition. The availability of building materials determines the character and style of architecture. Rich clay was abun- dant from the Nile delta. Before quarrying was known clay was largely used to manufacture the sun-dried bricks. To strengthen the clay, it was mixed with palm leaves, reeds etc. Papyrus was | vPre® €6vPt grown in the marshes and was used to make boats, baskets and paper (G. k. papuros) for scribes. Fine lime stone was quarried from Mokattam Hills, and from Tura near Saqgara N from T The ancient Egypt for the construction of Pyramids. Sandstone was ren plenty at Silsila, with which the ancient Egyp- tians constructed the finest temples, and sacred sarcophagus or the stone coffin to preserve the dead bodies. _————EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE 35 ‘The Golden bust of Tutankhamen’s mummy Fig. 72.) Fig. 72.0) (a) Ptah-a creator « (b) Sekhmet (his consort)-goddess of war (©) Nefertem (their son). There was also a new benevolent man-god, Osiris, who was assassinated but rose again, promising resurrection to eternal life to all in his kingdom rather than laborious existence in the tomb. Hence the cult of Osiris, the god of death, triumphed. Isis (his consort) a horned goddess was also worshipped. These deities are like Iswara or Siva and his consort Sakti or parvati of Hindu religion. In addition to these there were other powerful gods namely Horus-the sky god (Hawk-faced), like Garuda of Hindus, Hathor (cow)-the goddess of love, Set~god of ev Serapis_the bull god representing another cult of the sacred bulls; similar to Nandi of Hindus, and Thoth the god of intelligence, represented with the inquisitive beak of the Ibis. Lesser local divinities were also worshipped such as cat-gods, jackal gods, and snake gods. ‘The governing idea of religion of ancient Egyptians was their strong belief in future life. ‘And to secure immortality of the soul the pharaohs preserved their dead bodies in the royal36 ‘THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE pyramids and nobles in the mastabas-the modest tombs and the poor were simply buried in pit grave without being mummified. (v) Social condition. Egyptian literature has been preserved on papyrus plant and tablets. Ttwas rather social custom and manner to record the historical events on the temples and social. matters on tombs. The pharaohs employed the prisoners of war and slaves for agriculture, building construction. The slaves working in stone mines and quarries, toiling on boats, and drifting the building materials down the river Nile and placing them in position, have been depicted in pictorial representation on massive unbroken walls of temples and tombs. This Fig. 73. Egyptians at fishing Fig. 7.4. clearly indicates the absolute power of the pharaohs. The wall sculptures also show the Egyptians at war, hunting, fishing, at chase; peasants in loin clothes tilling in the farm fields, servants bringing crops, working in weaving sheds, workshops etc. Almost every visible aspect of daily life was recorded, see Figs. 7.3 10 7.6. twas the custom forall but the Pharaohs to have only one wife. Though Pharaohs had many wives, only one was titled as the Great-Royal Wife and was the mother of his heir. The Queen often participated in the state affairs. Rameses Il riding on chariot drawn by The kings also looked after the religious rites as powerful horses-a bas-relief from Nubia Fig. 75 priests and all mysterious rituals were kept away {rom the common men who groped in dark. The Pharaohs wereall a WORLD ARCHITECTURE SY Wns 2 y ral cl wey i O us i ) i) oa) oe Cli YK aba of fer, wifeEGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE 39) considered as divine kings who after death joined the pantheon of Gods that watchéd over Egypt. As principle the Pharaohs owned the whole country. They distributed the land amongst all their relatives as a reward. Each royal family therefore owned a large private estate and had their peasants, craftsmen and herds, which formed a self-contained community. ‘The Pharaohs ruled the country assisted by high officials often the family members led by the Vizier. The administration was run by an army of scribes. Almost everything which brought wealth to their lands was recorded by the scribes. Fig. 7.7 shows a figure of scribe from Saqqara. ‘Astatue of a scribe from Sagara (2494-2340 B.C.) A brush was used for writing and palette held two scoops, one for black and one for red ink. The scribes or supervisors set up Nilometers to measure the rise of the river, calculated the size of the coming harvest and fixed the tax. They controlled the traffic on the Nile and brought trade under their control. Fig. 77. ‘The Egyptians paid much attention for harnessing the river