EGYPTIAN

ARCHITECTURE
SUBMITTED BY: Aparna Pathak
Aastha Sharma
Ankita Gupta
Bhavya Mathur
Diksha jhoshi
Samyukta Nayyar
Toolika saini

INTRODUCTION

Ancient Egypt was an ancient

civilization of eastern North Africa,
concentrated along the lower
reaches of the Nile River in what is
now the modern country of Egypt.
The civilization coalesced(mass/as
a whole) around 3150BC with the
political unification of
Upper and Lower Egypt under the
first pharaoh, and it developed
over the next three millennia.
Its history occurred in a series of
stable Kingdoms, separated by
periods of relative instability
known as Intermediate Periods.
Ancient Egypt reached its pinnacle
during the New Kingdom, after
which it entered a period of slow
decline.

ARCHITECTURE

The architecture of ancient Egypt includes some of the

most famous structures in the world: the
Great Pyramids of Giza and the temples at Thebes.
Building projects were organized and funded by the state
for religious and commemorative purposes, but also to
reinforce the power of the pharaoh. The ancient
Egyptians were skilled builders; using simple but
effective tools and sighting instruments, architects could
build large stone structures with accuracy and precision.
The domestic dwellings of elite and ordinary Egyptians
alike were constructed from perishable materials such as
mud bricks and wood, and have not survived. Peasants
lived in simple homes, while the palaces of the elite were
more elaborate structures.

A few surviving New Kingdom palaces, such as those in

Malkata and Amarna, show richly decorated walls and floors
with scenes of people, birds, water pools, deities and
geometric designs. Important structures such as temples and
tombs that were intended to last forever were constructed of
stone instead of bricks. The architectural elements used in
the world's first large-scale stone building, Djoser's mortuary
complex, include post and lintel supports in the papyrus and
lotus motif.
The earliest preserved ancient Egyptian temples, such as
those at Giza, consist of single, enclosed halls with roof slabs
supported by columns. In the New Kingdom, architects
added the pylon, the open courtyard, and the enclosed
hypostyle hall to the front of the temple's sanctuary, a style
that was standard until the Graeco-Roman period. The
earliest and most popular tomb architecture in the Old
Kingdom was the mastaba, a flat-roofed rectangular
structure of mudbrick or stone built over an underground
burial chamber. The step pyramid of Djoser is a series of
stone mastabas stacked on top of each other. Pyramids were
built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, but later rulers
abandoned them in favor of less conspicuous rock-cut tombs.

ART

These artistic standards

simple lines, shapes,
and flat areas of color
combined with the
characteristic flat
projection of figures with
no indication of spatial
depth created a sense
of order and balance
within a composition.
Images and text were
intimately interwoven on
tomb and temple walls,
coffins, stelae, and even
statues.

Ancient Egyptian artisans used

stone to carve statues and
fine reliefs, but used wood as
a cheap and easily carved
substitute.
Paints were obtained from
minerals such as iron ores (red
and yellow ochres), copper
ores (blue and green), soot or
charcoal (black), and
limestone (white). Paints could
be mixed with gum arabic as a
binder and pressed into cakes,
which could be moistened
with water when needed.
During the Middle Kingdom,
wooden or clay models
depicting scenes from
everyday life became popular
additions to the tomb.

CONSTRUCTION IN
ANCIENT EGYPT

There is consensus(general agrrement) among historians

and Egyptologists that the ancient Egyptians were the first
builders ever known to man; they taught humanity how to
design and erect buildings; thus laying grounds for human
civilization, urbanization and man's settlement in a
specific homeland of his own for the first time in history.
Their knowledge was purely experimental and their tools
so simple. These mainly consisted of a builder's thread to
delineate(describe/indicate) vertical lines, an angle, a
measuring arm (52cm-long) and a straight edge. With
these primitive tools, however, they could make
schematic drawings, plans and cross-sections for their
colossal but very fine structures that still astound the
world.

Looking at the existing

Pharaonic monuments, we
should keep aside our
conception of today's
technological advancement. At
that early time in history,
stone blocks were molded with
solid stones, copper or bronze
tools. Courses of block work,
column bodies and crowns,
beams and ceilings were
hoisted to the required level
over mud and earth ramps up
to the top of sand heaps
adjacent to walls.
Lifting devices used consisted
of wooden gliders, rollers,
ropes and levers.

