Marshall High School MarshallHigh School Mr. Cline Mr. Cline Western Civilization I: Ancient Foundations Western Civilization I: Ancient Foundations Unit Two FC Unit Two FC
Houses were usually made out of mud brick. Ancient Egyptian Architecture What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of ancient Egypt? For most people, it's the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx of Giza. Ancient Egyptian architecture displays some of the most impressive and exquisite works of art in history. Understanding the motivation behind the construction of these monumental structures is imperative to understanding the culture of the ancient Egyptians. Much of the art and architecture in ancient Egypt represents the belief in life after death and veneration of the gods. Because there was very little wood available, stone and mud brick were used to construct most of the buildings. Stone was generally preferred for temples and pyramids.
It was during this time period that the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx were built. Ancient Egyptian Architecture Most buildings contain flat roofs supported by external walls and columns. Walls and columns were often covered in hieroglyphics, the writing system used in ancient Egypt. Hieroglyphics consisted of pictures that represented sounds or words. The Old Kingdom We will now examine some architectural qualities from a few of these time periods. It was during the Old Kingdom that some of the most famous structures were constructed, setting a standard for Egyptian art and for centuries to come.
Step pyramids eventually developed into geometric pyramids. Ancient Egyptian Architecture Structures called mastabas were built above underground burial tombs. These structures were a single story with a flat top. Mastabas also contained a chapel and a statue of the dead it housed. These buildings would eventually be replaced by intricate pyramids to house the remains of the dead. The first version of a pyramid is known as a step pyramid. It was designed as several mastabas stacked on top of each other.
Ancient Egyptian Architecture The Middle Kingdom Giza held three pyramids: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure. The Great Pyramid was the largest of the three. The Sphinx is situated on the east side of the complex. During this time, pyramid-building remained popular. Pharaohs, the ruling kings over Egypt, built pyramids to hold their elaborate tombs. Like all Egyptians, pharaohs wanted to ensure they would be able to sustain their life in the afterlife.
Temples were designed for varying purposes. Ancient Egyptian Architecture The New Kingdom As Egypt gained more control over its landholdings, prosperity inspired the construction of monuments. Much of this construction occurred in the current capital city of Thebes. The most popular structure was the temple, as it represented the power of the priest class. Many of the temples contained courtyards, hallways and other pathways used for rituals. Temples contained many rooms. Access to certain rooms was based on social class.
The complex contains several pylons (supportive gateways). Ancient Egyptian Architecture Mortuary temples were built to honor the pharaoh, while cult temples were constructed to honor the gods. Two of the most famous temple complexes (temple areas that contain more than one temple structure) are located in the area once known as Thebes. The complex at Karnak is made up of four parts, named the Precinct of Montu, the Precinct of Mut, the Temple of Amenhotep IV and the Precinct of Amon-Re. There are also several smaller temples located outside of the walls of the complex. This is one of the largest known complexes covering over one and a half square miles. Equally as impressive, the temple complex at Luxor contains several impressive structures.
From huge pyramids to temple complexes that connected cities, Egyptians built amazing structures that impress people even today. Ancient Egyptian Architecture One is over 70 feet high and is situated behind enormous statues and obelisks (a tall four-sided monument, shaped like the Washington Monument in Washington, DC). The complex's entrance contains a causeway that is lined with Sphinxes that once reached all the way to the temple complex at Karnak. This road is known as the Avenue of Sphinxes. Ancient Egyptian architecture contains some of the most massive and impressive structures from ancient history. The size and detail seen in these monumental buildings is indicative of the massive impact the ancient Egyptians had during their time.
The Pyramids Egyptians considered their earthly lives as temporary and their afterlife as permanent, focusing their architectural efforts on developing elaborate burial tombs. Early royal tombs had been built on brick platforms called mastabas, pyramids during the reign of King Djoser (2630-2611 B.C.)
The Pyramids Djoser s pyramid was a stepped stone structure designed by the architect Imhotep, but true pyramids were soon being built thereafter. Pyramids were linked to the cult of the Sun God Ra, and their flared shape may have represented the rays of the Sun. The most noteworthy of the pyramids was the 479 feet high Great Pyramid of King Khufu, and the slightly smaller pyramid of his successor Khephren at Giza. The pyramids are as much a monument to the organizational ability of the early Egyptian civil service as to the kings themselves The civil service was an extension of the royal household. The highest official was the Vizier, who supervised the collection of taxes and the administration of justice
The Pyramids Below the Vizier was a staff of chancellors, quartermasters and scribes For local government, Egypt was divided into provinces called nomes under governors called nomarchs who were born to royal or noble families This royal household staff that constituted the kingdom s bureaucracy was in charge of the organization of the labor that built the pyramids as well. The Great Pyramid at Giza housed a skeleton crew of workers who labored on the Pyramids year-round. But, during the late summer and early autumn months, when the Nile flooded surrounding fields, a large labor force would appear at Giza to put in time on the Pyramids.
The Pyramids These farmers and local villagers gathered at Giza to work for their god-kings, to build their monuments to the hereafter. This would ensure their own afterlife and would also benefit the future and prosperity of Egypt as a whole. They may well have been willing workers, a labor force working for ample rations, for the benefit of man, king, and country. Herodotus, the Greek historian, wrote that 100,000 workers built the Pyramids, while modern Egyptologists come up with a figure more like 20,000 or 30,000 workers. One of the most compelling pieces of evidence of who built the pyramids is graffiti on ancient stone monuments in places that they didn't mean to be shown.
The Pyramids Like on foundations when archaeologists dig down below the floor level, up in the relieving chambers above the King's chamber in the Great Pyramid, and in many monuments of the Old Kingdom temples, other pyramids. The graffiti gives us a picture of organization where a gang of workmen was organized into two crews, and the crews were subdivided into five phyles. (Phyles is the Greek word for tribe.) The phyles were subdivided into divisions, and the divisions are identified by single hieroglyphs with names that mean things like endurance, perfection, strong. How do we know this?
There's one that's well-attested, in the relieving chambers above the King's chamber in the Great Pyramid, "the Friends of Khufu Gang." This doesn't sound like slavery, does it? The Pyramids How do we know this? There is a block of stone in the relieving chambers above the King's chamber. The first thing you see there is this cartouche of a King and then some scrawls all in red paint after it. That's the gang name. In the Old Kingdom in the time of the Pyramids of Giza, the gangs were named after kings. So, for example, we have a name, compounded with the name of Menkaure, and it seems to translate "the Drunks (or the Drunkards) of Menkaure."
The Pyramids In fact, it gets more intriguing, because in certain monuments you find the name of one gang on one side of the monument and another gang, it is assumed competing, on the other side of the monument. Archaeologists find that to some extent in the Pyramid temple of Menkaure. It's as though these gangs are competing. So from this evidence it is deduced that there was a labor force that was assigned to respective crew, gang, phyles, and divisions.