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EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

Trivia
> 4500BC to 2000BC – Egyptian civilization along with Sumerian civilization started almost at the same
time (2686BC) – known to be the earliest civilizations in history

GEOGRAPHICAL INFLUENCE
> Both started along the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates (Mesopotamia) and Nile (Egypt)
> During the heydays of ancient Egypt, the Nile river was the driving force of ancient Egypt. An
important part of their everyday living which means magnet for life
> this also means to settle into permanent villages
NILE RIVER
> serves as the heart of Egypt 4000miles long and is the longest river in the world
> the Nile delta is where the river splits into several channels before reaching the Mediterranean sea
> this caused Egypt to split into two kingdoms
LOWER AND UPPER EGYPT
> the most prominent distinction of both kingdoms are the headdress (color and structure) of their
Pharaohs and the Pharaohs themselves
> Deshret (red crown) – lower Egypt
> Hedjet (white crown) – upper Egypt

> Land of Papyrus (Ta-Mehu) – lower Egypt; underdeveloped scrubland, filled with grassers
> Land of Reeds (Ta-Shemau) – upper Egypt; the main city of pre-dystanic upper Egypt was Nekhen
> The two kingdoms were united around 3000BC
> the combined crown of the two was called the Pscenth

EGYPT: THE LAND OF PHARAOHS

>the ancient civilization of Egypt is unique and distinct in many ways such as their beliefs/practices, the
power and dedication to high authority, and myths
> Egyptian form of ruling is concentrated to their supreme ruler called Pharaoh (descendant of
their gods, the absolute hereditary king)
> Since the Pharaohs are gods in human form, the Egyptians made it so that the line of rulers are
hereditary
> they dedicated much of their resources to the high authority
> because of their amazement with their Pharaohs, it resulted to them coming up with different
kinds of myths
EGYPTIAN GODS AND GODDESSES
1. AMUN-RA – chief god
2. ARUM – the creator
3. ORISIS – god of death
4. ISIS – wife of orises
5. HORUS – sky god, son of Orisis
6. SET – god of evil and chaos
7. THOT – god of wisdom
8. ANUBIS – jackal headed god of death
9. PTAH – god of craftsman
10. SERAPIS – bull
11. RA – god of sun/radiance

> Because of the Geographical set-up of the Egyptian territories (situated along the Nile river), they were
only limited to use such materials for construction like stones, sun-dried/mud bricks, fiber or reeds,
palms, acacia, and sycamore for mummy cases

KINGDOM TIMELINES AND ITS KEY FEATURES

THE OLD KINGDOM (2850 - 2052BC)
> beginning of hieroglyphic and calendar
> sun worship is the official religion
> construction of the step pyramid began
> kng Kufu builds the Great Pyramid of Giza
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM (2052 - 1570BC)
> construction of the Kamak Temple
> king Mentuhotep II build innovative terraced temple at Deir-El Bahari
> king Senworset II is the first to build a pyramid using unrefined mud-brick

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THE NEW KINGDOM (1570 - 715BC)

> Egypt becomes a leading power, expeditions to Asia and Nubia
Greatest extension of kingdom under Thotomos III, construction of Kamak, Luxor, Abu Simbel
> Construction of the temple of Hatshepstu
> Macedonian Ptolemaic kings sponsor extensive religious construction
THE LATE PERIOD (715 - 332BC)
MENES
> King Menes was able to unify upper and lower Egypt around 3000BC
> King Menes aka king Narmer was the successor to the Proto dynastic king ka
> The founder of the city of Memphis – capital of Egypt
> First to wear the Pschent crown (symbol of combined upper and lower Egypt)
> The city of Memphis survives catastrophic floods brought by the expansion of the Nile River
> He was the first to invent massive wall fortification (Menes wall) to protect his kingdom
> King Menes (as the first Pharaoh) was also considered by some scholars as the first human god
who ruled Egypt
> During his reign as king, the first monumental fail in history also happened
> Sadd-El Kafra Dam – in attempts to save his people from catastrophic floods
> When Menes dies, accidentally because of a hippopotamus, his 62 years of kingship finally
ended
> Many years after his death also marks the beginning of kingship under king Djozer – DJOZER AND
THE ENORMOUS PYRAMIDS
DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE
> The Egyptians had a very clear idea of the afterlife. They took great care to bury their dead according
to convention and supplied the grave with things that the departed would need for a pleasant life after
death
> If the near east is popular because of their gods and goddesses of worship, Egyptians are into deaths.
The importance of final resting place marked the beginning of Tomb Architecture
EGYPTIAN TOMBS
MASTABA – BENCH OF MUD
> "eternal house of life" or "house of eternity"
> Rectangular mud-brick tomb with a flat roof and battered walls, from which shaft leads to
underground burial and offering chambers
> A type of Egyptian tomb in the form of flat-roofed rectangular structure with outward sloping sides
> The false door usually oriented to the eastern side of the tomb, facing the Nile, enabling the spirit to
travel
> During the 4th, the beginning of non-royal mastaba cemeteries in association with royal tombs began
to take place
> Occupants are high officials
> A simple mastaba evolved and for Egyptians, the life after death is a very significant belief – also for
the birth of the pyramids