BUILDING AND STATUS

OF STONE

Ancient Egyptians used two words for stones; one

to denote precious stones, such as turquoise and
emerald brought in small bags from eastern
mines, red carnelian from Nubia and lapis lazuli
from Asia. Semi-precious stones were used most
adroitly in making amulets or inlaid into wood or
gold.
The other type was stone blocks used by
sculptors and builders. These were found in
plenty, especially lime stone. Rough stones were
used in building interior walls and foundations,
while fine stones, cut out with special care, were
used in decorating main walls or erecting colossal
temples.

Yellow limestone was brought from Al-Silsila

Mount, white limestone from Tura, and gray or
red granite from Aswan and alabaster from
central Egypt. The temple of Ramsis I, where
almost all these types of stone were used, is
the best illustration.
Basalt was often used in paving roads and
laying lower courses of buildings. Generally, the
above-mentioned stones, in addition to diorite,
marble and porphyries were used in making
statues and utensils. Convertible diorite was
used in making the famous Chephren statue.
Many scarabaeuses and other objets d'arte
were made of soft steatite.

EVOLUTION OF PHARAONIC
ARCHITECTURE

Ancient Egyptians knew how to fortify their cities and to

surround their tombs with mud bricks and to build roomy
temples; for almost in 3200 BC, ancient Egyptians started
using sun-dried mud bricks on a large scale; a practice that
persisted for long. However, the temples of the most famous
deities were built with beautiful stone to stand time.
However, in 2800 BC, a genius architect called Imhoutep
thought of using stones in building premises of secret rituals
where people lived in life and afterlife.
Years after years many generations of skillful builders
invented new architectural styles. They improved the style of
building the pyramids and temples by using more stone
blocks. The Old Kingdom witnessed setting of features, styles
and decorations of ancient Egyptian architecture.

THE PYRAMIDS

The pyramids have the deepest impression on the

whole world's imagination. They are the greatest
and most famous structures ever in human
history.
The extraordinary great pyramid was built by
Cheops, son of Snefro. It covers an area of 13
feddans with an original height of 146, of which 9
meters at the top were lost. The four angles of the
pyramid tilting at 51 and 52 degrees, face the
original four directions. The interior of the pyramid
was built with decorated stones. It was coated
with a bright layer of which only some traces still
remain. The only entrance of the pyramid is
located to the north side at a 16 meters height.

The burial chamber,

where the sarcophagus
of the king lies bare, is
made of granite. The
ceiling of the chamber
consists of nine granite
blocks weighing some
400 tons. Above, there
lie five separate niches,
of which four have flat
ceiling, while the upper
one has a slanting one
to avoid collapse under
the weight of the
overlying building.

FORTRESSES

Skillful ancient Egyptians later devised more sophisticated

methods for transporting earth and stone to build defense
structures. Through out Pharaonic eras, sensitive border
were secured by strong defense means. From the early
dynasties onward, royal palaces were surrounded with high
clay walls erected around the outer courtyards of the tombs
of princes in later eras. Other examples include Zoser wall in
Sakkara and walls around certain sarcophagi. Oval-shaped
fortresses were built with round supports in the same style
used in earlier epochs.
During the Middle Kingdom, more sophisticated defenses
were erected, consisting of huge 5-6 meter-high, mud brick
castles with dual walls, barriers and terraces and sometimes
with mobile towers and trenches. Fourteen fortresses were
ingeniously built on the islets and mountains lying between
the first and third cataracts on the Nile by Snosert III,
conqueror of Nubia. Another manifestation of this style can
be seen in the Prince's Wall, built by Amnemhat I in AlTolombat Valley to fend off Asian invaders.

