HISTORY OF

ARCHITECTURE

EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
CM
SYLLABUS
MODULE 3
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
Forces shaping settlements and habitats (funerary and sacred spaces), Eg., Mastabas,
Pyramid complex, Temple of Khons, Karnak.
 ANCIENT EGYPT
1. Egypt’s stability is in stark contrast to the
Ancient Near East of the same period, which
endured an overlapping series of cultures and
upheavals with amazing regularity.
2. The Egyptians were aware of their
consistency, which they viewed as stability,
divine balance, and clear evidence of the
correctness of their culture.
3. Egypt provided the building blocks for Greek
and Roman culture, and, through them,
influenced all of the Western tradition
4. Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for more
than 3000 years
 ANCIENT EGYPT
1. First great recorded civilization - Monumental
CLIMATE & LOCATION
2. Nile river, its valley, and its Delta are the guiding force for the civilization.
3. Nile provided not only the transportation but the sustenance and plenty of its fertile bottomland,
enriched annually by the flooding.
4. The rocky highlands and the Red Sea to the east , and the desert stretching to the west, served
to protect the river valley from invasion and disruption
RIVER NILE
• The waters of the Nile gave birth to the pharaonic
kingdom. A magnet for life-- human, plant and animal.
• Humans were drawn there because they could grow
crops and settle into permanent villages.
• Desert on both sides of Nile provided security and
limited interaction. Hence a unique culture developed.
• Nile a strong channel for trade
• Flooding of Nile was predictable
• The annual flooding of the Nile deposited nutrient rich
silt on the land, creating all the ingredients needed to
support life and the growth of a great civilization
• The settlement of a town had to take two main
considerations into mind - the proximity to a water
source and the height it was built above the flooding of
the Nile.
RIVER NILE
RIVER NILE
• The geography is almost entirely rugged, barren desert,
except for an explosion of green that straddles either side
of the Nile as it flows the length of the country.
• The river emerges from far to the south, deep in Africa,
and empties into the Mediterranean sea in the north
after spreading from a single channel into a fan-shaped
system, known as a delta, at its northernmost section.
• Egypt was the only nation of the ancient world which had
at once easy access to the Northern, or Mediterranean
Sea as well as to the Eastern, or Arabian Sea ; for by
way of the Red Sea, Egypt always commanded an
access to both these highways.
• The consequence was that Egypt had outlets for her
own productions and inlets for those of foreign
nations.
• In Egypt there existed an abundance of limestone in
the north, sandstone in the central region, and granite in
the south.
• It is also possible that the transport of stone required for
the great buildings was effected by means of rafts
floated down at this season.
• The influence of this river on Egyptian culture and
development cannot be overstated—without its
presence, the civilization would have been entirely
different, and most likely entirely elsewhere.
 ANCIENT EGYPT
Protected and secured, Egypt developed a sophisticated culture and an
enduring art of great beauty and luxury
Pharaohs and the Legacy of Ancient Egypt

The pharaohs who ruled Egypt for about 3,000 years were by and large
capable administrators, strong military leaders, sophisticated traders,
and overseers of great building projects.

Egyptians used HIEROGLYPHICS or pictures to represent words or

sounds.
ANCIENT EGYPT
1. The earliest royal monuments, such as the Narmer Palette carved around 3100 B.C.E., display
identical royal costumes and poses as those seen on later rulers, even Ptolemaic kings on their
temples 3000 years later.
2. This consistency was closely related to a fundamental belief that depictions had an impact beyond the
image itself—tomb scenes of the deceased receiving food, or temple scenes of the king performing
perfect rituals for the gods—were functionally causing those things to occur in the divine realm. If the
image of the bread loaf was omitted from the deceased’s table, they had no bread in the Afterlife; if the
king was depicted with the incorrect ritual implement, the ritual was incorrect and this could have dire
consequences. This belief led to an active resistance to change in codified depictions.