Nile. They therefore studied astronomy, named and mapped the stars and predicted the movements of heavenly bodies. They invented a 365 day calendar so as to predict the seasons and to know the months of the Nile’s floodings. They studied science to construct reservoirs, and canals to contain irreplaceable Nile waters. They developed medicine and surgery. They also achieved great skill in pottery, metal40 THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE, making, weaving, glass-blowing, jewellery, musical instruments and furniture. They produced poetry, hymns, memories, educational works, humorous stories and novels. There was large class of traders, good sailors and ship builders. The craftsmen and lower clergy formed a small middle class. Herdsmen belonged to very low social class. They are, represented naked in the bas relief. Murder was punished to death and adultery was severally prosecuted. Wheat and barley were the common crops. Wheat was used for bread and barley for beer. “Bread and Beer” - a governing nourishment is engraved in many of the Mustabas. The Egyptians buried their dead and had funeral lamentations. It is said that ‘specialists’ were paid for the job. In Old Kingdom, about 2780 to 2280 B.C. the Egyptians had simple dress. Men wore traditional loin cloth, of white linen, long or short. Women wore long tight-fitting dresses. In New Kingdom Egyptians started using fuller clothes. The loin cloth was now covered with large , drapery. The ancient Egyptians were careful about their complexion. Men shaved regularly with copper or bronze razors. This is in strong contrast to neighbouring Asiatic people who wore beards. Usually men cut their hair short and wore a wig on top, whereas women wore artificial hair-dos. They also wore necklaces, brace-lets etc. The leisure activities of ordinary people are nowhere recorded. But the nobles during their leisure hours went on hunting for wild animals. They also relaxed with dancers and musicians. They also played game of zenet, ice. game of draughts, see Fig. 78. Usually two players participated using five to seven pawns on a board of 30 squares. The another game of mehen or game of serpent was much popular and played on a round table which represented the serpent coiled around itself with the head at the centre. Its body was divided into number of segments. They used pawns such as balls or recumbent lions and the game was based on lion hunting by the serpent, see Fig. 7.9. a ‘THE GAME OF ZENET (18 DYNASTY) “The game had a religious background, the player's aim ‘AGame of Mehen, or Menet. ‘was to win the rightful place in the afterlife. Fig. 79. Fig. 78,a2 ‘THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE ‘Avbust of Queen Nefertiti depicts her remarkable beauty ‘Avbust of Princess Meryt-Aten Fig. 7.10.(a) Fig, 7.10.(b) a chariot from the palace to the temple. The priests used to greet them with deep bow, while ‘women beating their instruments. Then the king used to enter the pylon gate in which were five tall masts bearing banners. Offerings were gifts of bread, beef, garlantis of flowers. The king used to burn incense, pour water on the altar, thus completing the religious ritual. At Maru Aten the king besides the temple, built a number of artificial lakes and a zoological garden. This new world of flowers, birds and water-plants brought a greater spontaneity and more cheerful way of life. But the bizarre reign of Akhenaten lasted only 15 years. His introduction of worship of only one God Aten caused unimaginable discontent among the priests and a clash with Amon-priesthood. And when the heretic pharaoh died, the priests destroyed the city of Amara, and thus the old gods took their revenge ! Rameses-I (1314 B.C.) was the founder of 19th dynasty. He started the construction of great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. Rameses II (1301 B.C.) the Great builder constructed many Hypostyle Hall at Karnak and Ramessum at Thebes. The Assyrian Empire now threatened the peace of Egypt and Esorhaddon invaded the country and sacked Thebes in 663 B.C. From 525 B.C. Egypt was under Persian province. It then fell to Greeks in 332 B.C. Alexander of Macedonia who helped and rescued the Egyptians from tyrant rulers, was hailed as the Son of ‘Amon. He founded Alexandria as the capital which became the main centre of Greek culture. After the death of Alexander at Babylon in 323 B.C. his empire was divided among his generals.PEC ey eer eyes t offerings to the Solar Disc- a relief from the King Akhenaten, queen Nefe Fig.7.4 ‘THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE Egypt fell to his general Ptolomy and thereafter it became prosperous and powerful under Greek Macedonian Dynasty (Ptolemaic period -332-30 B.C.). The last ruler of the dynasty was the queen Cleopatra (69 B.C-30 B.C.) who shared power at first with her two brother husbands Prolemy XII and XIV and later she ruled with Ptolemy XV, Caesarian, her son by Roman leader Julius Caesar. After her death in 30B.C. Egypt came under Romans who ruled over till 393 A.D. In A.D. 324 Christianity was declared as state religion by the Emperor Constantine. Churches were constructed for the Christian use. Under Justinian (A.D. 527-565) it achieved stable administration, In A.D. 640-1517 Egypt was under Arabs and social customs were related to Muslim religion. In 969, Cairo was made its capital. The Arabs and Turkish ruled in succession, built many mosques and palaces. In 1881, it was under British and finally in 1922 it became an independent state. 7.2, Characteristic Features Egyptian architecture which is essentially a columnar and trabeated (trab = beam) style was mainly employed on (i) Tombs and (ii) Temples. This is in strong contrast to West Asiatic architecture, the nearest in age which was devoted to the construction of palaces for kings. The Egyptian architecture consisted of massive walls, made of sun-dried mudbricks, the Nile mud being reinforced by reeds, papyrus and palm-branch ribs. gyptian The houses were one or two storeys high, with a living hall in @ or the centre to protect it from fierce heat of the sun. To increase ow stability, the walls were made broad at the base by providing a batter ‘oll from outside but keeping the inner face vertical for ordinary convenience. Later on even though the walls were built in sandstone, granite, the same principle of battér was continued. The massive walls imparted simplicity, solidity and grandeur to the structure. The massive walls are crowned with the characteristic gorge cornice or hollow and roll mouldings (see Fig. 7.12). The gorge might have originally been produced duc to the pressure of flat mud roofs on the top of mud walls. Egyptian temples based on rectangular plan are but a line of successive buildings, pillared court, hypostyle hall (a mysterious dark chamber-a special character) and chapels, their roofs decreasing in heights behind imposing pylons (the entrance gateways), see Figs. 7.20, 7.21 (b) and (c). The pylons recall the Gopurams of Hindu temples. MN WITH The flat and massive walls of temples and tombs were eminently CAPITAL suited for incised relief work and explanatory hieroglyphs. COLU BUD Egyptian temples were fronted by obelisks or monolithic pillars Fig. 7:12. and approached by a row of sphinxes-mythical monsters-theEGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE, 45 structure with body ofa recumbent lion and the head ofa man, orwoman as the God or Goddess to protect the river Nile and the vast monumental complex, see Fig. 7.13 (a). The combined x reer was most astonishing and awe inspiring. The temples were usually oriented toward the Nile. fa) The Sphinx. +b) Column with Bell Capital at ‘Thebes ph Fig. 7.13. nd if q wi — Saad as ——| () Bud Capital (a) Papyrus Capital (i) Palm Capital (3) Hathor( Volute Capital “Types of Capitals Fig. 7.130) ‘a-woman with cow's ears) head capital (¥)46 ‘THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE, Egyptians possessed great artistic instinct in using natural objects in their building construction. The, Egyptian columns have distinctive character and they exhibit their vegetable origin like the lotus stalk, tied at intervals by bands. The capital appears like an inverted bell or like a lotus bud, or a papyrus flower (now practically extinct) as shown in Fig. 7.13 (b) and (c). The columns were usually six times the height and were elaborated with painting and low relict carving. The circular shaft was curved towards base. The column with the shaft like papyrus plant stem combined with a lotus bud or a flower capital was a sign of union of Upper and Lower Egypt. In addition to lotus, papyrus and palm, they used grape, rope and feather as their motifs for ornamentation, as shown in Fig. 7.14 (a), (b) and (c). ‘They ware also advanced in the use of colours and they presented the schemes of decoration, mainly in blue, red and yellow. The incised relief work [Fig. 7.14,(d) and (e)] on the wall was completed in different stages. First the surface was chiselled smooth and figures were drawn in red by the artist and corrected in black by the master artist. The sculptor then deepened the lines or incised the outlines and finally the painter defined the figures with paints. This pictorial Tepresentation thus completed expressed the story of their time in clear terms to the visitors, Ty (eee) OOO ZO CL (a) Lotus and Papyrus ornament (0) Grape ornament (©) Rope and feather ornament. (d) Incised wall