Learn about the characteristics of Egyptian Architecture

In the following post you will be able to learn a little more about the history, characteristics and fundamental aspects that were part of the egyptian architecture, one of the most interesting and striking expressions in universal history.

EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

egyptian architecture

Universal architecture has always been considered one of the most interesting expressions in the world because it is responsible for mixing various aspects in the construction of monumental infrastructures. In today's post we will be learning a little more about the characteristics of Egyptian Architecture.

Egyptian architecture could be said to be characterized by creating a constructive system in its monumental buildings, making use of various materials, including ashlars carved into blocks and solid columns. In order to understand the great impact of Egyptian architecture, it is important to take into consideration some ideological conditions, especially political power.

It is no secret to anyone that political power at that time was remarkably centralized and hierarchical, which was evidenced in the great architectural constructions of the time. Another of the ideological variants that influenced the composition of Egyptian architecture was the religious concept of the pharaoh's immortality in the "other life".

But in order to understand what is relevant in Egyptian architecture, it is also important to take into consideration other conditioning factors, beyond the ideological ones. Egyptian architecture was influenced by some technical constraints: mathematical and technical knowledge, sometimes disconcerting for the time; the existence of highly experienced artists and craftsmen; abundance of very simple stones to carve.

Within Egyptian architecture it is possible to find a great variety of constructions, which at the time caused a great impact around the world. History teaches us that one of the first buildings built within the framework of monumental Egyptian architecture were the so-called pyramid complexes.

To speak of Egyptian architecture is to refer to other types of highly relevant constructions, for example, temples and tombs, whose grandeur depended on the social class of the character to be buried. Many of the tombs of the pharaohs were built in the form of pyramids and the most important are those attributed to Seneferu, Cheops and Khafre.

EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

It is important to point out that Khufu's pyramid is described as the only one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World that has managed to remain in time. This work is one of the clearest examples of the high level of perfection achieved in the applied sciences.

Throughout their history, the Egyptians were responsible for building large buildings with an incredible degree of perfection. In this culture, the buildings in honor of the gods were one of the most popular. In this area, some works such as those of Karnak or Abu Simbel could be mentioned, which stand out mainly for their great symbolic impact.

Another aspect that stands out in these temples built by the Egyptians is the size of these buildings and the great harmony and functionality of their spaces. For their part, the royal architects, supported by their experiences and learning of physics and geometry, built impressive buildings and organized the work of multi-faceted groups of artists, craftsmen and workers.

Erecting this type of building did not represent something so easy for the architects of the time, on the contrary, a great deal of intelligence and knowledge was needed to be able to carry out the construction of a work of these characteristics. They were to take responsibility for the carving, transportation from the Aswan quarries, and placement of heavy monolithic granite obelisks or colossal statues.

All this work implied a great responsibility for Egyptian architects, as well as a high level of knowledge. They were also in charge of building important palaces so that the pharaohs could be more comfortable, but earthly life did not have much value or at least not as much as the afterlife, so they were not made of stone and have not had the same duration as tombs and temples.

Features

The first years of Egyptian architecture were characterized, among other things, by the absence of materials for the construction of temples and monuments. It could be said that one of the most used materials during the ancient Egyptian era was adobe (mud bricks), although stone, especially limestone, was also used very frequently.

EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

The scarcity of materials led the ancient Egyptians to have to use this type of tool to be able to erect their buildings. It was also common to appreciate constructions based on sandstone and granite, which used to be used in large quantities.

From the period known as the Old Kingdom, Egyptian architecture took on new characteristics. Although the same materials were still used, in the case of stone, it was reserved exclusively for use in tombs and temples. For its part, adobe was used mostly for the construction of houses, including in royal palaces, fortresses, walls of temple enclosures, among other works.

There were many Egyptian cities that could be built with this type of material, however, a large part of these buildings did not last over time, among other things, because of their location. Let us remember that most of these cities were very close to the arable areas of the Nile valley, which were frequently affected by floods.

Another reason why many ancient Egyptian cities did not last was because the adobe bricks used for construction were used as fertilizer by the peasants. There are also other buildings that are inaccessible, since the new constructions were built on top of the old ones.

An aspect in favor that Egyptian architecture had at the time was the behavior of the climate, dry and hot. This climatic reality allowed many of the constructions built in ancient Egypt to survive over time. We can name the village of Deir el-Medina, the Middle Kingdom city of Kahun, or the fortresses at Buhen and Mirgissa.

It is also worth mentioning that a good part of the palaces and other buildings built in ancient Egypt have been able to remain in time because many of these buildings were built with highly resistant materials, for example stone, or because they were settled in high areas, where it was practically impossible for the floods of the Nile to affect them.

Ancient Egyptian architecture was largely dominated by religious monuments, especially temples dedicated to their gods or religious figures. These types of buildings were characterized, among other things, by their impressive dimensions. They were large monuments, with slightly sloping walls and few openings.

