Transcript Egyptian Architecture - School District 34 Abbotsford

Intro to the Geography
(Nile River Valley)
 Two main tributaries: Blue (Ethiopia) and White Nile
 Blue Nile fed by monsoon rains
 Flooded annually (July-October)
 Flooding predictable, planting and harvest coincided
with the inundation.
The Nile Delta
 At the mouth of
the Nile where it
empties into the
Mediterranean.
 Largest cultivatable
land
 The large Egyptian
centres were
located here.
The Faiyum
 The oasis that
surrounded Lake
Moeris
 The third largest
cultivatable area
 Extensive irrigation
was used in this
area.
The Role of the Sahara
Desert
 Flanked the Nile on both sides (Eastern & Western
Deserts)
 Protected the Nile from external influence
 Isolationism resulted in a conservative and stable
society
 Desert also provided resources: copper, gold, tin,
alabaster (gypsum-like), limestone, amethyst and
natron (sodium carbonate)
Map of Northern Africa
The Old Kingdom
 Two kingdoms first united
between 3100 and 2700
BCE
 Double crown symbolized
the unification King Menes
et al. had absolute rule in
Egypt
 King Menes was deified
and supreme ruler of all
secular and religious
affairs.
 Period known for pyramid
building
Old Kingdom - 4th Dynasty
Golden Age
 Old Kingdom peaked in the 4th Dynasty.
 Achieved by extensive trade in the Mediterranean
 Copper (Sinai), Timber (Syria), Wine & )Oil (Crete),
and the Potter’s Wheel (Mesopotamia)
 Pyramids @ Giza built (2600-2500 BCE)
 Built by Khufu (Cheops), Khafre, and Menkure.
Famous Pyramids
Giza Necropolis
First Intermediate Period ca. 2200 BCE
 Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, local and
provincial powers became more powerful.
 Internal struggles of power became a problem.
 This led to civil wars
 Drought and led to fail crops and then famine
 Resulted in 150 years of chaos: aka the First
Intermediate Period.
Middle Kingdom - Theban
Kings
 Egypt reunited by Theban kings by 2050
BCE.
 Theban monarchs ruled for 250 years.
 Centre was Thebes, then moved into
Memphis
 Their chosen god was Amon
 Amon was combined with Ra to become
Amon-Ra (Egypt’s national god)
 Middle Kingdom was a period of territorial
and economic expansion (Libya, Palestine,
and Nubia
Second Intermediate
Period - ca. 1786-1567 BCE
 Hyksos invasion
 From Syria and Palestine
 War-like people (What does this
mean? Is this biased?)
 Conquered with the use of
superior technology: bows,
horse-drawn chariots, and
bronze weapons.
 The Hyksos took over for two
dynasties (150 years)
 They were driven out their own
weapons.
New Kingdom - The Golden
Age
 Characterized by empire building, fine works of art and larger than life
leaders.
 Hatshepsut - powerful female leader
 Husband Thutmose II died, step-son too young to rule, so she
assumed the throne.
 Her statues have false beards to show power.
 She reestablished trading routes disrupted by the Hyksos
 Building projects: 2 obelisks @ the Temple of Karnak, the Red Chapel
 Her reign was known for peace, stability, and prosperity.
 She was replaced by her stepson Thutmose III
New Kingdom - The Golden
Age
 Thutmose III - Egypt’s
Napoleon
 Credited with creating the
largest Egyptian empire
 Controlled Anatolia, Syria,
and parts of Mesopotamia.
 They paid tribute
 His reign was known for the
conquest of Egypt’s
neighbours.
 He was succeeded by
Amenhotep
Amarna Period - Religion
Reform
 Amenhotep - later Akhenaton and his wife
was Nefertiti
 Started a religious revolution as she disliked
the worship of Amon-Ra and replaced
Amon-Ra with Aton - the Sun Disk and all of
the Non-Aton temples were closed and a
new “cult” was monetheistic was formed.
 Capital moved to Ahketaton
 Akhenaton was preoccupied with his new
religion and neglected his empire.
 His empire was weak and began to crumble
and thus starts the decline of the Egyptian
empire, with which he is credited before he
was succeeded by the famous boy king
Religious Restoration
Tutankhamon
 Started his reign at the age
of 8/9
 Died @ 18
 He destroyed the Aton cult
and restored traditional
religion
 He is better known for the
wealth in his tomb.
Late Dynasty
 After the New Kingdom was the
weakening end of the Egyptian
empire.
 The 19th and 20th Dynasties
 Notable King was Ramses II reigned
for 62 years and lots of buildings built
(eg. Abu Simbel)
 Defaced many building in an attempt
to erase the Amarna Period from
history
 Took part in one of the first peace
treaties (with Kadesh)
Characteristics of Egyptian
Architecture
• Massive structures came to be favoured from the Old
Kingdom on.