sculpture at Karnak (€) Sacred Boat at Thebes Fig. 7.14,EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE 47 7.3 Typical Examples (1) Tombs. Tomb was an eternal home to Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians had a strong betisf that there was a mysterious kingdom of the dead on western sie where the sun went town, Because of this belief, the tombs were always built on the west bank of Nile- Egyptians ihe believed that the dead man survived in his tomb, and if not survived, due to negligence or diolay, a second death would take place and his soul would get a bad fate with wanderings in dark realms. “There are three types of tombs such as mastabas, royal pyramids and rock-cut caves. Mectabas were more modest tombs but pyramids, were for royal people. Most of the poor were simply buried in pit-graves. (a) Mastabas. Mastaba is an Arabic word meaning a bench. The notables buried in the smastabas were all rich noblemen who had privilege to afford them. The Egyptians believed that, everyone is born with the Ka-the spirit the double-and after death, the dead man survived in with Ka, in his tomb or his eternal home. Evidently the more beautiful it was, the more happy Man ltelife would be. So the nobles buried their dead bodies along with theit precious possessions such as dazaling jewels, elegant furniture, crockery ete Food, drinks, were offered poste naintenance and eternal enjoyment for the ‘Ka’. The grave also called the "Hous of the double” was constructed in a broad pit below ground. The superstructure was covered by a rectangular flat roof, with sloping sides. In the 1st Dynasty, the grave had a small house with few small offering rooms, the central one containing the sarcophagus, such as Mastaba of Aha at Saqgar®. In IVth Dynasty the tomb chambers were sunk deeply and connected with horizontal passages from the vertical shaft tisually cut fromthe north end of the superstructure, such a5 Mastabas at Giza. In V and VI Dynasties, the offering rooms became more elaborate, the walls carved with coloured reliefs showing the important events from the life of the deceased. Statues of the dead were often, plaved in asmall room known as ‘serdab’. Images ofthe dead were carved on upright stone slab eit ‘stele’ through which the ‘Ka'or spirit ofthe dead was believed to enter the chapel to feed oon the offering, and spiritually nourish for eternity, see Fig. 7.15. error 1. Oulerlayer 2. Rubble filing 3. Chapel 44. Stone slab (stele) 5. Vertical Shaft 6. Closing Stone 7. Vault 8. Sarcophagus Section through the Mastaba. Fig. 7.15.4B THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE The dead body of the king was preserved in the sacrophagus by mummification. In Old Kingdom, preservation was done by warping bands of linen round the limbs of the dead body. But in the New Kingdom the technique of embalming was improved. The lungs, liver and intestines were first removed from the body, before embalming. Then the body was coated with a preservative like natron. Linen and resin were filled in the cavities in such a way that the shrunken flesh was flattened out and thus shaped the dead to look more life-like. Finally wigs and false eyes were placed. (@) Mastaba of Aha, Saqgara. This mastaba was constructed for Aha, the second King of First Dynasty. It measures 41.8m long and 15.26 m wide and consists of five chambers, the centre one for the dead body of the king, and remaining for his pride possessions. The superstructure built in brick above covered a larger area comprising of twenty seven small compartments containing grave materials. The mastaba is covered by two girdle walls, (ii) Mastabas at Giza. These mastabas numbering two or three hundred belong to IVth and Vth Dynasties. To mention a few are mastabas of Kaimrhu, Akhti-Hotep, Princess Idut, Ti, Princess Nefer, Mehu are constructed with solid mass of stones. A vertical shaft was sunk below the outer layer leading down to a vault which contained the darcophagus and his intimate belongings. An offering chapel was built on east facing wall. Food and drinks were brought and placed on altar facing the Stele and offered to the Kathe spirit of the dead. (b) Pyramids. These are built only for the Pharaohs as massive and impregnable tombs. The early royal pyramids were similar to mastaba type from which the true pyramid is evolved. The stages of development can be observed in the ‘stepped’ pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara (2778 B.C.) and other at Medum. Next came the Bent pyramid such as at Dashur, see Fig. 7.16 (a) and (b). The finest and the most geometrically pure form was attained such as at Giza, see Figs. 7.17 and 7.18, Wes \Carbelted vault +—489m (a) Section through the stepped Pyramids