Palette of Narmer, c. 3000-2920 B.C.E. (left) and Ramses III smiting at Medinet Habu (1160 B.C.E.) (right)
PRE-DYNASTIC
1. In pre-dynastic times, nomadic hunters settled in the valley and began to grow crops to supplement
their food supply.
2. The earliest settlements seem to have been in general quite irregular; no planning is visible, and the
clusters of houses seem to have grown 'organically' without any non-environmental factors of control.
3. During early settlement phases, the dwellings consisted of clusters of huts made from mud with mud-
plastered walls and floors.
4. The village had residential areas interspersed with workshops and public areas.
5. Even though the orientation of huts in rows seems to suggest some organizational order, there is really no
indication of elite areas or any pronounced hierarchical organization.
6. The Egyptians rarely planned much further than keeping a few spaces free for the important roads of
access.
DWELLINGS

1. The homes and tombs of the Pre-dynastic Period were built of mud-brick which was dried in the sun (a practice
which would continue throughout Egypt's history).
2. Homes were thatched structures of reeds which were daubed with mud for walls prior to the discovery of
brick making.
3. These early buildings were circular or oval before bricks were used and, after, became square or rectangular.
4. Communities gathered together for protection from the elements, wild animals, and strangers and grew
into cities which encircled themselves with walls.
5. As civilization advanced, so did the architecture with the appearance of windows and doors braced and adorned by
wooden frames.
6. Wood was more plentiful in Egypt at this time but still not in the quantity to suggest itself as a building material on
any large scale.
7. The mud brick oval home became the rectangular house with a vaulted roof, a garden, and courtyard.
EARLY DYNASTIC
1. Evidence of human habitation in Egypt
stretches back tens of thousands of years.
2. It was only in about 6000 BCE, however,
that widespread settlement began in the
region.
3. Although we do not know the specific dates
and events, most scholars who study this
period believe that sometime around the
year 3100 BCE, a leader named either
Narmer or Menes united Egypt politically
when he gained control of both Upper and
Lower Egypt and established the first
dynasty.
4. Narmer originally ruled Lower Egypt and he
conquered Set, a leader of Upper Egypt.
5. After political unification, divine kingship,
or the idea that a political ruler held his
power by favor of a god or gods—or that he
was a living incarnation of a god—became
firmly established in Egypt.
EARLY DYNASTIC
1. Work in mud brick is also evidenced
in the construction of tombs which,
during the Early Dynastic Period in
Egypt, become more elaborate and
intricate in design.
2. These early oblong tombs
(mastabas) continued to be built of
mud brick but already at this time
people were working in stone to
create temples to their gods.
3. Stone monuments begin to appear,
along with these temples, by
the Second Dynasty of Egypt
TOMBS
The Egyptians believed that the body and soul were
important to human existence, in life and in death.
Their funerary practices, such as mummification and
burial in tombs, were designed to assist the deceased
find their way in the afterworld.
The tombs were filled with food, tools, domestic wares,
treasures -- all the necessities of life -- to ensure the
soul's return to the body so that the deceased would
live happily ever after.
The pharaohs were seen as gods, divine
representatives on earth who, through rituals, ensured
the continuation of life. After death, they became
immortal, joining the gods in the afterworld.

MASTABAS (EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD)

STEPPED PYRAMID (DYNASTIC PERIOD)
PYRAMIDS (OLD KINGDOM)
ROCK CUT TOMBS (MIDDLE KINGDOM)
TOMBS
 TOMBS
MASTABAS
The tombs of the First Dynasty are located at Abydos, an important
early city about 100 kilometers downstream from Thebes
1. The earliest and simplest form of an Egyptian burial tomb was
the mastaba, which was used beginning around 3100 BCE.
2. These flat-roofed, rectangular superstructures had sides
constructed at first from mud brick and later of stone, in the
form of paneled niches painted white and decorated with
elaborate “matting” designs.
3. They were built over many storage chambers stocked with
food and equipment for the deceased, who lay in a rectangular
burial chamber below ground.
4. They had flat tops and slanted walls.
5. Over time, mastabas became larger to include multiple tombs,
storerooms, and chapels.
6. Their large mastabas incorporated offering niches as well as
corridors that could accommodate paintings of equipment for
the afterlife and recesses to hold sculptures of the deceased
owner.
7. By the later Old Kingdom, internal space in mastabas became
more complex as they accommodated more burials.
8. The mastaba became the basis for the stepped pyramid
TOMBS

