You are on page 1of 40

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE-1

LECTURE ll
ARCHITECTURE]

[EGYPTIAN
AR.SHRUTI

Due to global warming, lush green land of N Africa turned into sandy desert-THE
SAHARA DESERT.
The population drifted towards west (Morocco, Spain etc.) and east (on the banks of
Nile).
High density of population, villages, towns and trade established themselves.
The river proved to be the life line of the population, providing them food, water,
mode of navigation and trade.
Hierarchy came into play- the elite started defining themselves as DIVINE.
Egypt never went through concepts
AR.SHRUTI
like worship of mother goddess or cave
structures.

EGYPTIAN CIVILISATION

AR.SHRUTI

ARCHITECTURAL
CHARACTER

Readily available tractable material like reeds, papyrus & palm- branch ribs
plastered over with clay ( Walls / fences using bundles of stems placed
vertically side by side lashed to bundle placed horizontally near the top).
The buildings with circular plan could have domical covering of similar
construction or if a rectangular could have a tunnel shaped covering or flat
roof.
A type of pavilion of kiosk which cause to have a special religious significance
in connection with Heb-sed or jubilee festivals of pharaohs.
Palm logs rounded on the underside were sometimes used for roofing.
Sundried mud bricks (made from Nile mud mixed with chopped straw or sand14X7X4- inspiration from Mesopotamia) have always been in use & Stone
was used for finest buildings.
Inner face of all buildings for ordinary convenience & it is the outer face shows
inward inclination throughout Egyptian Architecture whether in brick or stone.
Sometimes reeds /fibers are placed between brick courses at interval courses
for reinforcement.
This is essentially a columnar and trabeate style expressed mainly in pyramids,
tombs and temples
AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

EVOLUTION OF PYRAMIDS

MASTABA

STEP PYRAMID

MEIDUM PYRAMID

PYRAMIDS OF GIZA

AR.SHRUTI

BENT PYRMID

The earliest evidence of Egyptian monuments

These structures were invented to prevent animals from digging up the bodies
buried in the desert sand in order to eat.
Egyptian religion taught that the physical life was only temporary, while the
spiritual life was eternal, and thus temples and tombs became the focus.
The tomb became the gateway to the afterlife while the temple housed the gods.
The mastabas consisted of a regulated mound containing several small
rooms covering a broad pit. The body of the deceased was placed in a deep,
underground sealed chamber.
AR.SHRUTI

By the 3rd and the 4th dynasties, attention turned to the


security of the tombs and architectural innovation was
concentrated inside the mastabas. The exterior became
simpler.
The exterior building materials were initially bricks
made of sun dried mud which was readily available
from theNile River.

AR.SHRUTI

VIEW FROM THE


BURIAL SHAFT

FALSE DOOR

AR.SHRUTI

STRUCTURE

The above-ground structure was rectangular in shape, had sloping sides, a flat roof,
was about four times as long as it was wide, and rose to at least 30 feet in height.
The mastaba was built with a north-south orientation.
The Chapel was decorated with pictures of the dead so that their families could
come to pay their respects.
A false door was placed opposite to the entrance with the statue of the dead.
A second hidden chamber called a serdabhoused a statue of the deceased that
was hidden within the masonry for its protection.

The most sophisticated tombs contained


The 4th dynasty saw the development of non
many chambers, creating a residence for
royal cemeteries. The occupants were high
the deceased. They included storerooms, a
officials.
chapel, resting places and dining areas.
AR.SHRUTI

PYRAMIDS

AR.SHRUTI

PYRAMID SYMBOLISM
Triangle

The most stable shape


Symbol of Ascension
Primordial Unity
Resurrection Machine
Representation of Suns Rays
Launch to the Heavens
Association with Egyptian
Mythology

AR.SHRUTI

pyramid
Construction with a square base and four triangular faces; it served as
a tomb for the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, represented here by the
pyramid of Cheops.

shaft
Narrow passage used by the workers to exit the pyramid after blocking the ascending
passage at the conclusion of the funeral rites.
air shaft
Ventilation shaft leading outdoors.
entrance to the pyramid
Point of entry into the pyramid.