of Huni at Medum. (b) Section through the Bent Pyramid of Seneferu at Dasbur. Fig. 7.16. The chief material used for the core is lime-stone. Granite is mainly used for king’s chamber and passages. The entrance was usually from north and sides were almost exactly aligned with cardinal points of the compass.EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE 49 The large-sized stone blocks were raised and turned by means of levers only. They did not use pulleys as this technique was unknown to them. ‘The stone blocks were hauled up along the’ sloping ramps of earth or sand. The dressing of the finished faces was carefully dorie from top to bottam and the apex stone-block was sometimes coated with gold. Pyramids as we see them to-day were not erected in solitary isolation, but they were as the main part of the building complex. The pyramids were enclosed by high massive walls and within Section through the Pyramid of Chephrenat Gia " a eal them were a temple for worship, a chapel for offering, a small cause way over the canal to connect the Valley Building with the river ‘Nile’ by which the royal funeral procession usually arrived. The pyramid was built during the life time of the Pharaoh for the preservation of his dead body so that it would attain immortality and would come back to ‘life’ after some time. Egyptians had a strong belief in re-birth and hope of eternal life. Hence they took much care and pain to hide and protect the tomb with its precious possessions by means of secret passages. But they proved to be vain as they were repeatedly plundered by treasure-seekers, grave-robbers in the course of times of disorder and chaos. Many tried to carry away the golden bust of Tutankhamen's mummy along with the precious possessions. But the great mystery is that all failed in their futile attempt and met with fatal death ! Some of the riddles of the pyramids are still un-solved in the modern age. (i) The Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza (C. 2723-2563 B.C.). This pyramid is built outside the Memphis's city limit near Cairo for Cheops also known as Khufu, the Second King of Fourth Dynasty, see Fig. 7.18 (a). The pyramidal base measures 230.5 m x-230.5 m and thrusts 146 m into sapphire sky. The four faces form roughly equilateral triangles and their sides make an angle of 51°52’ with the ground. The four corners are oriented with the cardinal points of the compass. The pyramid is built in solid stones with a casing of finally dressed Tura lime stones and the apex stone was once coated with gold. And the most notable thing is that the Egyptians worked with such precision that “neither needle nor hair” could be inserted at the joints of the lime stone casing blocks. From north, an entrance is provided nearly at a height of 17 m from the ground through which a small corridor is built. The corridor descends at an angle of 26° well below the ground where a subterranean chamber or underground chamber is provided on the central axis. An ascending corridor is constructed through the descending corridor nearly at ground level and the latter is sealed off due to certain changes in plan or to foil possible grave robbers. This ascending corridor rises at an angle of 30°, about 18 m along for a height of 21 m above the ground and connects to the: Queen's chamber, which is also on central axis. It is also leftincomplete and therefore closed perhaps for the second change in plan forsake of the King’s50 ‘THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE Chamber. From here onward the ascending 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 a corbelled vault in seven courses upto a height of 8.5 m where it tapers toa width of hardly 1.1 m . At the end of the Grand Gallery is the King’s Chamber where, the granite sarcophagus is placed. The King’s Chamber 10.36 m long, 5.23 m wide and 5.8 m-high is lined with granite and covered with five tiers of stone beams raising to a height of 21 m from the floor, see Fig. 7.18(b). Two air-shafts about 20 cm x 15 cm are provided from outer faces of the pyramid to the King’s Chamber to serve as ventilation as well as a free passage for the ‘Ka’-the spirit of the deceased Pharaoh. Similar air-shafts are also provided in the Queen's and. underground chambers. re 21m | i J [l= Air shafts pam » “Em 523m A King’s (b) ra chamber . Queens Grand gallery Underground # ——“chaniber Section through the Great Pyramid of Cheops : Giza Fig. 718, This tomb of Pharaoh took nearly one lakh workers two full decades to build. It s the lar stone building in the ancient world with more than two million lime stones and granite bk each weighing about two to three tonnes. It is still a mystery as to how they erected such massive pyramid. Itis