Most of these religious monuments that were part of ancient Egyptian architecture were built following the same pattern or script. It is believed that the architects of the time repeated a common construction method and that it was capable of providing greater stability in buildings with adobe walls.

Similarly, the surface carvings and pattern of the stone buildings may have arisen from the type and ornamentation of the adobe wall buildings. Although it is true that the use of the arch was carried out during the fourth dynasty, all the monumental buildings are built with lintels with walls and pillars.

All the monumental buildings of the time had flat roofs made up of large stone blocks supported by external walls and large, closely spaced columns.

«Both the exterior and interior walls, as well as the columns and ceilings, were covered with hieroglyphics and illustrated with bas-reliefs and sculptures painted in bright colors. A good part of the ornaments in Egyptian decoration are symbolic, such as the sacred scarab, the solar disk and the vulture».

EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

In Egyptian architecture it was also common to visualize other types of adornments, for example the palm leaves of the papyrus plant, and the buds and flowers of the lotus. Hieroglyphs were part of the decoration as well as bas-reliefs that narrated historical events or interpreted mythological legends.

The House

One of the most characteristic constructions within Egyptian architecture were precisely the houses. As we mentioned earlier, these houses were built mostly with adobe, since stone was a material reserved more than anything for the erection of smaller buildings. important and impactful

Regarding housing in ancient Egypt, these are made up of different rooms. Around these rooms a large hall with columns and overhead light was built. Egyptian houses also had terraces, underground cellars and a large garden at the back of the house.

There were houses that were built in a different way, that is, they added other decorative elements, for example interior patios. Light came from these interior patios, with all the rooms installed around it, and without windows to the outside, due to the need to protect against the sun.

The construction style of Egyptian dwellings was very similar, if not the same, to that of fellah peasant houses of the XNUMXth century: adobe brick walls and flat terraces of joined palm trunks. It is worth remembering that popular architecture was characterized by its good adaptation to the dry and hot climate of Egypt.

At present it is possible to find some remains of Egyptian houses and in a very good state of conservation. The best preserved can be seen in Deir el-Medina and Tell el-Amarna.

The temple

Another of the most characteristic buildings within Egyptian architecture are the temples. They were constructions dedicated to the gods or religious figures of this culture. During the predynastic era, most of these temples did not have impressive superficial attractions, that is, they were simple constructions.

The first temples built during that time were simply chapels with arched ceilings that were built with plant elements. It was precisely during the first dynasties that the first temples built of adobe began to appear.

History reveals that it was Imhotep, an outstanding Egyptian scholar of the Ancient Kingdom, who was in charge of erecting the first monumental funerary complex with carved stone, presided over by a stepped pyramid, thus giving rise to the first stone temples, imitating the chapels with a vegetable structure, although symbolic.

They were symbolic since you could not enter them. In various cities such as Giza it is possible to find some stone remains of the temples of Cheops, Khafre and Mycerinus, pharaohs of the fourth dynasty. These buildings were part of ambitious funerary complexes presided over by great pyramids.

Years later the Solar Temple was born, specifically during the reign of Userkaf, considered the first pharaoh of the V dynasty, to represent the rituals of priests from Heliopolis to the god Ra. In the Middle Kingdom, the monumental complex of Hawara also stands out, in El Fayum, known as the "labyrinth".

EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

It was named after the Greek historian Herodotus, who had the opportunity to visit it. Today there are hardly any remains of this historic temple of Egyptian architecture. Although they were important constructions, the most monumental temples were born in the New Kingdom. Typologically, they are made up of:

  • An avenue with sphinxes on both sides: the dromos
  • The access, between two pylons (large trapezoidal walls) decorated with polychrome bas-reliefs, two obelisks, statues and banners
  • An open patio with free-standing columns or forming perimeter porticoes: the hipetra room
  • A large hall with columns, covered: the hypostyle hall
  • A small, smaller, dimly lit sacred chamber: the sanctuary
  • A sacred lake that served for ritual performances and as a reservoir of drinking water
  • Minor attached temples, dedicated to various gods, such as the mammisi "houses of divine birth"

In these temples it was also customary to build a residence for priests, classrooms for scribes, archives-libraries and stores of food and materials. The complex was protected by a perimeter wall. These spaces were ideal for performing the most important religious rituals of the Egyptian culture.

The way in which the temples were built made it possible to clearly observe the social division that existed at that time. The people could only reach the pillars, the high officials and military had access to the hippetra room; the royal family could enter the hypostyle hall, while the priests and the pharaoh had access to the sanctuary.

During the Old Kingdom, the temples were part of the pyramid complex, or Sun temples. In the New Kingdom immense temples are constituted in Deir el-Bahari, Karnak, Luxor, Abydos, and Medinet Habu; later in Edfu, Dendera, Kom Ombo and File.

the speos

You may not have heard of El speos, however you should know that it is one of the most famous underground funerary buildings in Egyptian architecture. It is constituted as a funerary temple, carved in the rock, following the type of hypogeum.