MASTABAS
1. They had flat tops and slanted walls, sides sloping at an angle of 75 degrees.
2. They were divided into three parts :
i. The outer chamber, in which were placed the offerings to the " Ka “ or "double," having its walls
decorated with representations of festal and other scenes, which are valuable from an historical
standpoint.
ii. Inner secret chambers, known as the "serdabs," containing statues of the deceased, and members of
his family.
iii. A well of great depth, leading to the chamber containing the sarcophagus with its mummy.
TOMBS
Step Pyramid Complex at Saqqara
The Mortuary Complex of Zoser, located on a slight hill west of Memphis and
just to the north of Saqqâra, was enclosed by a 277-by-544-meter wall laid
out in precise orientation to the four cardinal points.
The walls were of white stone and rose to an impressive 10.5 meters.
They served the symbolic purpose of defending the mortuary complex from
the chaos of the unordered world outside.
There were fifteen gateways, three at the north and south walls, four on
the east wall, and—oddly—five on the west wall, yet only a single one was
a functioning entrance.
One entered the complex from the southern end of the eastern wall. The
visitor passed through a 1-meter-wide hallway into a narrow corridor
defined by two rows of columns attached to wall.
These columns are probably the earliest monumental stone columns in
the history of architecture.
TOMBS

Step Pyramid Complex at Saqqara

1. The columns in the entrance corridor are fluted and resemble bundled reeds, while engaged columns in other areas of
the precinct have capitals resembling papyrus blossoms.
2. The shadowy entranceway led to the south court in front of the step pyramid.
TOMBS
Step Pyramid Complex at Saqqara
1. Djoser’s vizier and chief architect Imhotep imagined
a great mastaba tomb for his king built of stone.
2. The mastaba was covered with a stone
superstructure with four gently sloping steps.
3. No sooner was that built than it was decided that the
structure should be expanded yet again. It was
transformed into a 60-meter-high, six-tiered
structure by adding material in the northerly
direction.
4. They built a series of stacked mastabas known
as a "step pyramid“, piling six mastaba-like
levels on top of one another
5. When completed, the Step Pyramid rose 204 feet
(62 meters) high and was the tallest structure of
its time.
6. The surrounding complex included a temple,
courtyards, shrines, and living quarters for the
priests covering an area of 40 acres (16 hectares)
and surrounded by a wall 30 feet (10.5 meters) high.
TOMBS

Step Pyramid Complex at Saqqara

1. The actual tomb of Djoser was located beneath the pyramid at the bottom of a shaft 92 feet (28 meters) long.
2. The tomb chamber itself was encased in granite but, to reach it, one had to traverse a maze of hallways, all
brightly painted with reliefs and inlaid with tiles, leading to other rooms or dead ends filled with stone
vessels carved with the names of earlier kings.
INVENTIONS
1. The calendar we use today is derived from one developed by the ancient Egyptians. They divided the
year into 3 seasons: akhet "inundation," peret "growing/emergence." and shemw "harvest." Each
season was, in turn, divided into four 30-day months.
2. As the Egyptian state grew in power and influence, it was better able to mobilize resources for large-
scale projects and required better methods of record-keeping to organize and manage an increasingly
large state.
3. The use of hieroglyphics—a form of writing that used images to express sounds and meanings
—likely began in this period.
 OLD KINGDOM
1. Out of this unification emerged what later Egyptians would themselves
call the Old Kingdom, with its capital at Memphis.
2. During the Old Kingdom period, Egypt was largely unified as a single
state; it gained in complexity and expanded militarily.
3. This new political unity, combined with the rapid development of a
powerful bureaucracy, was the final stage of Egypt’s transformation
into a complex and vertically structured society with a population of
several million farmers and slaves.
4. The last king of the Third Dynasty of Egypt, initiated the massive
building projects of the Old Kingdom in constructing the first
pyramids
5. This was carried further by kings of the 4th Dynasty in the Old Kingdom,
which were both tombs and monuments for the kings who had them
built.
6. The builders of the pyramids were not enslaved people but peasants,
working on the pyramids during the farming off-season.
7. These peasants worked alongside specialists like stone cutters,
mathematicians, and priests.
8. As a form of taxation, each household was required to provide a
worker for these projects, although the wealthy could pay for a
substitute.
9. This demonstrates both the power of the state to force people to provide
labor and also the advantages enjoyed by elites, who could buy their way
out of providing labor.
10. This required a centralized government that could command vast
resources.
OLD KINGDOM
1. The two principal building materials used
in ancient Egypt were unbaked mud brick and
stone.
2. There was no shortage of building material.
Stone was abundant up and down the Nile:
the colorful red granite of Aswan, the white
marble of Gebel Rokham, and the black basalt
of Faiyum—not to mention the various types of
soft sandstone brought downriver from Nubia.
3. One tremendous obelisk of red granite 41
meters long still lies on its side in the quarry
near Aswan.
4. From the Old Kingdom (c. 2575–2130 BCE)
onward, stone was generally used for tombs—
the eternal dwellings of the dead—and for
temples—the eternal houses of the gods.
5. Mud brick remained the domestic material,
used even for royal palaces; it was also used
for fortresses, the great walls of temple
precincts and towns, and for subsidiary buildings
in temple complexes.
PYRAMIDS
THE GREAT PYRAMIDS AT GIZA
The Great Pyramid, by Cheops (Khufu)
The Second Pyramid, by Cephron (Khafra)
The Third Pyramid by Mycerinos (Menkhara)