onc of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Napoleonafter conqueri Egypt in 1798, once estimated that the stones from the three great pyramids of Ch Chephren and Mykerinos at Giza would be enough to construct a wall 3 m high and 0.3 m thi around France.EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE st (ji) ‘The Pyramid of Chephren or Khafra at Giza. The base measures 216 m x 216 m and is 144 m high, see Fig. 7.17. (iii) The Pyramid of Mykerinos or Menkaura at Giza. tis 108 m x 108 mat base and is about 67 m high. (c) Rock-cut tombs. These are entirely cut in rock. These are provided’ as shelters for preserving the coflins and funerary deposits, ¢.g. (i) The tomb of ‘Trit-Aukh-Amon’ at Thebes. (ii) The tombs of Beni Hasan numbering thirty-nine belonging to X1th and XIIth dynasties. (2) The Great Sphinx of Chephren (before 2600 B.C.). It is a colossal monster carved out of a single rock lying alittle to the northwest of Valley Building of king Chephren also known ot Khatva, thas a body of a recumbent lion and head of Chephren, the king in Fourth Dynasty, ‘wearing the royal head-dress a false beard and sacred cobra-brow ornament. ‘The Pharaoh himselt'is represented as a mysterious protector of God gazing al the rising sun, half-smiling as guizzicaly as when it was fashioned. The colossal statue is 20 m high 73.17 m long, and the face itself measures 4.12 m. The smallest toenail is large enough for a man to sit on. (3) Temples. Temples are based on rectangular plan. There are mainly two WyPis of temples, one is mortuary temple for ministration to pharaohs and the other, the cult temple for “The Great Sphinx of Chephren of Giza, near Cairo, with hs pyramid at lft and that of Cheops a right in the ackground, Aarge granite siele placed between the foe-paws contains inscription whieh records the restoration ‘made by Thothmes IV (1425 B.C.) of 18th Dynasty Fig. 7.19.52 ‘THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE worship of gods. The mortuary temples which were royal prerogatives were constructed within great enclosures and consisted of series of rooms, a pillared court, hypostyle hall-the dark mysterious chamber, chapel etc. with diminishing height behind the pylons, i.e. the massive imposing double composition with doorway placed by an opening between the two sloping towers, see Fig. 7.20. There were residences for priests, office buildings, pantries, a sacred water tank for religious rites. The religious services were carried out three times a day by the priests. Only the royal and privileged persons were admitted for stately religious functions. ‘Temple of Isis, Philae showing Pylons of Entrance court. Fig. 7.20. - But in cult temples, processions were unique features. During festivals shrines were taken out in procession on land or water and during such occasions, the common people participated in large numbers. The temples were usually oriented toward the Nile. Usually sphinxes and Obelisks were set up in pairs to dignify the temple entrances. (i) The Temple of Khons at Karnak (1198 B.C.) It is a cult temple dedicated to Khons-the moon God. It is rectangular in plan. The temple was fronted by obelisks and approached through an impressive avenue of sphinxes, [see Fig. 7.21 (a)]. The effect produced by this was most awe- inspiring. The temple possessed massive pylon or tall monumental gate-way at the entrance followed by pillared court, hypostyle hall-the dark mysterious chamber, sanctuary and chapel one behind the other. The height of temple goes on decreasing from front to rear, sce Figs. 7.21(b) and (c).. The roof of the stone-slab over the court was supported by twenty-cight massive columns arranged on three sides by a double colonnade, leading to the hypostyle hall. The four columns of the central aisle were taller than the rest and clear-storey windows were provided at the sides to admit light. Behind it was a sanctuary where the sacred boat of Khons was kept. At the ends were chapels for carrying out religious ritesEGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE. 53 Plan Section through the Temple of Khons at Karnak. Fig, 7.21 (b) Light Clear story holes, RS Sectional View Fig. 7.21 (0) Incised inscription and relief in colour covered the surfaces of walls and column-shafts. The temple was enclosed with high girdle wall. (ii) The Great Temple of Amon of Karnak at Thebes (1530-323 B.C.). The temple of Amon-Ra, the sun God, largest of all Egyptian temples, was built by several successive kings to glorify the sun god Amon and identify each king as the beloved of the gods. The temple based on rectangular plan measured 366 m long and 110 m wide, and had six pairs of pylons built one pylon after another by successive Pharaohs, see