EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION AND

ARCHITECTURE

“. . . . . As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever

shall be, world without end.”
Prepared by: Ephrem N.
 Egypt

• A mysterious land and civilizations, which

even eluded Herodotus.

• A Gift Of Nile.

• A mystery wrapped like a mummy in a

mystique of death.
 Landscape and Climate

• Landscape fashioned by Nile The longest river which

runs from south to north blooming the desert every
year.

• Annual three Seasons

1. Inundation (Flooding) June - Oct
2. Emergence of the field November - February
3. Drought and Harvest Jan – May
 Landscape and Climate
• The river and the sun, established the two
perpendicular axes that dominate Egyptian life
and architecture.

• Egypt is surrounded by, the great desert in the

east and west, by high mountains from the
south, and the Mediterranean sea in the
north.
 Culture of Egypt
• Cosmos definition
-Unchanging Continuum
-To Egyptians time flowed in cycles that repeated
themselves without end

• Religion
- In the Egyptian mind, the soul was immortal and the
pharaoh a god.
 Culture of Egypt
“. . . . . As it was in the beginning, is now ,and
ever shall be, world without end.”
History of Egypt
Pyramids
 Pyramids
• The pyramids grow out of the earliest royal tombs
known as mastabas
• The royal tombs and pyramids of ancient Egypt were
elaborate structures with important religious purposes.
• They were located along the Nile River. For about 2,000
years, until the end of the New Kingdom in 1070 BC,
royal tombs were built on the Nile’s west bank.
• Because the sun set in the west, Egyptians believed
that the western desert was the entrance to the
underworld, or duat, where the dead dwelled and
through which the sun passed at night.
Pyramids
 Pyramids
• The Egyptian pyramids served as more than a place
to put the king’s dead body.

• They were places of transformation that enabled the

king to pass into a new stage of life.

• The east-west orientation of each pyramid complex

paralleled the daytime course of the sun as it rises
and sets.
 Pyramid of Zoser(Djoser)
• The Step Pyramid of King Djoser was built during
the 3rd Dynasty at Şaqqārah, Egypt.
• Designed by the earliest known architect
Imhotep.
• The pyramid was the first monumental royal
tomb and is one of the oldest stone structures in
Egypt.
• It is a six stepped structure 60m high its base
measuring 125 * 109m
• Constructed out of granite
Pyramid of Zoser
 Bent Pyramid
• The Bent Pyramid, constructed in Egypt during the
reign of King Sneferu (2575 BC-2551 BC), was
constructed in two stages. In the first stage, the
architects built the walls at an angle of 55 degrees.
Then they encountered structural problems and
flattened the angle to 43 degrees. The pyramid’s
unusual shape gave it its name.
Bent Pyramid
The great pyramids of Giza
 The great pyramids of Giza

• The best-known pyramids were built on the Giza

plateau for three 4th Dynasty kings: Khufu (Cheops),
Khafre (Chephren), and Menkaure (Mykerinos).

• Each pyramid is just one element in a line of

structures that form a burial complex.
 The great pyramids of Giza
• The complex begins at the east, with a temple on a
harbor at the edge of the cultivated land in the Nile
Valley.

• From this valley temple, where the king’s body was

first brought by boat, a long, covered causeway runs
west into the desert to a pyramid temple.
 The great pyramids of Giza
• IV Dynasty; 2545-2450 B.C.
• The Pyramid of Cheops is 230.364m square at base,
137.18m height (originally 146m) and the incline is
51 degree.

• The Pyramid of Chephren is 215.8m square at base,

136.5m height (originally 143.5m)and the incline is
53 degree.

• The Pyramid of Mycerinus is 108.5m square at base,

66.5m height and the incline is 51 degree.
The great pyramids of Giza
 The great pyramid of Kufu (Cheops)

• The construction took 20 yrs to complete

• Over 20,000 slaves participated on the construction
• Consists of 2.3 million blocks of stone weighing an
average of 2.5 tons.
• It has three chambers inside: the king’s chamber, the
queen's chamber and the grand gallery
• Originally it was covered with polished limestone
The great pyramid of Kufu (Cheops)

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE I
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE I
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE I
 Sphinx at Giza
• Sphinx (or Aboul Hul as the Arabs call) has the head of King
Chephren and a lion body.
• It is 20m high and 73m long. The face is 4m width.
Egyptian Temples
 Egyptian Temples
• Beyond the pyramids , the most important
Egyptian monuments are the temples built for
the popular worship of the gods.
• Temples of Old and Middle Kingdom
Old and Middle Kingdom temples were typically
built of perishable mud brick, and few have
survived.
• The use of colossal statues and obelisks was
standard for all Egyptian temples at that time.
 Temples of the New Kingdom
• The space within a temple was sacred and it gets
increasingly sacred as one went further in, and the more
sacred inner parts were restricted to the king and priests.
 Temples of the New Kingdom
• Most temples were rectangular, with the entrance
on the side nearest the Nile. A huge gateway called a
pylon stood at the entrance to the temple area and
led into an open court.

