HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE NOTES:

I. PRE-HISTORIC and WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

1. The earliest form of dwelling developed by man is the ROCK CAVE.
2. A pre-historic burial mound is called TUMULUS.
3. Monoliths or menhirs are prototypes of the Egyptian PYRAMID.
4. The Stonehenge is an example of STONE CIRCLE.
5. The smallest among the famous pyramids at Gizeh is the PYRAMID of MYKERINOS.
6. The Egyptian gateway to temples is called PYLON.
7. The Egyptian ornament symbolizing fertility is PAPYRUS.
8. Pillars that stood in pairs at the front of Egyptian temples are called OBELISK.
9. Tomb-houses that were made to take the body at full-length are called MASTABA.
10. Characteristic feature of Egyptian external walls is BATTERED.
11. Egyptian architecture was designed principally for INTERNAL EFFECT.
12. The Egyptian cornice that consists of roll and hollow moulding is called GORGE.
13. The torus mould in Egyptian temples were used to cover the ANGLES.
14. Egyptian architecture is characterized by massiveness, monumentality and SIMPLICITY.
15. Egyptian system of construction is essentially COLUMNAR and TRABEATED.
16. The Colossi of Memnon was erected by AMENOPHIS III.
17. The architect of the Great Serapeum at Alexandria is PTOLEMY III.
18. The funerary temple at Der-el-Bahari was built by HATSHEPSUT.
19. The forerunners of the caryatids of the Greeks is OSIRIS PILLARS.
20. Characteristic wall ornament of the Egyptians is HIEROGLYPHICS.
21. The favorite motifs of the Egyptians include the lotus, papyrus and PALM.
22. Structure whose sides were made to face the four cardinal points is the PYRAMID.
23. The size of the Great Pyramid of Cheops is equated to the ST. PETER, ROME.
24. Known as the royal architect and superintendent of pyramids is THIS.
25. In the Egyptian temples, a pillared hall in which the roof rests on columns is called
HYPOSTYLE HALL.
26. Egyptian temples were sanctuaries into which only KINGS and PRIESTS can penetrate.
27. Temples were approached through imposing avenues of SPHINXES.
28. The upright stone slab containing the name of the dead found in the mastaba is called
STELE.
29. The inner secret chamber in the mastaba containing the statues of the deceased members
of the family is called SERDAB.
30. The grandest example of all Egyptian temples built from the XIIth Dynasty to the
Ptolemaic Period is the GREAT TEMPLE of AMMON, KARNAK.
31. Huge monoliths, square in plan and tapering to a pyramidal summit are OBELISKS.
32. A colonnade or portico either concealed or partly enclosed is called CRYPTO-
PORTICUS.
33. The Great Sphinx at Gizeh which is in the form of a recumbent lion with the head of a
man is said to probably represent the god HORUS.
34. The small Egyptian shrine dedicated to the rites of the goddess Isis is called MAMMISI
TEMPLES.
35. The Obelisk at the Piazza of S. John Lateran, Rome was originally from the TEMPLE of
the SUN, HELIOPOLIS.
36. The building of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak was began by SETI I.
37. The builder of the famous Pharos or Light House is PTOLEMY II.
38. The most stupendous and impressive of the rock-cut temples is the GREAT TEMPLE,
ABU-SIMBEL.
39. The four-seated colossal statues of Rameses II is carved in the pylon of the GREAT
TEMPLE, ABU-SIMBEL.
40. Tombs built for Egyptian nobility rather than the royalty are the MASTABA,
41. Egyptian temples built for the worship of the gods were CULT TEMPLES.
42. In the pyramid complex, embalmment and internment rites took place in the VALLEY
BUILDING.
43. The palace proper found in the Assyrian palaces is called SERAGLIO.
44. Mesopotamian architecture is a conglomeration of BABYLONIAN and ASSYRIAN.
45. Temples in Mesopotamia were elevated on platforms because of RELIGIOUS factor.
46. The orientation of the ziggurat had its FOUR CORNERS oriented towards the cardinal
points.
47. Ziggurats are also called HOLY MOUNTAINS.
48. The use of monsters in doorways is prevalent in PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE.
49. The system of construction used by the Assyrians is principally one of ARCH and
VAULT.
50. Found at the top of the ziggurat is FIRE ALTAR.
51. Assyrian walls are finished at the top by BATTLEMENTED CRESTINGS.
52. The chief architectural ornament of the Assyrians is CHISELLED ALABASTER.
53. The ziggurat at Borsippa was rebuilt by NEBUCHADNEZZAR.
54. The famous “hanging gardens” is found in the PALACE OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR.
55. The palace proper in most Assyrian palaces is called SERAGLIO.
56. The Hall of the Hundred Columns was built by XERXES.
57. The Propylaea, forming the monumental entrance to the palace platform, Persepolis was
built by XERXES.
58. In the absence of windows, ventilation in Assyrian palaces were allowed in the interiors
through TERRA-COTA PIPES.
59. The harem in the Assyrian palaces is PRIVATE FAMILY APARTMENT.
60. The Persians developed a column because of CLIMATE and GEOLOGY.