.
PYRAMIDS
1. Pyramids are only the massive residue of an extensive ritual architecture that included temples, causeways, ports,
shrines, and even special tombs for the sacred boats that carried the sarcophagus and other objects.
2. The pharaoh’s body would be brought on a funerary ship to a valley temple along the Nile River.
3. The temple consisted of an intricate though largely symmetrical combination of galleries and courts, at the center of
which was a monumental courtyard with twelve colossal statues in niches along its perimeter
4. Once the body had been properly prepared, the coffin was sledded up to the mortuary temple in the shadow of
the pyramid, where other rituals would take place, including daily prayers, incantations, and offerings.
PYRAMIDS
THE GREAT PYRAMIDS AT GIZA
1. The three primary pyramids on the Giza plateau were built over the span of three generations by the rulers
Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. These were built by the kings as their future tombs
2. Each pyramid was part of a royal mortuary complex that also included a temple at its base and a long stone
causeway (some nearly 1 kilometer in length) leading east from the plateau to a valley temple on the edge of
the floodplain.
PYRAMIDS
THE GREAT PYRAMIDS AT GIZA
1. When engineers set about to build the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), they took no chances and chose a solid
rock foundation.
2. Its orientation, so close to true north, has raised the question of how the ancient Egyptians managed to achieve
such accuracy.
3. Six million tons of solid masonry, consisting of 2,300,000 individual stones, rested on that foundation.
4. The core was mostly of yellow limestone quarried from the immediate area, while the stones of the casing are
of a white limestone from quarries at Tura and Masara, on the east bank of the Nile on the outskirts of modern
Cairo.
5. The casing stones were fitted together with such precision that the sides would have been seen as a
smooth sheet glistening in the sun.
PYRAMIDS
THE GREAT PYRAMIDS AT GIZA
• The Great Pyramid of Cheops is square
on plan, 760 feet each way, its area
being about 13 acres
• The face of the triangle intersects the
ground at an angle a little less than 51.5
degrees. This means that the height of the
triangle along the surface to the top is phi
(the golden section or ratio,
1.61803399) and that the vertical height of
the pyramid at its center is the square root
of phi.
• The sides face directly north, south,
east and west, as in all the pyramids.
• The original height was 482 feet.
• There is also solid evidence that the
layout of the three pyramids is not
haphazard, but that it too conforms to a
unifying geometric plan
• The angles of the internal passages, as
well as the location of the various
chambers, are also thought to have
been defined mathematically.
 PYRAMIDS
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF KHUFU (CHEOPS)
1. The entrance is on the northern side, is 47 feet 6 inches above
the base, and is now reached by means of an earthen
embankment.
2. The passage to which it gives access first slopes downwards,
and afterwards re-ascends towards the heart of the pyramid,
where the King's Chamber is situated.
3. In this chamber, which is 34 feet 6 inches by 17 feet and 19 feet
high, was placed the the king’s embalmed body.
4. The upper part is elaborately constructed with stones one
above the other and the entrance is protected by a massive
stone weighing from 50 to 60 tons.
5. Two air channels, each about 8 inches by 6 inches, led to the
outer face of the pyramid for ventilation.
6. There were two other chambers in the Great Pyramid, one
known as the Queen's Chamber, connected with a passage
leading off that to the King's Chamber, and the other below the
ground.
 PYRAMIDS
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF KHUFU (CHEOPS)
Queen's Chamber
1. The "Queen's Chamber" is exactly halfway between the north and
south faces of the pyramid and measures 5.75 metres (18.9 ft) north
to south, 5.23 metres (17.2 ft) east to west, and has a pointed roof
with an apex 6.23 metres (20.4 ft) above the floor.
2. At the eastern end of the chamber there is a niche 4.67 metres (15.3 ft)
high.
3. The original depth of the niche was 1.04 metres (3.4 ft), but has since
been deepened by treasure hunters
4. This room was misnamed the queen’s chamber by early explorers, but it
cannot have served as a tomb since it was not provided with a stone
sarcophagus and was not sealed by a portcullis (stone plug).
Grand Gallery
5. The Grand Gallery continues the slope of the Ascending Passage
towards the King's Chamber, extending from the 23rd to the 48th
course, a rise of 21 metres (69 ft).
6. It has been praised as a "truly spectacular example of
stonemasonry".
7. It is 8.6 metres (28 ft) high and 46.68 metres (153.1 ft) long.
8. The base is 2.06 metres (6.8 ft) wide
9. It is roofed by slabs of stone laid at a slightly steeper angle than the
floor of the gallery
PYRAMIDS
THE GREAT PYRAMIDS AT GIZA
CONSTRUCTION
1. The men and women who worked on the
Great Pyramid lived in state-provided
housing on the site and were well
compensated for their efforts. The more
skilled a worker was, the higher their
compensation.
2. labourers moved the massive limestone
blocks without the use of wheels, horses
or iron tools
3. The finishing and fitting of such large masses
of granite is remarkable, for many of the
blocks, perfectly squared, polished and fitted,
are at least 20 feet long by 6 feet wide.
4. The method of quarrying and of transportation
for long distances by land and water, and the
raising of these blocks of stone into position,
is even now uncertain,
5. No mortar was used to hold the blocks in
place, only a fit so exact that these towering
structures have survived for 4,000 years
View up the side of Khufu's pyramid showing scale of the core blocks
OLD KINGDOM
1. The later rulers of the Old Kingdom built temples (or pyramids on a much smaller scale) as
these were more affordable.
2. The shift from the pyramid monument to the temple signaled a deeper shift in sensibilities which had to
do with the growing power of the priesthood, monuments were no longer being built to honor a
certain king but for a specific god.
3. Power struggles, crop failures, and cost of pyramids contributed to the collapse of the Old
Kingdom
MIDDLE KINGDOM
DYNASTIES XI-XVI