Probably, that style of fortress building may be

the origin of the myth widely circulated up to
the time of the Arab conquest of Egypt, that an
ancient Egyptian king had built a defense wall
extending from Al Farama in Sinai to Heliopolis.
To a large extent, the fortifications built by
ancient Egyptians in that area are much similar
to the Great Wall of China. Later, when ancient
Egyptians conquered Asia during the Modern
Kingdom, they adopted the common Asian
fortress design known as the Migodol.
This was almost similar to the European castles
of the Middle Ages, with the outer walls fitted
with arrow shooting ports and small towers. On
the other hand, the gate of the temple of
Ramsis II in Habu was only a replica of the
Asian-Syrian-style fortress. Since time
immemorial, Egyptian fortresses were totally
invulnerable.

EDFU TEMPLE

Edfu was the capital of the second region in Upper Egypt.

It was a city of great importance and prosperity during
the Old Kingdom. It owes its fame to a spacious
Ptolemaic temple, one of the most famous religious
monuments in Egypt.
The 137-m-long, 79-m-wide and 36-m-high temple is still
exceptionally almost intact, with its hall, columns, stairs
and ceiling still maintaining their original state. In
addition, its colors and decorations still look fresh. It is
not even hard to imagine how all these looked like at the
peak of their glory. At the entrance, there lie two obelisks
in front of the entrance with statues in the courtyard. The
hall of columns look so live that a visitor may think he
will soon see priests with their immaculate robes strolling
around the place.

KARNAK TEMPLE

"All I have seen in Thebes

and all I have strongly
admired on the west bank
of the Nile was by no
means comparable to the
Karnak. No people, ancient
or modern, had thought of
art or architecture in such
a superb and extensive
scale or with such
grandeur as the ancient
Egyptians did. They made
me think of people each
100-feet-tall," said
Champillion.

Al Karnak temple itself is a world where one

may get totally lost. In order to perceive the
overall system of these mind-boggling
buildings, one should climb to the top of the
first edifice built there. In front of the Temple,
there lie the grand court of the Ethiopians and
Sheshanq Gate. At the back there lies the
great roofed hall built by Ramses, followed by
Hetshepsut's obelisk and Thohomous' granite
temple and ceremonial hall.
In the background, there lie the eastern gate,
with the Sacred Lake, ruins of Osiris tomb, the
temple of the infant deity Khonso, faced by
Eurgetes edifice and Opit temple.

TEMPLE OF KHONS
-PYLON
DESCRIPTION
The temple is entered by a large Pylon

105ft/32m long, 33ft/10m deep and

59ft/18m high. Like the facades of other
temples, it has four vertical grooves, with
corresponding apertures in the masonry, for
the fixing of flagstaffs. The reliefs on the
towers depict a High Priest of the 21st
Dynasty and his wife making offerings to
various gods. In front of each tower stood a
portico with a wooden roof; the bases of the
columns are still in situ.

TEMPLE OF KHONS
-CHAPEL
The door in the middle of the rear wall leads into a larger
DESCRIPTION
hall in which is the Chapel (open at both ends), designed

to house the god's sacred boat. The reliefs on the outer

walls of the chapel depict the King (Ramesses IV or XII)
in the presence of various gods. Built into the walls are
blocks bearing reliefs and cartouches of Tuthmosis III.

On each side of the chapel are dark chambers with

reliefs of Ramesses IV, and to its rear a doorway built by
one of the Ptolemies gives access to a small chamber
with four 16 sided columns, the reliefs in which show
Ramesses IV and (to the right and left of the entrance)
the Emperor Augustus in the presence of the Theban
gods.

TEMPLE OF KHONS
-VESTIBULE
DESCRIPTION
On the far side of the forecourt a ramp leads

up to the Vestibule or Pronaos, with 12

columns. Beyond this is a transverse Hypostyle
Hall with eight papyrus columns; the four
columns flanking the central aisle have open
capitals, while the columns between the lateral
aisles (which are 5ft/1.5m lower than the
central aisle) have closed capitals. On the walls
and columns Ramesses XII and Herihor, High
Priest of Amun, are depicted sacrificing to
various gods.

Mastaba tombs

The mastaba tombs are so named because they

resemble the benches outside shops in the markets.
Mastaba is an Arabic word.
The mastaba tombs beside the Pyramids were laid out
on a grid, providing laneways for access to the tombs.

