Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs, of which the ancient name was “kemet”, or

the Black land, consists of a narrow strip of alluvial soil along the banks of the Nile
river bordered by sandy desert. It was the only country of the ancient world which,
by means of the Red Sea, commanded outlets and inlets for foreign trade by both
the Mediterranean and Arabian Seas. The Nile itself was of untold value, not only
as a trade route and a means of communication, but also mainly because its
overflowing and fertilizing waters made desert sands into fruitful fields, and it may
truly be described as rich life blood which runs in the veins of Egypt.

The products, such as timber, bricks, clay and stone largely determine the
character of the architecture of a country. Stone, including limestone, sandstone
and alabaster, as well the harder syenite or granite, basalt and porphyry, was the
material mainly employed, not only for constructive and decorative architectural
work, but also for vases, and even for personal ornaments because Egypt was
poor in metals.
There was little building timber, but acacia served for boats and sycamore for
mummy cases; while the indigenous date palm was sometimes used in roofing.
 Egypt has been said to have but two seasons: spring
and summer. The climate is equable and warm; snow and
frost are unknown, while storm, fog, and even rain are rare,
and these condition have contributed to the preservation of
the buildings with continuous sunshine, resulted to simplify
of design, as sufficient light reached the interior through the
doors and roof slits, there was no need for windows and thus
unbroken massive walls not only protected an uninterrupted
surface for hieroglyphics or pictorial representations of
religious ritual, historic incidents and daily pursuits.
In the absence of rain, roof drain was not a
consideration, and flat roofs of thick stone slabs sufficed to
cover the building, and to exclude the heat; while in the
temples these roofs served for religious processions.

The close connection between religion and architecture

is everywhere manifest; The religious rites of the Egyptians
were traditional, unchangeable and mysterious, and these
traits are reproduced in their architecture, both tomb and
temple. The religion was monotheistic in theory but
polytheistic in practice.
 The Pharaoh have been divided into thirty dynasties and grouped into
three divisions.

Menes, the first dynastic king, of unified Egypt, who, joined Upper and
Lower Egypt in a single centralized monarchy, and is reputed to have founded
Memphis in lower Egypt and it remained the capital until “New Empire”, though
Thebes (modern Luxor) was growing in prominence.
Ø Living houses were built of bricks and tomb houses or mastabas were made to
take the body at full length.
Ø The art of writings was practiced and hieroglyphic system began
Ø The 3rd dynasty the first recognized step pyramid of pharaoh Zoser (Djoser).
Ø The 4th dynasty saw the building of many pyramids first by Seneferu at Meidum
and Dashur.
 Then by Khufu (Cheops) Son of Seneferu who built the great
pyramid, while Khafre (Chefren) erected the second, and Menkaure
(Mykerinos) erected the third and smallest pyramid all at Gizeh.
Trade and handicrafts flourished, and a record of an expedition to
Punt for embalming-myrrh shows how crafts depended on foreign products
even at that day.

Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) or Khufu’s Horizon

Constructed: c2589 – 2566 bce
Height: 146.50 meters
Base: 230.40 meters

Pyramid of Khafre (Chefren)

Constructed: c. 2558 - 2532 bce
Height: 136.40 meters
Base: 215.25 meters

Pyramid of Menkaure (Mykerinos)

Constructed: c2532 – 2504 bce
Height: 65.50 meters
Base: 103.40 meters
 The only object in the
King's Chamber is a
sarcophagus made out of a
single, hollowed-out granite
block.
§ Sarcophagus – chamber
c o n t a i n i n g t h e “ c o ff i n ”
reached by an under
ground shaft.

§ Queens Chamber – the chamber is made entirely of

beautiful finished limestone blocks with a gabled ceiling.
Amenemhat I of the 12th Dynasty was energetic and enterprising;
Ø He brought social order out of anarchy
Ø Made survey of the kingdom, set boundaries to the provinces
Ø Carried out irrigation
Ø Worked with quarries at Tura
Ø Restore the temples and founded the Great Temple at Karnak
Ø While other kings fostered commerce, art and industry
Ø Senusrets I erected the earliest known “Obelisk at Heliopolis.
Ø Mentuhetep II developed the 3rd type of tomb “Rock cut Tomb”
 Thothmes IV (BC 1450) cleared away the sand from
the Great Sphinx, as recorded on the tablet between
its paws.

Was glorious alike in the arts of peace and war. The founder Amasis I, finally
crushed the Hyksos power in the Delta, pursued them into Palestine,
suppressed sedition and inaugurated the culminating epoch of Egyptian art
when Thebes became the capital and many buildings were erected.
Thothmes I (BC 1550) commenced those additions to the Temple of SPHINX – a mystical
Ammon, Karnak by which successive Pharaohs made it the most imposing monster with a body
of a lion and head of
building in Egypt and he was the first Pharaoh buried in the Tombs of the
a m a n o r
Kings in the Theban Mountains. “androsphinx”

Amenophis III built the Temple at Luxor, dignified that

at Karnak by pylons and erected the famous Colossi of
Memnon.