Many buildings of this type were built, however the ones that had the greatest impact and importance are those from the time of Ramses II in Abu Simbel, made up of large statues outside and an immense hall with pillars, the sanctuary and the crypt.

Ramses is represented as one more god, seated among them in the sanctuary, larger attached to the pilasters of the main room and colossal in size at the entrance, four sculptures of impressive dimensions surrounded by the reduced figures of his family.

funerary architecture

Before talking about the characteristics of funerary architecture, it is important to analyze the link that the ancient Egyptians had with their dead, in order to understand a little the importance of this type of construction. According to the beliefs of the Egyptians, the body was a fundamental part and had to be preserved to guarantee the life of the deceased in the "hereafter".

In this way, the emergence of mummifications could be explained. However, carrying out these complex processes, without a stable and safe place to store the mummy, would not make any sense. For this reason, funerary buildings had to undergo constant evolution based on three key objectives:

  • Facilitate the journey of the deceased
  • Allude to some religious myth
  • Avoid the entrances of the looters to whom the treasures and trousseaus were very attractive.

During the predynastic and protodynastic period, the tombs were constituted in a quite simple way. They were only simple oval-shaped holes, sometimes lined with skins, where the corpse of the deceased was thrown together with a small trousseau in vessels. Finally it was covered with a mound of sand. Over time, this burial mound began to be replaced by a brick structure called a Mastaba.

the mastaba

The Mastaba was constituted as a brick structure that came to replace the so-called tumulus. It was born during the protodynastic period and constitutes the architectural typology associated with the nobility par excellence. Its basic form consists of a superstructure in the shape of a truncated pyramid, with a rectangular base made of raw adobe bricks and straw.

The entrance gave entrance to a chapel where the relatives of the deceased could deposit offerings to the dead, behind which there was a false door decorated with reliefs that constituted an allusion to the "entrance to the beyond": Inside the superstructure there was also a room called Serdab.

In this room a statue was kept that represented the "ka" of the deceased. Beneath the superstructure, a well, usually sealed with ridges, gave way to the burial chamber containing the sarcophagus. Over the years, this type of structure became more complex, more underground rooms were added, nobler coatings, some bodies were made with limestone instead of brick.

As for the decorations that were made inside these rooms, they almost always used to represent themes related to the daily life of the deceased, as well as sacred texts, all the post of ensuring prosperity in the afterlife.

The pyramids

Certainly the mastabas were considered the royal tombs with the greatest prestige and dominance, but despite this, it was the pyramids that constituted one of the most emblematic funerary elements of the pharaoh. They were impressive architectural constructions that emerged in the Old Kingdom.

The birth of the pyramids originated as a desire to represent the celestial ladder or ramp made up of sunbeams, by which the pharaoh had to climb to heaven. Similarly, its summit is proposed as a representation of the original hill, as were the mastabas and the most archaic burials.

One of the most important pharaohs of the XNUMXrd dynasty was Dyser and he is remembered for having ordered the construction of the Pyramid of Saqqara. This work was entrusted to the architect Imhotep. It is considered one of the most emblematic pyramids, among other things, because it was the first time that the use of baked clay bricks was replaced by limestone blocks.

It is also true that this type of stepped structure underwent a transformation over time, trying to find the geometrically ideal ramped pyramid. This objective would be achieved during the IV dynasty, after the construction of the Pyramid of Cheops, the most perfect of all.

The impact and perfection of the Pyramid of Cheops was so great that it was recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and until now it is the only one of those seven that has managed to remain in time despite its long years of existence.

Over the years, and taking into account the urgency of reducing costs, the pyramids began to be built in a simpler and less expensive way. They were built like a limestone shell with an interior of adobe bricks. The dimensions of these pyramids was also reduced.

It is worth noting that this type of building was not built alone, but the pyramids were part of a fairly large complex. This complex was normally built on the west bank of the Nile, and must have been close to a limestone quarry that would supply it during all construction.

The main objective of the engineers and builders of the time was to make inconspicuous pyramids, however these structures continued to be very attractive to tomb robbers, who kept endangering the stability of the mummy. For this reason, the pharaohs of the New Kingdom decided to return to the burial of bodies, and thus the Valley of the Kings arose.

the hypogeum

After the capital moved to Thebes during the New Kingdom, the pharaohs had their tombs excavated in the Valley of the Kings and separated from the rest of the funerary complex. They were open galleries in the rock, with enclosures attached to the main corridor, leading to the sarcophagus chamber.

These underground galleries were called Hypogeum. Throughout history they have been used by large societies, during the Chalcolithic of the Iberian Peninsula; in Ancient Egypt; or by the Phoenicians.

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