Download Egyptian Architecture: Archaic and Old Kingdom Architecture

Ancient and Egyptian
Architecture
Architectural History
ACT 322
Doris Kemp
Topics
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Egyptian Civilization
Egyptian Architectural Characteristics
Mastabas
Saqqara
Pyramid at Medum
Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
Additional Giza Structures
Characteristics
Beni Hasan
Mortuary Temples
Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
Egyptian Civil Architecture
Egyptian Civilization
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Egypt and Mesopotamia are the earliest known
recorded civilizations
Nile River was the driving force for ancient
Egypt
Egyptians were obsessed with the afterlife and
the dead
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These beliefs had a great impact on the culture and
its architecture
Egyptian Civilization
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Ancient Egyptian Periods:
Old Kingdom (c. 3200 – 2158 B.C.)
 Middle Kingdom (c. 2134 – 1786 B.C.)
 New Kingdom (c. 1570 – 1085 B.C.)
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Landscape
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Nile Valley cliffs provided a rich assortment of
building stone
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Varieties include sandstone, granite, and alluvial clay for
bricks
Egyptian Architectural
Characteristics
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Egyptians commonly imitated nature in their
architecture
In a historical sense, nature is a key element in
architecture, no matter the culture
 Only recently has this process been neglected
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Old Kingdom Architecture:
Mastabas
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Mastabas
First known Egyptian tombs
 Bench-shaped masses rising above 30 ft.
 Composed generally of sun-baked mud brick
 Featured sloping walls and a flat roof
 Burial chamber usually was surrounded by storage
rooms
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Used to store goods for the deceased to take along their
journey in the afterlife
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Mastabas
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Mastabas
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Serdabs
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State chambers that
featured an effigy of the
deceased
False doors were included
to allow for the soul of the
deceased to escape the
structure
Mastabas served as a
model for the later
Egyptian pyramids
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Mastabas
http://www2.gp4success.org.uk/egypt/ARTICLES/mastabas.htm
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Mastabas
http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/digital_egypt/3d/pictures/meydum5.jpg
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Saqqara
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Saqqara
Enormous funerary complex built by the Great King
Zoser in 2750 B.C.
 Key features:
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Residence for the king in the afterlife (tomb)
 Replica of the royal palace
 Stage for the enactment for the rituals of kingship
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Old Kingdom Architecture:
Saqqara
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Saqqara
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Designed by Imhotep
The first recorded architect in history
 Would later be considered a god by the Egyptians
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First conceived as a mastaba with huge stone blocks
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Unlike earlier mastabas which used mud-bricks
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Saqqara
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Saqqara
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The complex was repeatedly enlarged over time
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Layers were added in an upward fashion
These additions by Imhotep eventually created the
first Egyptian pyramid
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Step pyramid
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Differs from the geometrically perfect pyramids (i.e. the Great
Pyramids)
Successive layers of smaller structure added upwards
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Saqqara
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Saqqara
Stands 204 ft. , present day
 Surrounded by a 33 ft. high wall
 Entrance Hall
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Columns are used to imitate the bundles of reeds found
along the Nile
 Real reeds were commonly used to construct residential
structures during this time
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Old Kingdom Architecture:
Saqqara
Photo: Sullivan
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Saqqara
Photo: Sullivan
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Pyramid at Medum
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Pyramid at Medum
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c. 2704 – 2656 B.C.
Demonstrates Egyptian attempts at building a steeped, rather
than stepped pyramid
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Geometrically perfect pyramid
Requires at least a 52° angle from the horizontal
Outer layers were insufficiently supported
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Gave way to the immense pressure
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Pyramid at Medum
Photo: Sullivan
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
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Pyramid at Giza
The first successful steep pyramid
 Created by the great pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in
Greek)
 Also known as the Great Pyramid
 Originally 482 ft. high on a plan of 760 ft.
 Modern scientists remain puzzled on its
construction
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Old Kingdom Architecture:
Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
Photo: Sullivan
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
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Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
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Many scientists theorize
its massive stone blocks
were quarried and
transported by large sleds
and barges
Blocks were then lifted
atop ramps to be placed
at higher levels
Photo: Sullivan
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
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Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
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Queen’s Chamber
The original burial place
 Located underground, beneath the Great Pyramid
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King’s Chamber
Replaced the original chamber
 Constructed within the pyramid itself
 Considered one of the finest examples of megalithic
architecture in existence
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Old Kingdom Architecture:
Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
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Khufu’s Pyramid at Giza
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Grand Gallery
Grandiose passage leading from the entrance to the King’s
Chamber
 Originally intended to be used only once, for the king’s
burial
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Old Kingdom Architecture:
Additional Giza Structures
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Chefren
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Followed the Great
Pyramid in construction
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c. 2530 B.C.