Fig. 7.22 (b).34 ‘THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE, Plan of the great Temple of Amon of Karnak. Fig. 7.22. The great court measures 103 m by 84 m deep while the hypostyle hall measures 103 m by 52 m and is supported by 134 gigantic columns in sixteen rows. The light was admitted in the hypostyle hall through the clear-storey windows formed by increasing the height of six columns of the central aisle. They are 21 m high and 3.58 m in diameter with papyrus flower or bell type capital. But the side columns are little shorter 13 m high and 2.67 m iff diameter with papyrus bud capital. So large are these first columns, in fact, about a hundred people can stand on the flat top of one of the capitals. The wall surfaces, shafts of columns and architraves are covered with incised relief works indifferent colours. There also appear the names of the Pharaohs who encouraged for its construction and splendour. Beyond the Pylon VI is the sanctuary itself. The statue of God Amon is long since gone, as is the boat on which Amon once was carried during festival voyages of inspection. There was the sacred Lake where the boat of Amon sailed on certain festivals. The temple of Mut, his consort, lay to the south-east of Amon’s temple and was connected to it by magnificent avenue of Pylons VII to X and courts at successive intervals. That of the Khons, his son, lay south-east of Amon but was less elaborate and was further connected by an impressive avenue of sphinxes with the temple of Luxor. As usual the temple was enclosed by a girdle wall. ‘The Great temple, Abu-Simbel (C.1301 B.C.), It is a rock-cut temple with an imposing facade 36.28 m wide and 32 m high, whose entrances are guarded by four colossal statues of Rameses II, about 20 m high, see Fig. 7.23 (a). The temple has a central hall decorated with coloured wall reliefs. It is 9 m high with eight Osiris pillars. From the central hall, five small chambers or store rooms are provided on the right and three on the left and on its central axisEGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE ‘The Great Temple-Abu-Simbel (C. 1301 B.C.) Fig. 7.3 (a) is a small room with four pillars. Beyond it is a vestibule consisting of three apartments, the centre one of which is the sanctuary. Fig. 7.23.(b) shows the interior view of the temple. In 1964, the rising waters of new Aswan High Dam threatened to drown them. Hence the temples of Abu- Simbel and their guardians were cut into 1048 separate blocks. After five years of rigorous labour they are again re-assembled 64 m higher up facing the lake Nasser. (4) Obelisks. These are the large sized monoliths square in plan, tapering upwards and converging to a pyramidal end with a metal capping at the summit, which was the sacred symbols of the Sun God of Heliopolis (the city of the sun). The sun has been worshipped as the sole deity of all mankind. He was Ra, the creator of the universe, or was Aten, the Solar Disc or orb. And the obelisks developed into the most graceful symbol introduced in the long history of sun worship. Obelisks were set up in pairs asa sacred symbol of the ‘Sun God to dignify the temple entrances and to honour particular Pharaohs with their names inscribed on them. The height of Obelisk is nine or ten times its lower Interior View: Great Temple : Abu-Simbel diameter. The four sides of the base are cut with figures Fig. 723 (0)° (THE GREAT AGES OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE of hieroglyph. The construction of Obelisk is shown in mural relief, ic., how it is carried on sledges, river barges, hauled it up the earthen ramps and finally tilted it into vertical position. farly Were removed from Egypt by Roman Kings who were fascinated with these old monuments and re-installed them in their stadiums, and also to mark the spine of their circuses, see Fig. 13.14. Later on, the obelisks were used to commemorate the death of a martyr and also as a focus for crowds that gather in the piazza for ceremonial occasions, e.g. obelisks in the great ceremonial piazza of S. Peter, and of S. Giovanni, Rome, see Fig. 19.2 (a). (i) The Obelisk in the Piazza of Saint Giovanni. It is a monolith of red granite. It is square in plan 2.7 m x 2.7 m and gradually tapers to 1.9 m x 1.9 m at top rising to a height of 32 m. and weighs about 230 tons. Now presently at Rome, it was erected at the temple of Amon at Karnak, by Thothmes III. : (ii) Cleopatra’s Needle. The obelisk originally set up at Heliopolis, to honour queen, Cleopatra was brought to England from Alexandria and erected on the Thames River London in 1878. It is rectangular in plan 2.4 m x 2.3 mand nearly 21 m high and weighs about 180 tons. It bears inscriptions of Thothmes III and Rameses II.