Each mastaba tomb had

at least one shaft burial.
The mummys in their
mummy cases were
lowered into the shaft
and grave goods were
placed around them.
Then the shaft was filled
with stones to prevent
looting and vandalism.
The tombs also had
other functions in
addition to burial.

Rectangular tomb-chapel
belonging to Ancient Egypt,
beginning to be constructed
from the earliest dynastic era
(around 3500 BCE).
The mastaba both represents
the forerunner of the Pyramids,
and the simpler alternative to
Pyramids throughout the
centuries when the Egyptians
were erecting their famous
pyramids.
Mastaba are structures with
flat roofs, and normally built
from mudbrick or stone. The
mastabas had burial chambers
that often were dug out in the
ground, deep under the
mastaba, with shafts
connecting to the entrance

The theory is that the pyramid of Zoser

in Saqqara was at first constructed as
a mastaba, even if it differed from the
ordinary mastabaa by being made all
in stone.
This mastaba was extended by
building five new, and gradually
smaller, squares on top of it. By adding
these new "stories", the pyramid was
born.
All over Egypt, there are thousands of
mastaba with a great variety of wall
paintings, many of high artistic value.
These depict everyday life in Ancient
Egypt, and the mastabas represent a
central source of information from that
period in world history.
On the other hand, the wall paintings
in the pyramids depicted life in the
court and among the royals.

The tombs also had a chapel that was

accessed from the outside. These were often
decorated. Offerings to the spirit of the
deceased were left by their decendants.

An additional feature was a Serdab room and

statue. This room was created inside the tomb
and was completely enclosed. Inside was a
statue of the deceased. The statue was lined
up to be opposite a small opening in the wall
between the room and the chapel. In that way
the spirit of the deceased could see the
activities in the chapel and presumably the
decendents could peek into the room and see
the statue of their ancestor by flickering
torchlight.
One of the most famous Serdab statues is
that of King Djoser at Saqqara. His Serdab
was a small building beside the Step Pyramid.

THE MORTUARY
Like the King's Pyramid, the
TEMPLE
mortuary temple too was

built according to the

standard layout. Even its
decoration, which was
reconstructed from many
fragmentary reliefs, appears
to have been a copy of the
decorative programme from
the complex of 5th Dynasty
king Sahure, at Abusir.
The entrance to the temple,
located in the eastern wall,
led to a transverse hall,
followed by an entrance hall
or vestibule.

Map of Pepi II's complex,

highlighting the funerary
temple and the Queen's
Pyramids.

The vestibule was decorated with reliefs

showing the king destroying the forces of
evil symbolised by animals, such as the
hippopotamus, or by human enemies of
Egypt.
It was followed by an open court
surrounded by 18 rectangular quartzite
pillars. The side facing the court of each
pillar was decorated with a relief showing
the king with a god. The floor of the court
was paved with limestone and its walls
were left undecorated.
The vestibule and open court are flanked to
the north and south by some magazines.

A second transverse hall

to the west of the open
court leads to the actual
inner temple through a
doorway in the west and
to the satellite pyramid
through a passage in
the south. Fragments of
relief found in the
transverse hall show the
king performing the
ritual run of the Heb-Sed
festival, needed for his
eternal rejuvenation.
Another relief showed
the king ready to strike
down a Libyan chief in
front of his family.

Detailed map of the funerary

complex linked to this pyramid.
Source: Lehner, Complete
Pyramids.

This type of scene sometimes refers to actual

events that occurred during the king's reign, but
is sometimes a mere symbolic representation of
the king's duty to protect the country -and hence
the entire creation- against its enemies.
The transverse hall is followed by the 5 statue
niches, framed in red granite, of which the one in
the middle was not only slightly larger than the
others, but still held the limestone base of the
statue that once stood there.
A doorway to the south of the 5 statue niches
and a turn to the east leads to the antechamber,
supported by a single, octagonal quartzite pillar.
The chamber is decorated with reliefs showing
the king being welcomed by more than 100 gods
and goddesses and some 45 high officials.