• Then followed a covered, pillared room called a

hypostyle hall. Beyond this was the sanctuary, which
contained the shrine in which the cult statue of the
god was kept.
 Temples of the New Kingdom
COURTYARD
PYLON

SHRINE

SIDE
ENTRANCE

HYPOSTYLE
PYLON
HYPOSTYLE HALL
Sanctuary
Spatial Concept
• The architecture of the temple was designed to
replicate the universe at the moment of creation.
• “. . . The Egyptians believed that before
creation there existed only the dark, marshy
primeval waters of chaos.
• Out of these waters a mound arose on which
the creator god came into being and created
the ordered universe.”
 Spatial Concept
➢ The dark hypostyle hall with its many pillars
represented the primeval waters, and the pillars
topped by papyrus or lotus capitals represented
marsh plants.

➢ The polished stone floor represented the water

itself. Moving back into the temple, the floor levels
rose, because the sanctuary symbolized the mound
of creation.

➢ The temple’s god, manifested in the cult statue, thus

represented the creator god.
Temple of Amon-Ra. at Al-Karnak
▪ The group of temples at Al Karnak were built over a period
of approximately 1,500 years(1530b.c.).
▪ The temple of Karnak which is located 4km north from
Luxor is the largest and the most complicated architecture
in Egypt
▪ Since Middle Kingdom, Thebe was a center of cult of
Amon and Karnak had become the most important
sanctuary of Amon-Ra in Thebe.
Temple of Amon-Ra. at Al-Karnak

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE I
 Temple of Amon-Ra. at Al-Karnak
• Avenue of cryocephalous sphinxes and the first
Pylon.
• A short avenue of cryocephalous sphinxes leads to
the first and largest pylon, 113m wide and 15m thick,
constituting the monumental entrance to the
temple.
• The sphinxes with the heads of rams, sacred to
Amon, represent the god that protected the Pharaoh
portrayed by animals' paws.
Temple of Amon-Ra. at Al-Karnak
The hypostyle hall
• The hypostyle hall is 102m (from
north to south) by 53m (from
east to west) featuring 134
columns. The largest one in
Egypt.

• The columns are 23m high and

have open papyrus-shaped
capitals head.
The hypostyle hall

• Two rows of columns of the

center axis of the hypostyle hall
are open papyrus columns which
are 20m high, 3.6m in diameter
and 15m in circumference at the
top.
The hypostyle hall
Opened papyrus column Closed papyrus column
The hypostyle hall
• The openings between the roof of the aisle and higher roof
of the nave gave enough lights in the room.
Temple of Amon-Ra. at Al-Karnak
Temple at Luxor
 Temple at Luxor
• The ancient Egyptian temple on the East bank of the
Nile river was built to honor the gods.
• Begun in the 1200s BC and was added on to by each
succeeding dynasty.
• This temple was connected to the temple at Al
Karnak by a street about 3.5 km (2 mile) long, lined
with hundreds of sphinxes.
• Once a year the image of the god Amon was
transported by barge (boat) from Al Karnak to Luxor,
as part of a huge festival.
 Temple at Luxor
The processional avenue flanked by rams headed and
human headed sphinxes leading to the temple of Luxor
The entrance pylon
• The pylon, the obelisk and the
first courtyard was constructed
by Ramses II.

• The obelisk is 25m high and the

seated colossi of Ramses II on a
base of about 1m is 15m high,
both are made by pink granite
The courtyards
• The courtyard measures 46m wide and 52m depth.
• The courtyard is surrounded
on three sides with two
rows of closed papyrus
columns.

• The great colonnade of two

rows of seven bell-shaped
columns, which are 18m
high, is 52m long and
surrounded by a thick stone
wall. The circumference of
the bell is 10m.
Deir El-Bahari
Deir El-Bahari

➢ Built by the Pharaoh

of the 18th dynasty,
Queen Hatshepsut.

➢ Designed by the
royal architect
Senmut.
Deir El-Bahari

• The most important building of the 18th dynasty

period, surpassing all others in originality and
boldness of conception,
• Deir el Bahari was named from the Christian
monastery called "northern monastery" that once
nestled among the ruins.
• In Deir el Bahari the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep
II (11th Dynasty) and the mortuary temple of
Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty) are preserved
Deir El-Bahari

• The complex of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut

is a remarkable example of the aesthetic adaptation
of a building to its natural setting.
• The temple, which faces eastwards, has a series of
vast terraces continuing ochre-colored mountain.
• Central ramps lead to the second terrace, 8m high
from first terrace, and buttressing walls are faced
with colonnades of square pillars.
• The second ramp leads to the uppermost terrace.
Deir El-Bahari

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE I
Characteristic of Egyptian architecture

• Massive stone elements

• Huge sloping walls, pylons
• Obelisks
• Forest of columns
• Mountainous pyramids
• Colossal statuary
• Imposing colonnades
• Stone representations of gods, some with human
characteristics (the sphinxes)
• Plant forms were used extensively for capitals
Huge sloping walls, pylons
Plant forms used as capitals of
columns
Egyptian capitals
Forest of columns (hypostyle)
Mountainous pyramids
Colossal statuary
Imposing colonnades
Stone representations of gods
 An architecture of permanence
• Egyptian architecture changed only in subtle ways
during thirty one dynasties, over 2,700 years.
• The goal of Egyptian culture, and architecture was
continuity and order.
• Egyptian architecture was one of massive geometric
forms, sharp-edged and crystalline
• The Egyptians valued bigness, mass, and solidity as
the expression of durability, a guarantee of
unlimited security and indestructibility.
• In general a great example of Monumentality