Hatshepsut (Queen of Egypt) who patronized the arts of peace,

re-established religious rites, and carved out of the mountain side her
fascinating, terraced temple of Del el Bahari’, which covered with colored
pictures of the pursuit she loved, gleams like a gem set in the living rock.
Ø Amenophis IV daringly broke away from dynastic and
religious traditions, deserted Thebes and founded his
capital at Tel-el-Amarna with a great palace and a temple
to the sole god Aten, whose symbol was the solar disc.
Ø Rameses I (BC 1350) founder of the 19 th dynasty, the
most brilliant epoch of Egyptian art, commenced the
Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak.
Ø Rameses II (BC 1330) he finished and erected many
temples, such as the Rock cut Temple at Abu Simbel, the
Hypostyle hall at Karnak, and the Ramesseum at Thebes.
Ø Plans – the plan of Egyptian temples differ in many
respects from the Greek. An imposing avenue of
sphinxes led to the main entrance, flanked by
slender obelisks which formed a strong contrast to
the massive pylons. Courts and Halls alike were
designed to produce an impressive internal effect
and with columns and mysteriously illuminated from
above, was the grandest achievement of Egyptian
planning.
Ø Walls – walls of temple were immensely thick, of
limestone, sandstone or more rarely of granite. The
wall faces lope inwards or batter externally towards
the top, giving a massive appearance and better
resistance to earthquakes. Walls, were generally
carved, in low relief, sometimes coated with a skin of
stucco, about the thickness of a sheet of paper, to
received the color. Simplicity, solidity and grandeur,
obtained by board masses of unbroken walling, are
chief characteristics of the style.
Ø Roofs – composed of massive slabs of stone supported by outer walls and
closely spaced internal columns. Flat roofs of dwelling houses served as pleasant
rendezvous for enjoyment of the fresh breezes, while flat temple roofs were used
for priestly processions.
Ø Columns – seldom over six diameter high, often appear in the form of papyrus or
lotus stalks tied at intervals by bands. The circular shafts curve in towards the
base like sheathed stalks and sometimes stand on thick unmolded bases which in
shape somewhat resemble a Dutch cheese.
Ø Ornament – this important element in the style was often symbolical, including
such features as the:
1. Solar disc or globe and vulture with outspread wing as a symbol of protection.
2. while diaper patterns, spirals and the feather ornament were largely used as a
symbol of eternity.
3. the scarab, or sacred beetle used as emblem of resurrection probably because
of its habit of allowing the sun to hatch their eggs in the desert sand.
4. the decoration of temple walls consisted largely of representations of acts of
adoration of the monarch to his gods, to whom he ascribed all his success in war.
5. The Egyptians, masters in the use of colors, carried out their schemes of
decoration chiefly in blue, red and yellow.
6. The Egyptians, possessed great power of conventionalizing natural objects and
they took the lotus, palm and papyrus as motifs for design. These were nature
symbols of the fertility given to the country by the overflowing Nile, and as such they
continually appear both in construction and ornament.
Ø Mouldings & Ornament
CAPITALS & COLUMNS
a. Bud & Bell Capital d.) Volute Capital g.) Hathor – Headed Capital
b. Polygonal Columns e.) Palm type Capital h.) Osiris Pillars
c. Papyrus Capital f. ) Square Pillars

MOULDINGS – “Gorge and Hollow Moulding “ The torus mould in Egyptian

temples were used to cover the angles. It was inspired by reeds Torus
moulding.
Ø Hieroglyphics - were pictorial
representations of religion, history and daily
life
Ø Derived from the practice of scratching
pictures on mud-plaster walls

Ø Common capitals used were the lotus,

papyrus, palm which echoed indigenous
Egyptian plants, and were symbols of fertility
as well.
Ø The shaft represented bundle of stems.
Three types of Tombs Two types of Temples
1. Royal Pyramids 1. Mortuary temple
2. Mastabas 2. Cult temple
3. Rock hewn tombs

A. TOMBS
1. Royal Pyramids – the Pyramids of Giza, near Cairo, erected during the 4 th
Dynasty, form one of the several groups within the necropolis of the ancient
capital city of Memphis, and rank among the oldest Egyptian monuments and still
standing ancient wonders of the world.
2. Mastabas – were rectangular, flat roofed structures with sides sloping at an
angle of about 75 degrees. And they were probably derived from the rude heaps
of stone piled over earlier mummy holes, it has 3 parts; the (a) outer chamber –
place for offerings to the Ka, (b) inner secret chamber – known as “serdab”,
which contained statues of the deceased member of the family, (c) chamber –
containing the sarcophagus, reached by an underground shaft. Built for the
nobles and high rank officials; the size, place and features also depended on the
status and richness of the person or his family.
3. Rock hewn tombs – a form widespread in the ancient world, in which, the tomb
is not built but carved out of the rock and can be a free standing building but is
more commonly a cave.
1. Mortuary Temple 2. Cult Temple
(mansions of millions of years) (mansions of the gods)
- Situated on the west bank of the Nile Valley - Situated on the east bank of the Nile Valley
But some kings also built more than one temple of each type on a different side of the river. For example, Tuthmosis III,
built a “Temple of Million of years at Karnak, on the east bank, the so called Festival Hall; he also built on the west bank in
the northern Assasif. This temple is also called a “Temple of Million of Years. He also built at Deir-el-Bahri and dedicated that
temple to Amun, so that is an example of cult temple on the west bank.
Ø It was the royal version of the mortuary chapels attached to private Ø It is the place where a particular god or
tombs, and its most basic purpose was to provide offerings for the use gods resided and where cultic activities
of the dead kings and to ensure his beneficial survival in the afterlife. took place, where we might t erm,
Ø Mortuary temples are dedicated to the Pharaoh who built it. They worship.
worship the deified Pharaoh after his death, preserve the memory of Ø Cult Temples are dedicated to a deity
the Pharaoh (at some point, they believed that you needed your name
and are often the homes of the deity’s
to be remembered in order for you to reach the after life) and honor and
cult. They are also considered the
appease his soul.
home of the deity on earth.
Conclusion:
There is no or little difference in design and decoration
between Mortuary and Cult temple, just the function.
Elements such as pylon, courtyards, sanctuaries could
appear in both.
q Please watch the video provided, for your
additional knowledge.