The decoration on the north wall depicts the

king enthroned and protected by Anubis and
Nekhbet.
From the antechamber, a door in the north
finally leads to the sanctuary, at the western
end of which once stood a false door through
which the king's Ba could access the world of
the living.
The reliefs decorating the sanctuary show the
king seated in front of an immense offering
table, overseeing the many products of his
royal domains that are brought to him.
On the eastern wall, the slaughtering of the
offering-cattle was represented.

THE GREAT PYRAMIDS OF

CHEOPS (KHUFU)

Not much is known about Cheops (Khufu). The tomb had

been robbed long before archeologists came upon it. Any
information about him was taken with the objects inside
the tomb. He is thought to have been the ruler of a
highly structured society and he must have been very
wealthy. He was buried alone in this massive tomb. His
wives may have been buried nearby in smaller mastabas.

The encasing marble which covered the outside of the pyramid

has eroded or been removed over time. With this casing off,
the pyramid lost 33 feet (11m) of all of its dimensions. The top
platform is 10m square. The base of the pyramid is 754 feet
and covers 13 acres.
The original entrance to the pyramid was about 15m higher
than the entrance that is used today. Apparently Al Mamum,
who opened up the new passage, could not find the original
opening.
The new passageway leads straight across and joins in with the
original passage, the descending passage. The descending
passage led only to a subterranean chamber.
This descending passage that leads down is set at a 26 degree
angle that descends down 345 feet (105m) into the earth
under the pyramid. The passageway is only 3'6" (1.1m) wide
and 3'11" (1.2m) high.
The chamber is closed to the public. The chamber itself is room
that measures about 46' x 27'1" x 11'6" (14 x 8.3 x 3.5m).

There is a passage that leads 100 feet

horizontally to the western side. The purpose of
the pit is uncertain. It is possible that it could
have been the burial chamber, but after a
change of plan, it was abandoned.
The descending passage beyond where the
new entrance meets it, is closed off by a steel
door. The ascending passage rises at the same
angle as the descending, 26 degrees.
The ascending passage leads up into the
pyramid. The ascending passage is the same
dimensions as the descending, 3'6" (1.1m)
wide and 3'11" (1.2m) high. It can be quite a
difficult trek for some people.
The passage leads on for 129 feet (39m).

AROUND THE PYRAMID

As you come out of the pyramid you can see

the remains of the original enclosure wall which
is on the north and east side. It lies about 10m
from the base of the pyramid. Little remains of
Cheops' Mortuary Temple. What is left is basalt
paving and lies near the east side of the wall.
You may also see occasional traces of the
causeway that led from the valley temple in the
village, Nazlat al-Samman, at the foot of the
plateau. This causeway collapsed during the
last 150 years. Three small pyramids stand to
the east of Cheops' pyramid. These are thought
to have been for his sister, Merites, who was
also his wife, and possibly two other queens.

To the west of the great pyramid is the Royal Cemetery.

It contains 15 mastabas which have just recently been
opened to the public after having been closed for over
100 years.
Discovered at this site was the mummy of a 4,600 year
old female. She had a completely unique plaster
encasement that has never been seen or found
anywhere else.
At the base of the south face of the Great Pyramid, sits
the Boat Pits and Museum. The five boat pits were
discovered in 1982. One boat is located at the site and
can be seen at the museum.
The boat, which is encased in the stones, has no nails. It
was held together with ropes and pegs, but not nails,
and is amazingly intact.
The purpose of these boats may have been intended for
travel to the after-life or to accompany the Sun-God on
his journey.

EGYPTIAN GALLERY

Detailed map of Edfu with aerial imagery.

Edfu half-buried in
the sand in the
1860s.

Approach to the
Temple of Edfu and its
great pylon from the
southwest.

The Greco-Roman Birth

House.

Birth House with the

pylon in the
background.

Inside the Court of

Offerings, looking
north to the Hypostyle
Hall.

Tourists stream
towards the pylon.

Facade of the
Hypostyle Hall from
Court of Offerings.

A Ptolemy makes
offerings to the Edfu
Triad: Horus, Hathor
and Ihy.

Two views of the single granite statue of Horus

at the Hypostyle Hall.

The Sanctuary of
Horus, with ritual
barque (barge) in
front and black

Columns and reliefs in

the Hypostyle Hall.

THANK
YOU..!!!!!