Ancient Egyptian architecture: Introduction

•Tractable materials like reeds, papyrus (extinct) and palm branch ribs,
plastered over with clay; building materials
of common people
•Timber, once plentiful was used for better
buildings
•The use of these materials later inspired
several elements of Egyptian Architecture
•Stone was not employed before the Third
Dynasty, except as rubble and as stiffening or
foundation to stone mud walls
•Sun-dried mud-brick construction never
Ceased to be employed—made of Nile mud
And mixed with chopped straw or sand, and
thoroughly matured by exposure to the sun
•The mud bricks were long lasting, and large
about 35.6 cm (long), 17.8 cm (wide)
and 10.2 cm (thick)
Unit 2: Ancient Egyptian Architecture – History of Architecture and Culture I
Semester no:1 – B.Arch, R.V.S. School of Architecture
 •In few monumental buildings the
walls are thick, between 9 m and
24.5 m
•Surface decoration in masonry
walls extends from the practice of
scratching pictures on mud-
plastered walls, which lead to
modeled or projecting ornaments,
relief works and explanatory
hieroglyphs
•Egyptian columns—a distinctive
character is their very large
proportions plainly showing
inspirations to vegetables. Shafts
indicated plant stems, gathered a
little at the base, and with capitals
seemingly derived from lotus bud,
papyrus flower or the palm

Unit 2: Ancient Egyptian Architecture – History of Architecture and Culture I

Semester no:1 – B.Arch, R.V.S. School of Architecture
•Ancient Egyptian civilization excelled
in monumental architecture, temples,
tombs and the well known hall mark
pyramids
•Some of the very common
architectural elements includes avenue
of sphinxes—mythical monster, with
body of a lion and head of man, hawk,
ram or woman, massive pylons (or
gateways), great courts, hypostyle
halls, inner sanctuaries and dim, secret
rooms
Unit 2: Ancient Egyptian Architecture – History of Architecture and Culture I
Semester no:1 – B.Arch, R.V.S. School of Architecture
•Strong beliefs of the Egyptians in after-life lead to
elaborate traditions in tomb building and mummification.
A process in which after death the bodies are preserved—
which involved biological processing followed by burial
with finest commodities that might be needed for
sustenance and eternal enjoyment of the deceased
•Egyptian tombs are of three types (1) Mastabas (2) royal
Pyramids (3) rock-cut tombs
•Following primitive developments in the First Dynasty
elaborate graves were modeled as house plans with
several small rooms. The central room has the
Sarcophagus and other rooms has abundant funerary
offering

Unit 2: Ancient Egyptian Architecture – History of Architecture and Culture I

Semester no:1 – B.Arch, R.V.S. School of Architecture
Unit 2: Ancient Egyptian Architecture – History of Architecture and Culture I
Semester no:1 – B.Arch, R.V.S. School of Architecture
•These structures were constructed in a broad pit below ground—wooden
roof being supported by wooded posts or crude brick pillars—the entire
area covered by a rectangular, flat topped mound of the spoil from the
excavation—retained by very thick brick walls
•The outer faces were serrated with alternate buttress-like projects and
narrow recesses—a ornamentation style called ‘Palace facade’
arrangement or plain and sloped backwards at an angel of about 75°
•The ‘Palace facade’ design perhaps derives from timber paneling equally
has its origins in mud-brick architecture of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamian
influence in formative phases of the Egyptian civilization is a recognized

Unit 2: Ancient Egyptian Architecture – History of Architecture and Culture I

Semester no:1 – B.Arch, R.V.S. School of Architecture
•Frequently these facades were painted in bright colors—such tombs are
nowadays called as the “Mastabas”. As these tombs resembles to the low
benches built outside modern Egyptian house
•The mastabas are generally surrounded by an enclosure wall—that
subsequently lead to principle greater security for the body of the owner and
the goods buried with him
•With concerns of security some tombs were carved/built deep in rocks
abandoning elaborate layout of rooms and superstructure in the First Dynasty

Unit 2: Ancient Egyptian Architecture – History of Architecture and Culture I

Semester no:1 – B.Arch, R.V.S. School of Architecture
•In the following 2nd, 3rd Dynasties ‘stairway’ mastabas are identifiable—in
these cases the chamber rooms and attendant spaces are cut deep below.
The main axis of the tomb lay north and south. Steps and ramps lead form the
north end to connect the tomb chamber. After the burial, the access paths
were sealed permanently
•A false door exists in the southernmost ornamental recessions allowing
access for the spirit of the
deceased to enter and
leave at will—and in front of
it was a table of the daily
offering of fresh food
•In the 4th Dynasty a small
offering chapel developed
or a small offering room was
constructed within the
mastabas

Unit 2: Ancient Egyptian Architecture – History of Architecture and Culture I

Semester no:1 – B.Arch, R.V.S. School of Architecture
•In these cases the tomb chambers are much deeper approached by a short
horizontal passage form a vertical shaft sunk for m the north end of the
superstructure and are called “shaft” mastabas
•By these time most of the mastabas were of limestone. And in the 5th, 6th
Dynasties the offering rooms or the chapel at ground level tended to become
more elaborate—in exceptional examples the offering chapel has a group of
rooms, within or adjacent to the mastaba mound
•The chapels in several cases included a columned hall, walls lined with
vividly-colored reliefs, depicting scenes from the daily life of the deceased

Unit 2: Ancient Egyptian Architecture – History of Architecture and Culture I

Semester no:1 – B.Arch, R.V.S. School of Architecture