During the First Intermediate Period, Egypt was divided and in political chaos.
The Tenth Dynasty ruled northern Egypt, while the Eleventh Dynasty ruled the south.
Around 2000 BC, a powerful leader named Mentuhotep II became king of southern Egypt.
He launched an attack on the north and eventually reunited Egypt under one rule.
This began the period of the Middle Kingdom.
MIDDLE KINGDOM
DYNASTIES XI-XVI

Under the rule of Mentuhotep II, Thebes became the capital of Egypt.
From that point forward, the city of Thebes would remain a major religious and political center throughout
much of Ancient Egyptian history.
Mentuhotep II built his tomb and mortuary complex near the city of Thebes.
Many Middle Kingdom monuments are poorly preserved, almost no Middle Kingdom temples remain
standing.
Many Middle Kingdom pyramids were constructed with mud-brick cores that eroded after their
limestone casing was removed by ancient stone robbers.
The lack of attention to Middle Kingdom monuments is unfortunate, as this was a period of beautiful artworks
rendered with great skill and sensitivity.
INVENTIONS
1. During the Middle Kingdom, Egyptians began to write literature, as well.
2. Some writing was preserved on stone or clay, and some was preserved on papyrus, a paper-like
product made from reed fiber.
3. Papyrus is very fragile, but due to the hot and dry climate of Egypt, a few papyrus documents have
survived.
4. Hieroglyphic writing also became an important tool for historians studying ancient Egypt once it
was translated in the early 1800s.
ROCK CUT TOMB
Middle & New Kingdom Burial Chambers
1. The building of exposed tombs above ground was abandoned & during this period the Egyptian tomb
returned to earth.
2. This development, which occurred in the cliffs of the Nile where the architecture was mostly not “built” but
hollowed out of the living rock.
3. The best examples are found at Beni Hasan, 125 miles upstream from Giza on the east bank of the Nile.
4. The RocK-cut tombs of the Middle Kingdoms proved no less inviolable to grave robbers than the
Pyramids. Thus the builders of the New Kingdom decided to sacrifice the monumentality of tombs in favor
of increased security.
5. To this end they developed the so –called shaft tomb-a complex series of long underground corridors &
chambers hollowed out of the cliffs of the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the river Nile near
Thebes
NEW KINGDOM
1. The Nile Delta of Egypt, around 1720 BCE, was invaded and
occupied by the Hyksos, also called the Sea People, who ruled
Lower Egypt
2. The Hyksos, brought to Egyptians some previously unknown
things: not only the chariot, but also new techniques of bronze
working and pottery, new breeds of animals, new crops, and a
particularly powerful composite bow.
3. The return of stability in Egypt meant the vigorous trade in goods
on which so many Near Eastern societies depended could
recommence.
4. Egypt began to dominate the region, they now became
colonizers.
5. An important change that came with the reestablishment of unity
involved religion: no longer only the purview of the elite, it now
comprised larger sections of society.
6. Festivals, processions, and celebrations that could draw
thousands of participants were introduced.
7. The New Kingdom saw the rise of large temple institutions that
played an important part in hosting these mass celebrations.
8. As a consequence the temple priests rose in power and played
an increasingly large role in Egyptian politics.
TEMPLES
1. During the period of the New Kingdom, the capital of
Egypt was Thebes.
2. Thebes had been used as a burial site since around
2000 BCE, but with its new prestige as imperial
capital, it also became the royal site.
3. The first temple at the site was erected around 1970
BCE and was a rather modest structure.
4. Thutmosis I began enlarging the Karnak temple
complex at Thebes around 1530 BCE.
5. Queen Hatshepsut added her temple on the west
bank (ca. 1470 BCE),
6. and Amenhotep III started work on Temple of Luxor
around 1350 BCE;
7. the temple-building activity culminated in the efforts of
Seti I and Ramesses II, who made significant
additions to Karnak and Luxor around 1280 BCE.
8. From then on the complex went through periodic
expansions and transformations until the 5 th century
BCE.
TEMPLES
On special occasions the barque was carried out of
the temple in the context of a great popular
celebration and taken to various sites depending on
calendric requirements.
Though a boat, this barque never got wet but instead
was transported by priests on their shoulders. When
it crossed the Nile, it was placed on a special boat.
MORTUARY TEMPLES
1. Following the decline of the Pyramid and the concealment of the burial chambers in the depths of the cliffs, that
mortuary temples developed into Egyptian’s most important monumental form. Most forward looking
