EGYPTIAN

CIVILIZATION
• Flood plain was an extensive oasis, a
magnet for life -- human, plant and animal.

• Humans were drawn there because they could

grow crops and settle into permanent
villages.

• 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.
 The regularity and richness of the annual Nile
River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided
by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the
development of one of the world's great
civilizations.

• SECURITY
• ECONOMICS
• ELEVATIONS, KEPT ABOVE THE SLOWLY
RISING PLAINS.
WHEN OLD HOUSES CRUMBLED, NEW ONES
WERE BUILT ON TOP OF THE DEBRIS.

•No economic necessity, to take advantage of the

enormous economic capital investment of walls.

•Each successive Pharaoh had the freedom to

spend his reigning life on earth preparing his tomb
for after-life.

•Less time to settle down in each place.

•Most permanent building materials were used in

temple or tomb construction

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AKHENATEN (AMARNA)

Amarna is the modern name for the city built by

Akhenaten,a Pharaoh of the18th dynasty of ancient
Egypt.
▪ Akhenaten chose a magnificent site for his new
residence city and religious centre in middle
Egypt at Akhetaten,'the Horizon of the
Aten'(modern Amarna).
▪ The urban area proper was a ribbon
development along the east bank of the Nile.
▪ Here was unlimited building space on a wide
crescent-shaped plain running 10km north to
south by upto 5km east to west.
▪ Only a narrow strip of cultivation existed by the
river,but on the opposite bank lay a great fertile
plain 20 km across before the desert on the
west side was reached.
▪ This could form the farmland for the city,a royal
garden estate,and was included in the
geometrically precise tract of land delineated by
the fourteen great rock-cut boundary markers.
SETTLEMENT CHARACTERISTICS

Linear development along east bank of

Nile

•3 main routes parallel to river, connecting

various parts

•7km long, 0.8-1.5 km wideoverall

•Unfortified city, just symbolic walls

enclosing the central temple and palace

•Since buildings were largely rectangular,

there was regularity in overall layout
without planning
•Palaces and temples built to a common
frontage

•Residences of all types found in one

quarter:

Wealthiest people selected own house

sites along main streets,less
wealthierones took plots behind these,poor
ones squeezed in.
North City
Located within the North City area is the Northern
Palace, the main residence of the Royal Family

Northern Suburb was initially a prosperous area

with large houses,but the house size decreased
and became poorer the further from the road they
were.

Central City
Most of the important ceremonial and administrative
buildings were located in the central city.

Here the Great Temple of the Aten and theSmall

Aten Temple were used for religious functions and
between these the Great Royal Palace and Royal
Residence were the ceremonial residence of the
King and Royal Family,and were linked by a bridge
or ramp.

Located behind the Royal Residence was the

Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh,where the
Amarna Letters were found.This area was probably
the first area tobe completed,and had atleast two
phases of construction.
▪ Southern suburbs
▪ Southern Suburbs contained the estates of
many of the city's powerful nobles,This are a
also held the studio of the sculptor
Thutmose,where the famous bust of Nefertiti
was found in 1912.
▪ Further to the south of the citywas Komel-
Nana,an enclosure,usually referred to as a sun-
shade,and was probably built as a sun-
temple.,and then the Maru-Aten,which was
palace or sun temple originally thought to have
been constructed for Akhenaten's queen Kiya.
▪ City outskirts
▪ Surrounding the city and marking its extent,the
Boundary Stelae (each a rectangle of carved
rock on the cliffs on both sides of the
Nile)describing the founding of the city are a
primary source of information about it.Away from
the city Akhenaten's Royal necropolis was
started ina narrow valley to the east of the
city,hidden in the cliffs.
▪ Only one tomb was completed, and was used by
an unnamed Royal Wife,and Akhenaten'stomb
was hastily used to hold him and likely
Meketaten, his second daughter.
▪ In the cliffs to the north and south of the Royal
Wadi,the nobles of the city constructed
•The parallel streets were about two metre swide

•Workers' settlement was walled in.

Whole space inside the walls was occupied by

houses.

•The temples, the palace and the royal residences,the

barracks, the offices of the administration, etc were
not surrounded by any wall

The Egyptians rarely planned few spaces free for the

important roads of access,
•Setting temple districts apart and erecting anadobe
wall around it all.
▪ CITY QUARTERS

•Akhetaten were at times a jumble of houses.Plot
owners were not free to do as they liked.
•They had to take into account their neighbours'rights
and wishes
•Use of grid-iron only for a small and relatively
insignificant part of the city
-example of political expediency
•The implementation of any town plan implies political
control to ensure that the inhabitants conform to
itsrequirements
•Akhenaten could impose a plan on the workmen, but
not on his wealthy powerfulrelatives and officials
▪ Egyptian city dwellers had little choice
about adding further storeys.Land suitable
for building
▪ Had to be above the flood level of the nile
▪ Reasonably close to the river
▪ Many egyptians were forced to live in these
crowded conditions.
▪ At Akhetaten where there was no lack of
suitable land, some private homes were
still built in the same warren-like
fashion.(overcrowded)
 Temple districts were better planned.
•The outlay of individual temples was basically
symmetrical.
•Walls surrounded them.

The temple complexes had extensive storage

space
•The thickness of the brick wall lined with
limestone hotepsenusret(kahun) was about 12
metres.
•Its height must have been correspondingly
great.
•When walls were built completely of stone,
their thickness could be reduced, but they
were still quite massive.
•Paved street five metreswide was discovered.
•Pavement of streets was restricted to the
temple complexes
•Temples were surrounded by an empty space
•Over time houses were built right up to the
outer temple walls.
•Houses decayed and were rebuilt many times
, result that the ground level of the residential
area rose
•The temples which, being built of stone, were
not periodically rebuilt, seemingly sank into the
ground.

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 Palaces
The whole compound was enclosed and separate from the rest of the capital,although close to
suppliers of services, temples and the seat of the administration

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Workers' dwellings
The houses of the workmen had two to four rooms on the ground floor (44 and 60 m²)
•access to the flat roof, which was used as living and storing space.
•The houses abutting the inner wall on the eastern side were bigger, having up to seven rooms.
•Some of the dwellings had conical granaries on the ground floor. The doorways were arched
•Traces of brick barrel-vaulting have been found on supporting walls.
•Roofs were made of wooden planks supported by beams and plastered over with mud.

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 The Great Houses
The Great Houses covered about 2700 m² each

and served as offices and living quarters for the

high officials in charge of the construction work

and their families. There were four almost identical

houses and one differently built one north of the

street and another three with a completely

different ground plan south of it.

After the pyramid had been built and the officials

had left, people began to take over their houses,

adapting them to their own needs by walling up

entrances and creating new walls and passages.

The layout of one of the northern Great Houses

1 Main entrance 2 Doorkeeper's lodge 3 Offices, guest rooms 4 Pillared hall 5 Private
quarters 6.The mandara, i.e. reception room for strangers 7 Open courtyard 8 Best
hall, with columns and tank 9 Private rooms10 Visitors' passage to the mandara
11 Women's hall 12 Women's quarters 13 Store rooms.
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