• Mud brick was the principal building material for
domestic building.
• Stone was favoured for temples and tombs.
Characteristics of Egyptian
Architecture
• Features of mud
construction were
often echoed in
stone.
• For example, columns
were built to resemble
plants or bunches of
plants.
Characteristics of Egyptian
Architecture.
• Features of mud
construction were
often echoed in
stone.
• Corner detailing often
resembled bunches of
reeds used as a binding
material in mud
construction.
Funerary Structures
• Egyptian aristocratic culture focussed on preparation for
life after death.
• Preservation of bodies through mummification and
providing goods for the afterlife were considered
essential.
Mastabas
• Early Old Kingdom aristocratic and royal burials were
in mastabas - square or rectangular buildings
connected by shafts to tomb chambers deep
beneath the earth.
• The mastaba also housed a chapel and a statue of
the dead.
 The Step Pyramid led to the regular pyramid.
Mastabas
Chapel
Shaft
Tomb
Another Mastaba Diagram
Zoser’s Step Pyramid
• Built during the 3rd
dynasty, Zoser’s
architect, Imhotep,
added steps above
Zoser’s mastaba to
create a step pyramid
-- a stairway to the
heavens.
The Great Pyramids of
Gizeh
• These were built during the 4th dynasty.
• What remains is but a fraction of the great funerary
districts of each of the pyramids.
• Construction was hugely labour intensive -- but this was
paid labour during slow agricultural seasons, not slave
labour as is commonly supposed.
The Great Pyramids at
Gizeh
Section of Pyramid of
Khufu
Relieving
Blocks
Grand Gallery
King’s Chamber
Queen’s Chamber
Thieves Tunnel
False Tomb Chamber
Entrance
The Great Pyramids of
Gizeh
• These were buildings that housed chambers and
passages, including small air shafts that may have been
used for ventilation -- or were, perhaps, passages for the
spirit of the pharaohs to pass through.
• Pyramid building was abandoned during the Old
Kingdom. They provided tomb robbers with easily
identifiable targets.
The Theban Necropolis
• Pyramidal structures were abandoned in the Old
Kingdom.
• Later Pharaohs were buried in Upper Egypt across
the Nile from Karnak.
• Large concentrations of tombs were cut into
cliffsides at what are now known as the Valley of the
Kings and the Valley of the Queens.
Theban Necropolis.
• Interiors were richly decorated with paintings and
low-relief carvings.
The Valley of the Kings
• Entrances were
hidden to protect
tomb treasures from
grave-robbers.
• Over the millennia
this has proven
largely unsuccessful.
Only Tutenkhamen’s
tomb eluded them.
Mortuary Temples
• Though mummies and treasures might be
concealed, more conspicuous temple structures
were still required -- like Hatshepsut’s temple near
the Theban Necropolis.
Egyptian Beliefs
 Simple society = simple worship i.e. nature deities:
animals
 Complex society = complex worship i.e.
anthropomorphic deities: animal attributes with
human bodies
 Animals were used for their characteristics:




hawks/falcons = swiftness
crocodiles = fear
ichneumon = ferocity
dog/cat = loyalty
Temples
• These were built in the same forms as palaces, with
three increasingly restricted areas.
Hypostile Hall
Entrance
Second Pylon
First Pylon
Sacred Area
including Chapels
Temples
• The entire temple was surrounded by a windowless wall.
• Within the temple, light and shadow were important
features.
• Walls might be blank or incised with low relief carvings.
Temple Wall
Temples
• Lighting through wall openings, columns, and clerestory
windows in the colonnade, were intended to feature
particular locations.
• In the case of Abu Simbel, the statures on the wall
deepest in the temple, emerged from shadow on two
days during the year.
Abu Simbel
Temple at Karnak
• Great Pylons marked entrances.
Luxor Temple
• The most public area was a large courtyard,
surrounded by a post and lintel colonnade.
Temple at Karnak
• The Second Area was the great hypostyle hall, with
its dense forest of columns.
Temple of Karnak
• Columns & Capitals in Hypostyle Hall
Temple Architecture
• Light & shadow were
important features.
• Light came through:
• Wall openings
• gaps between columns
• clerestory windows
In Closing
• Egyptian Architecture showed both variety and
continuity over ca. 3,000 years.
• While domestic structures of mud brick have been
obliterated by time, monumental structures in stone
still astound visitors to Egypt today.
Sources
• Slides from Corel Gallery Magic Photo Library.
• Amiet, Pierre et.al. Forms and Styles; Antiquity. Cologne,
Evergreen, 1981.
• Janson, H.W. (and Anthony), History of Art. Abrams, New
York, 1995.
• Ruffle, John. Heritage of the Pharaohs. Oxford, Phaidon,
1977.
• Stierlin, Henri. Encyclopedia of World Architecture.
Cologne, Evergreen, 1977.