Prototypes - the Funerary temple complexes set before the old Kingdom pyramids.
2. This normally comprised of three interconnected units –
1. A valley temple near the river where the kings body borne there on a special funerary bark, was embalmed
2. A mortuary temple at the temple at the foot of the pyramid for rituals devoted to the cult of the Pharaoh &
associated deities
3. Connecting these two temple structures a long narrow causeway between thick high walls.
CULT TEMPLES
1. While the Mortuary temples were for ministrations to deified Pharaohs: the cult temples for the popular worship
of the ancient and mysterious gods.
2. Cult temples began in the worship of multifarious local deities. A temple complex was virtually never
constructed in isolation. In fact, the temple itself was almost always surrounded by other support facilities.
3. Some of the structures were directly related to religious functions of the temple, while others were more
administrative in nature.
4. Unfortunately, many such structures, such as the Sanatoria, the House of Life, storage and support facilities,
were built of mud brick and are therefore significantly deteriorated.
5. The ancient Egyptians believed that temples were the homes of the gods and goddesses.
6. Every temple was dedicated to a god or goddess and he or she was worshipped there by the temple priests and
the pharaoh. The large temple buildings were made of stone so that they would last forever.
TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK
1. Some sixty festivals were celebrated in Thebes annually.
2. Some took place within the temple confines; others involved moving cult images from temple to temple.
3. The Karnak culture of processions was at the time unique in the world and would have a huge impact on subsequent
religious world views. The processional rituals among Catholics, for example, is rooted in these ancient prototypes.
4. Karnak has two entrances: one for those arriving from the direction of the Nile, to accommodate the barque
procession, and the other from Luxor.
5. The Nile entrance had its own harbor.
6. Both entrances are defined by a series of majestic pylons.
7. To the north of the enclosure is a small sanctuary.
TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK
PYLON
1. A pylon (from the Greek word for “gate”) is
a high, inclined, and slightly trapezoid
shaped wall with a large central entrance
guarding a sacred precinct.
2. It was often accented by tall flagpoles and
obelisks whose tops were sheathed in gold
plating.
3. The two flanks of the pylon, formal and
imposing, symbolized the mountain ranges
that hem in the Nile.
4. Their form was a purely symbolical
expression of Egyptian power.
5. It relates to the watchtower-like nature, if
not the actual function, of these structures.
6. Flagpoles were placed along the front of
the pylons, the poles and flags
representing, for the Egyptians, the
presence of a sacred precinct at the most
basic level.
7. The pylons were most often covered with a
fine layer of stucco and painted white,
while the figures and other pictorial
elements were rendered in vivid colors.
TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK
 TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK
TEMPLE OF AMUN
Cult temple dedicated to Amun, Mut and Khonsu. The largest religious
building ever constructed. The temple of Karnak was known as Ipet-isu
—or “most select of places”—by the ancient Egyptians. It is a city of
temples built over 2,000 years and dedicated to the Theban triad of
Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.
 TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK
TEMPLE OF
AMUN
The portal gave on to
the open court,
surrounded on three
sides by a double
colonnade and leading
to the hypostyle hall, to
which light was
admitted by a clerestory,
formed by the increased
height of the columns of
the central aisle.
Beyond was the
sanctuary, with
openings front and rear
and a circulating
passage around, and
beyond this again was a
four columned hall
 TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK
TEMPLE OF
AMUN
The first interior space of
the Temple of Amun,
located behind the second
pylon, was the so-called
hypostyle hall, or hall with
many columns.
TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK
TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK
TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK
HYPOSTYLE HALL, TEMPLE OF AMUN /
AMMON
1. The intervals between the enormous columns are
proportionately small.
2. The columns, 24 meters high, are more than just the
structural supports for the roof; they serve as
superdimensional history books
3. The scenes painted on them refer to the religious
practices and great achievements of the king.
4. At the bottom they are decorated with images of papyrus
and at the top with offering scenes.
TEMPLE COMPLEX OF
KARNAK