PYRAMIDS
> royal tombs of the Pharaohs
> Regardless of the type of pyramid, they consist of massive masonry structure having rectangular base
and hour smooth, steeply sloping slides facing the cardinal points meeting at an apex
> the pyramids were built as tombs that serves as the final resting place of the Kings and Pharaohs
> they were built to protect the Pharaoh's body and inside the pyramid were mazes and dead ends
> the egyptian pyramids are handmade – made from huge blocks of sand, clay, and stone
> a product of pure slavery
> STEP PYRAMID
> first ever pyramid dedicated to King Djozer and was originally built as a nearly quadratic mastaba
(located in Saqqara necropolis)
> designed by Imhotep – his right hand and royal architect (also the first recorded architect in the
world )
> evolved mastaba into step pyramid
> step pyramid – first ever pyramid dedicated to king Djozer and was originally build as a nearly
quadratic mastaba
> the underground burial apartment is covered with blue-green faience tiles
> the mortuary precint of king Djozer shows the papyrus stalk as a half column support and flutted
masks, stretched mattin in a lower section
> SECTIONS OF THE STEP PYRAMID
1. South section
i. Step pyramid
ii. South tomb
iii. Heb seb court
iv. Temple
v. Great court
vi. South house
vii. Western terraces
viii. Entrance
2. North section
i. North house
ii. Mortuary temple
iii. North court
iv. Serdab
v. Altar

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*the STEP PYRAMIDS OF KING DJOZER also signals the beginning of STONE ARCHITECTURE not only in
Egypt but WORLDWIDE*
> Meydum pyramid – attributed to Huni (last king of the 3rd dynasty) and completed by Sneferu
(his son)
> Sneferu grew up in the shadow of the step pyramid
> ruled Egypt 35 years after the death of king Djozer
> was a 7-stepped structure, contrived by building 6 thick layers of masonry
> phase that perfecting engineering to pyramid
> the upper part has been oddly denuded into a shouldered tower-like structure
> one of the first attempts to perfect "smooth sided true pyramid" but eventually collapsed
and only the lower portion still survives
> abandoned by Sneferu on his 2nd decade of ruling and led him to work on BENT
PYRAMIDS
> BENT PYRAMID
> "South Pyramid"; angle of inclination of the sides changed halfway
> another daring attempt by Sneferu and seems to collapse because of errors
> RED PYRAMID (Dashnur)
> the actual burial place of Sneferu
Designed and completed as the first true pyramid
> PYRAMID OF GIZA (gizeh) – NECROPOLIS OF GIZA
> biggest pyramid – CHEOPS (Khufu)
> the first successful steep pyramid
> created by the great Pharaoh Khufu (Sneferu's son)
> known as the Great Pyramid of Giza among the three pyramids
> only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still standing today
> the largest pyramid ever built
> assumed to be the burial place of Egyptian Pharaoh – Khufu

> 2nd largest – CHEFREN (Khafre)

> built by Pharaoh Khafre
> the allocation and design of air shafts are oriented to the heavenly bodies
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> VALLEY TEMPLE OF CHEFREN'S PYRAMID COMPLEX

> passage leading from antechamber to T-shaped hypostyle hall

> smallest – MYKERINUS (Menakaure)

> built right after Chefren's pyramid for Pharaoh Menkaure. The third of the major pyramids
at Giza
> Large vertical gash at northern face because of the attempt to demolish the pyramid

> chamber with niches which is said to be more complex than those of Khafre covered
with decorative panels and another chamber with six large niches

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> PARTS OF THE PYRAMID COMPLEX