AR.SHRUTI

relieving chamber
Series of five chambers
designed to ease the pressure
exerted by the stone blocks on
the kings chamber.
kings chamber
Funeral chamber that housed
the pharaohs sarcophagus.
grand gallery
Large passage leading to the
kings chamber.
queens chamber
Unfinished chamber thought to
be the kings second chamber;
it was probably abandoned
because the access passage
was too narrow for the
sarcophagus.
underground chamber
Unfinished chamber located at
ground level, believed to be
the kings chamber; it was
built in case the pharaoh died
prematurely.
descending passage
Passage leading to the
underground chamber.

AR.SHRUTI

MORTUARY COMPLEX OF
ZOSER

The Zoser comlex is 277m by 544m enclose space oriented along the cardinal
points.
The complex is surrounded by 10.5m high limestone wall. It is interrupted by 14
doors, however only one entrance is functional for the living.
Entrance to the complex is via an impressive colonnaded corridor of 20 pairs of six
metre columns into a room which further leads to the South Court.
Moving further ahead, is the South Tomb. It is entered through a tunnel-like corridor
AR.SHRUTI
with a staircase that descends about 30m
before opening into the burial chamber.

AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

STEP PYRAMID OF DJOSER

The first Egyptian pyramid was made for King Djoser (Zoser) by architect Imhotep.
The concept-six level tomb consisting of stacked mastabas that decreased in size
as they reached the top acting as a ladder that the dead king took to reach the
gods.
The pyramid originally stood 62 metres (203ft) tall, with a base of 109125m
(358410ft) and was clad in polished white limestone.In Zoser's pyramid, the
burial chamber was located
at the bottom of a 92 ft.
shaft.
The
chamber
entrance could be reached
by travelling down a sloping
passage originating at the
north face.
E A series of Galleries
W
(approx 6km in length) were
located at the bottom of the
shaft, and led into the
King's burial chamber which
was lined with timber and
blue tiles.
The serdab and offering
chapels were in a temple on
the north face of the
AR.SHRUTI
pyramid that contained two

AR.SHRUTI

PYRAMID OF MEIDUM-

THE TRANSITIONAL PYRMID

The pyramid was constructed in steps like the old style step pyramids, first with
seven steps which was amended to eight and then filled with courses of stone to
create a smooth surface.
Many Egyptologists call the Meidum structure the first true pyramid and it certainly
appears to be the transition point between the early step pyramids and the great
monuments at Giza.
The Meidum pyramid was built in three phases of construction. Phase I consisted of
the building of a seven stepped structure, which was then enlarged and covered in
phase II and filled in with its final casing in stage III.
Today only three steps are visible, towering out of its mound of rubble.
AR.SHRUTI

Original
name:
The
Persistent Pyramid
Original height: 93.5 m
Base length: 147 m
Angle of inclination: 51
50' 35
Time of construction: 3rd
and 4th dynasty
Building blocks: extremely
regular in height but vary in
length
Outer casing: in horizontal
layers
The entrance into the
pyramid is on the north side
up a 30m stairway. A
passageway
descends
down 57m to a level that is
below
the
pyramid's
foundation.
The
passageway levels out and
comes to a vertical shaft
that leads up to the burial
chamber. This chamber has
a corbelled roof and the
walls are lined in limestone.
The construction timbers
are still visible in this room.
The chamber is on the
same level as the pyramid's
AR.SHRUTI
foundation.

AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

BENT PYRAMID, DASHUR

AR.SHRUTI

Type Bent Pyramid


Height 101.1metres(332ft)
Base 188.6metres(619ft)
Slope 5427'(lower)
4322'(upper)

AR.SHRUTI

This was thefirst Egyptian attempt at a smooth-sided pyramid


the lack of stability influenced the change of angle halfway through construction
The Bent Pyramid had two entrances, one on the northern side about 12m above
ground level and the second in the western face, about 30m above the base.
From the northern entrance a steep passage descends to the lower of the three
underground chambers and opens into a high narrow room with a corbelled ceiling.
A short vertical passage leads to a second chamber, directly beneath the
pyramids axis.
The entrance passage on the western side of the pyramid takes a gentler slope
AR.SHRUTI
and continues horizontally to a third chamber on a higher level.

At the centre of the


eastern side of the
pyramid was a small
funerary temple built
from mud brick.
The southern side has a
cult pyramid to make
offerings.
An
open
limestone
causeway ran from the
north-eastern corner of
the enclosure towards a
rectangular
limestone
valley temple.
The temple was divided
into three parts a
vestibule,
a
central
courtyard
and
a
columned portico.

AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

PYRAMIDS OF GIZA

Each of the three pyramids had a


complete monumental complex of
mortuary temples, Mastabas tombs,
smaller subsidiary pyramids, in which
members of the royal family and
officials
were
buried.
The whole complex was connected, by
a causeway, to three valley temples
and the sphinx. These in turn were
linked, by a cannel, to the Nile.
The Pyramids of Giza consist of the
Great Pyramid of Giza(known as
thePyramid of Cheops or Khufu), the
somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or
Chephren) a few hundred meters to the
south-west, and the relatively modestsized
Pyramid
of
Menkaure
(orMykerinos) a few hundred meters
further
south-west.
The
Great
Sphinxlies on the east side of the
complex.
AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

The Great Pyramid was the tallest


man-made structurein the world for
over 3,800 years.
Originally, it was covered by casing
stones that formed a smooth outer
surface.
Khufus pyramid complex consists of
a
Valley
Temple,
which
was
connected to a causeway which led
to the Mortuary Temple of Khufu. The
mortuary temple was connected to
the kings pyramid. The kings
pyramid has three smaller queens
pyramids associated with it and five
boat pits containing ships.
The pyramid itself had three
chambers- first one underground,
second one aboveground (queens
chamber) and the third one (kings
chamber) exactly at the centre of the
pyramid.
From the entrance there is a
descending passage leading to the
underground
chamber
and
an
ascending passage leading to the
grand gallery.
AR.SHRUTI

Khafres pyramid complex consists of a Valley temple (sometimes referred to as the Sphinx
temple), a causeway, a mortuary temple and the kings pyramid.
Khafres complex contained five boat-pits and a subsidiary pyramid.
Khafre's Pyramid appears larger than the adjacent Khufu Pyramid by virtue of its more
elevated location (10m higher), and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction it is, in
fact, smaller in both height and volume.
The pyramid has a base length of 215.5m (706ft) and rises to a height of 136.4 metres
(originally 143.5m.
The Pyramid is made of limestone blocks.
The slope of the pyramid rises at an 53 10' angle, steeper than its neighbor, the Pyramid of
Khufuwhich has an angle of 5150'40".
AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

TEMPLE OF KARNAK, THEBES


Built on the east bank of river Nile, Karnak was the centre of the cult of Amun. The
largest religious complex of the ancient world, Karnak was to by 30 generations of
Pharoahs over more than 1500 years.
The temple was not only a place of worship, but also a massive historical record of
the different things that different pharaohs did.
Although each temples layout is unique, these buildings show a remarkable unity of
plan.
The basic layout of these temples consisted of the following features:
entrance gateway or pylon
open court
columned/hypostyle hall
rear sanctuary with side rooms
naos (central shrine)
The Hypostyle hall, at 54,000 square feet with
134 columns, is still the largest room of any
religious building in the world.

AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

AR.SHRUTI

THANK YOU

AR.SHRUTI

You might also like