1. The hall has 134 massive sandstone columns with

the center twelve columns standing at 69 feet.
2. Like most of the temple decoration, the hall would
have been brightly painted and some of this paint
still exists on the upper portions of the columns and
ceiling today.
3. With the center of the hall taller than the spaces on
either side, the Egyptians allowed for clerestory
lighting (a section of wall that allowed light and air
into the otherwise dark space below).
4. In fact, the earliest evidence for clerestory lighting
comes from Egypt.
TEMPLE OF KHONS,
LUXOR
1. Rulers added courts and hypostyle halls as indications of their support and patronage.
2. The Amun-Re Temple, for example, grew steadily toward the Nile, with new gateways being added and others
redesigned.
3. In this case, the temple is not axially aligned but follows the gentle easterly bend of the processional route, as it was
extended in later building campaigns farther and farther to the northeast.
TEMPLE OF KHONS,
LUXOR
1. The entrance to the temple was between "pylons," or
massive / sloping towers, on each side of the central
gateway.
2. In front of the entrance were placed obelisks, and in
front of , these an avenue of sphinxes, forming a
splendid approach to ' the temple.
3. This entrance gave access to the large outer court- yard,
which was open to the sky in the centre
4. This courtyard was surrounded by a double colonnade
on three sides, and led up to the hypostyle hall, in which
light was admitted by means of a clerestory above,
formed by the different height of the columns.
TEMPLE OF KHONS,
LUXOR
1. A series of successively smaller telescoping rooms then
leads to the sanctuary, where the barque was stored.
2. From there, one gained access to a hall, placed at right
angles to the axis, which was defined as the mythical
place of the path of the sun.
3. Three doors opened to rooms, one for each of the cult
images of the divine triad: Amun; his spouse, Mut, the
mother of gods; and their son, the moon god Khonsu.
4. They all “gathered” here during the Beautiful Feast of the
Valley.
5. The whole collection of buildings forming the temple was
surrounded by a great wall as high as the buildings
themselves.
TEMPLE OF KHONS,
LUXOR
OBELISKS
1. They are monumental pillars, originally employed in
pairs before the principal entrances of temples.
2. They are monoliths, i.e., single upright stones, square on
plan with slightly rounded faces, and tapering sides, with
a pyramidal summit.
3. The height is usually about nine to ten times as great as
the diameter, and the four faces were cut with
hieroglyphics.
4. The capping was of metal, for the groove into which it
was fitted is in some cases still visible.
5. The quarrying and transport of such a mass of stone
without the power of a steam-engine was" an
engineering feat of considerable skill.
6. Many obelisks were removed from Egypt by the Roman
emperors, and at least twelve are in Rome itself
OBELISKS
EGYPTIAN COLUMNS
1. One enters the Temple of Luxor through a rhomboid-
shaped courtyard, built later by Ramesses II, that leads
to a passageway of two rows of seven impressively
scaled columns 21 meters high.
2. That space opens to a court and a hypostyle hall, and
finally to the sanctuary itself.
3. A series of successively smaller telescoping rooms then
leads to the sanctuary, where the barque was stored.
4. From there, one gained access to a hall, placed at right
angles to the axis, which was defined as the mythical
place of the path of the sun.