Built for the pharaoh
Chefren
Smaller than the Great
Pyramid
Photo: Sullivan
Old Kingdom Architecture:
Additional Giza Structures
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Mycerinus
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Built after Chefren’s
Pyramid
c. 2500 B.C.
The last of the large
Egyptian steep pyramids
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom:
Characteristics
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Egyptian tombs return to below the ground
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Many tombs begin to appear in the cliffs of the Nile
Valley
Builders decide to sacrifice the monumentality
of tombs for security from grave robbers
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Shaft tombs
Long, underground corridors and chambers hollowed out
of Nile Valley cliffs
 Little architectural significance
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Middle and New Kingdom:
Beni Hasan
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Beni Hasan
125 miles upstream from Giza on the East bank of
the Nile River
 Hollowed out of the Nile Valley cliffs
 Features:
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Colonnaded portico for public worship
 Combined chapel and effigy chamber
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Middle and New Kingdom:
Beni Hasan
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom:
Mortuary Temples
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Mortuary Temples
Followed the decline of the pyramids and the
concealment of burial chambers
 Developed into Egypt’s most important
monumental form
 Funerary complexes set before the Old Kingdom
pyramids are some of the most striking mortuary
temples
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Middle and New Kingdom:
Mortuary Temples
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Mortuary Temples
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Usually comprised of three interconnected parts:
A temple near the Nile where the king’s body was
embalmed
 A mortuary temple where rituals were performed
 A long, narrow causeway between thick walls connecting
the two temples
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Middle and New Kingdom:
Mortuary Temples
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Temple Complex of Khafre
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One of the most impressive preserved temple complex’s
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom:
Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
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The Sphinx
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Represented the god ReHarakthe on guard over
the king’s tomb
Contained an intricately
constructed set of
interiors
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom:
Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
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Mortuary Complex of Mentuhotep II
Located at the base of the cliff at Dier el Bahari
 The first monumental structure against the Nile
Valley cliffs in Egyptian architecture
 Huge complex developed some 500 years after the
decline of the pyramids
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Middle and New Kingdom:
Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom:
Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
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Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Dedicated to the sun god Amon-Ra
 Located next to the Mortuary Complex of
Mentuhotep II
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Built some 500 years later
Considered the “least Egyptian” of the Egyptian
monuments
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Closest Egyptians ever came to the architecture of
Classical Greece
Middle and New Kingdom:
Middle Kingdom Mortuary Temples
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom:
New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
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Thebes
Originally built in two locations on the East bank of
the Nile River
 Known today as Karnak and Luxor
 Connected by great avenues of Sphinxes
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Middle and New Kingdom:
New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom:
New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
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Thebes
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Temple of Khons
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Erected around 1100 B.C.
Original temple that other
structures would be
modeled after in the
construction of Thebes
Photo: Sullivan
Middle and New Kingdom:
New Kingdom Mortuary Temples
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Thebes
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Temple of Amun
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Features two giant obelisks
that were created for visual
accent to the structure
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Obelisks tested Egyptian
builders to the full
 Great complexity,
detail, and sheer
size
Created from two giant
stones
Middle and New Kingdom:
Egyptian Civil Architecture
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Evidence shows that life in Egypt was
somewhat secular
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Evidence of country houses and cities where trade
flourished
Middle and New Kingdom:
Egyptian Civil Architecture
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Town of Tell el Amarna
Early example of Egyptian urban planning
 Lies between Luxor and Cairo
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Large estates for the wealthy
 Smaller houses for middle class
 Shows signs of slum areas
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Middle and New Kingdom:
Egyptian Civil Architecture
Photo: Sullivan
References
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Sullivan, Mary; http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wdpt1.html
Trachtenburg/Hyman; Architecture: From Prehistory to
Postmodernity
Wodehouse/Moffett; A History of Western Architecture
Ancient and Egyptian
Architecture
Architectural History
ACT 322
Doris Kemp