1. Valley Building/temple - mortuary temple where the process of mummification is being done
2. Causeway – raised passageway ceremonially connecting the valley temple to the pyramid
3. Funerary temple – preparation before the body of the Pharaoh is placed in the Pyramid
4. Sphinx – provides spiritual guidance (face of king Khufu); its celestial purpose to the great Sphinx
that is, to resurrect the soul of the Pharaoh (Khafre) by channeling the power of the sun and other
gods
5. Pyramid

*Because of the complexity of building a pyramid, the Egyptians resulted to conceptualizing and
building temples*

TEMPLES
> temples are sanctuaries that only kings and priests could enter, penetrate, access
> because of its simplicity, it allowed it to be a lot more grand than the previous structures
> TYPES OF TEMPLES
1. Cult temple – built in honor of Pharaohs
2. Mortuary – built for worship of the gods
> 3 DIVISION OF TEMPLES
1. Offering area – for offerings (to please the soul of the Pharaohs, and the gods)
2. House of the priest – enables a space for the priest to stay in
3. Holy of the holies – the very first room built in the temple that "housed" the statue of the deity to
whom the temple was built for. The room represents the inner sanctum of the human being, the
heart, the most sacred dwelling place of Love and Light where an individual retreats to when they
want to pray and commune with god
> TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT (deir el-bahari)
> the first female Pharaoh (Thotomos II; husband died)
> to approach the top-most level of the temple, one has to pass through three level terraces
approached by ramps
> built by architect Senmut for the queen

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> FACTS AND RECORDS

> Archeologists estimate that it took 15 years to build the temple
> Decorated with statues of the Queen sculpted to appear as the god Osiris
> TEMPLE OF AMUN KARNAK (chief god)
> most visited temple in Egypt

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> the grandest of all Egyptian temples commenced by Amenemhati dedicated to the Theban Triad
gods – Amun, Mut, and Khonsu
> one of the largest religious sites in the world
> the Great hypostyle hall columns supports enormous roof slabs (134 papyrus columns in 16
rows)
> located within the temple complex and one of the most visited monuments of ancient Egypt
> a pylon is a monumental gateway
> obelisk is a stone pillar, typically have a square or rectangular cross section and a pyramidal top,
set up as a monument or landmark

> FACTS AND RECORDS

> as per earlier scholars, the Great Hypostyle Hall had thought but was built entirely by Seti I
who engraved the northern wing of the hall inscriptions while the southern wing was
completed by Ramesses II
> it was initially instituted by Hatshepsut at the Northwest Chapel to Amun
> TEMPLE OF ABU SIMBEL (rock hewn)
> a rock hewn tomb and Temple formed by a Pylon carved with 4 colossal seated statues of
Ramesses I-IV
> site of two temples built by Ramesses II
> they had to disassemble the temple for the construction of a dam that had to pass through
> Temples were salvaged from the rising waters of the Nile River caused by erection of the Aswan
> Temple of Ramesses II (dedicated to the sun gods) and Temple of Nefertari (dedicated to
Nefertari for the worship of the goddess Hathor)

SUMMARY OF EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

> looking back on these given examples, their general appearance can be used now to highlights and
discuss the characteristics and other features of Egyptian Architecture
THREE MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE
> MONUMENTALITY
> Egyptian structures were built to depict and give importance to its ruler, kings, and pharaohs –
massive structures
> SOLIDARITY (MASIVENESS)
> the scale of the huge buildings and gigantic features, and materials, simple features – the use of
typical forms and shapes were used, yet it gives so much impact and grandeur
> SIMPLICITY
> lack of advanced technology, advanced building techniques

METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION
POST AND LINTEL (COLUMNAR AND TRABEATED SYSTEM)

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> a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large
spaces between them

CORBELLED VAULTING

> used as a technique on the ceiling of the red pyramid by Sneferu making it more stable and precise
and rendering Egyptian as the first to use this type of Vault construction

PLANNING
AXIAL PLANNING
> the use of massive masonry for the construction of tombs and temples
> one direction planning – false door always faces the Nile River and the Sun

ELEMENTS/SYSTEM
BASS RELIEF
> battered walls with pictograph carving in relief with hieroglyphics (cavo-relievo in spanish)
> HIEROGLYPHICS
> the writing system of ancient Egypt using pictorial and phonetic symbols to record
information

LARGE PROPORTION OF COLUMNS

> plainly advertises their vegetables origin (palm, papyrus, and lotus)

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*great wall of China is said to be one of the visible man-made structures from outer-space*

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