5. Three doors opened to rooms, one for each of the cult
images of the divine triad: Amun; his spouse, Mut, the
mother of gods; and their son, the moon god Khonsu.
6. They all “gathered” here during the Beautiful Feast of the
Valley.
EGYPTIAN COLUMNS
1. One enters the Temple of Luxor through a rhomboid-shaped
courtyard, built later by Ramesses II, that leads to a passageway of
two rows of seven impressively scaled columns 21 meters high.
2. That space opens to a court and a hypostyle hall, and finally to the
sanctuary itself.
3. A series of successively smaller telescoping rooms then leads to the
sanctuary, where the barque was stored.
4. From there, one gained access to a hall, placed at right angles to the
axis, which was defined as the mythical place of the path of the sun.
5. Three doors opened to rooms, one for each of the cult images of the
divine triad: Amun; his spouse, Mut, the mother of gods; and their
son, the moon god Khonsu.
6. They all “gathered” here during the Beautiful Feast of the Valley.
 EGYPTIAN COLUMNS
Egyptian columns have a distinctive character & a very large proportion of them plainly advertise their vegetable
origin, their shafts indicative of bundles of plantstems, gathered in a little at the base and with capitals seemingly
derived from the lotus bud, the papyrus flower or the ubiquitous palm.
EGYPTIAN COLUMNS
EGYPTIAN
COLUMNS
GREAT SPHINX
1. The most celebrated example of a Sphinx near the great pyramid of El Gizeh, hewn from a single Sand stone
Knoll, with the recumbent body of a lion and a man’s head. 244ft long, 66ft high and 13ft broad.
2. The head is 28 ½ ft high from chin to crown. At one time a small temple stood between the forepaws.
PYLON
Monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple, consisting of a plain of tower structures with slanting walls flanking
the entrance portal
PROPYLON
In ancient Egyptian architecture a monumental gateway usually between two towers in outline like truncated
pyramids, of which one or a series stood before the actual entrance or pylon of most temples or other important
buildings
DWELLINGS
Egyptian Architecture was not all the gigantic temples & tombs
but to the contrary also an affirmation of life busy with trading,
farming ,administration, crafts and pleasure.
Clay models deposited in tombs indicate that ordinary dwellings
were of crude brick, one or two storeys high with flat or arched
ceilings & a parapeted roof partly occupied by a loggia. Remains
of barrck-like dwellings for workers exist at the pyramid sites of
Chephren at Gizeh. Each workers establishment constituted a
considerable village, laid out on rigidly formal lines. Though in
the towns even the better houses were on constricted plots &
therefore might be three or four storeys high where on consricted
plots & therefore might be three or four storeys high, where
space allowed mansions stood in their own grounds, laid out
formally with groves , gardens, pools & minor
structuressurrounding rectangular, crude –brick dwelling, this
having its door & window openings dressed arround in stone. E
DWELLINGS – TELL-EL-
AMARNA
A new town built by Pharaoh Akhnaten-8th dynasty-15years.
Ground plan remarkably regular. Arrangements of its interiors –a
bilaterally symmetrical design set out on a square plan
Forecaststhe harmoniousstructures of the classical world.
Ground plan remarkably regular. Arrangements of its interiors –a
bilaterally symmetrical design set out on a square plan
Forecaststhe harmoniousstructures of the classical world.
THANK YOU