The egypt

Geographical Conditions

Egyptian civilization lasted about 2000 yrs. (3100 B.C – 671 B.C)

It was an ancient civilization ofNortheastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River.

The life of Ancient Egypt centeredaround the Nile and the fertile land along its banks. 

Climatic & Religious Conditions

There were only 2 seasons i.e spring & summer.

The climate was warm & bright, interior of building & temple got sufficient sunlight through doors.

The massive , unbroken walls help to protect the interior of the building from intense heat.

Flat roofs were the most common in this civilization.

Egyptians were the worshippers of gods and heavenly bodies like the sun, star, moon.

Hapi – river god – water and good soil

Re – sun god – crops to grow

A PRESENTATION ON TOMBS

TOMBS:- the encient egyptians had a strong belief that there was a mysterious kingdom of the dead on western side where the sun went down . Because of this tombs were always built on the bank of nile. Egyptian also believed that the dead man survived in tombs .

There are two types of tombs :- mastabas , royal pyramid.

Mastaba tombs were low rectangular brick or stone structures. Like the pyramids, they wer built on the west side of the Nile (symbol of death, where the sun falls into the underworld).

In the mastabas, lavish tombs with all necessary possessions would be prepared for the Phaorahs

The pyramids evolved from the mastabas

MASTABAS

Virtual Visit

PYRAMID Pyramids are massive funerary

structures of stone or brick with a square base and four sloping triangular sides meeting at the tip of the pyramid, or at the top. The material that it consisted of was mainly stones. The tip of the pyramid was made from gold or electrum. They were built as tombs for deceased Pharaohs, where everything that belonged to the Pharaoh was placed there. Around it, several buildings were built for his belongings. Smaller pyramids were for his wives, a temple in front of the pyramid was so people could worship him. A causeway leading from the pyramid complex down to the temple in the valley.

A valley temple was where the pharaoh's funeral would begin.

Workers building Half-finished

With only pyramid

Wood andrope

Millions of slaves

carrying things to

entrance

• The exact number of stones was originally estimated at 23,00,000 stone blocks weighing from 2-30 tons each, with some weighing up to 70 tons.

• The pyramid base covers an area of 13 square acres.

• The estimated total weight of the structure is 6.5 million tons.

DEVELOPMENT OF PYRAMID

1. STEPPED PYRAMID: a step pyramid or stepped pyramid

is an arch. Structure That uses flat

flat platform , or steps, recending

from the Ground . These pyramids are

made of stones. The steps are formed

on this pyramid . The angle of incli-

Nation of steps is 51 degree.

Height of stepped pyramid is 90m.

, and side length is 145m.

2.BENT PYRAMID:THESE PYRAMIDS ARE BENT

FROM THE ABOVE PORTION

, THE DIMENTION ARE DI-

-FFERENT FROM THE STEPPED

PYRAMID.

HEIGHT -102m.

SIDES LENGTH-189m.

ANGLE-52degree 20 minute.

3.TRUE PYRAMID :-This is the the last stage of pyramid ,

These pyramids are huge and massive

, all the sides are straight .

Height- 144m.

Sides length- 216m.

Angle- 52degree 20 minute

EGYPTIAN TEMPLES

Why were the temples built? Egyptian temples were built for the official

worship of the gods and commemoration of pharaohs in Ancient Egypt and in regions under Egyptian control.

Within them, the Egyptians performed a variety of rituals, the central functions of Egyptian religion: giving offerings to the gods, reenacting their mythological interactions through festivals, and warding off the forces of chaos.

A temple was an important religious site for all classes of Egyptians, who went there to pray, give offerings, and seek oracular guidance from the god dwelling within.

Temples were seen as houses for the gods or kings to whom they were dedicated.

Carving on stone

About the interior of temples

The most important part of the temple was the sanctuary, which typically contained a cult image, a statue of its god.

Alongwith sanctuarys there were hypostyle halls and peristyle courtyards, all axially aligned.

The rooms outside the sanctuary grew larger and more elaborate over time and came to be called as edifices.

Basic plan of an Egyptian temple

Development In the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3100–2686 BC),

the first pharaohs built funerary complexes in the religious center of Abydos following a single general pattern, with a rectangular mud-brick enclosure that may have contained an off-center earthen mound.

In the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BC) that followed the Early Dynastic Period, royal funerary monuments underwent tremendous expansion, while most divine temples remained comparatively small .

Early design of a temple

Then, tomb and temple were joined in elaborate stone pyramid complexes.

Other changes came in the reign of a king who, beginning with his first pyramid at Meidum, built pyramid complexes symmetrically along an east–west axis, with a valley temple on the banks of the Nile linked to a pyramid temple at the foot of the pyramid.

Basic view of a temple

Where was a temple built ?

Temples were built throughout Upper and Lower Egypt, as well as at Egyptian-controlled oases in the Libyan Desert.

The exact site of a temple was often chosen for religious reasons. , for example, be the mythical birthplace or burial place of a god.

The temple axis might also be designed to align with locations of religious significance, such as the site of a neighboring temple or the rising place of the sun or particular stars.

The Great Temple of Abu Simbel, for instance, is aligned so that twice a year the rising sun illuminates the statues of the gods in its innermost room .

Most temples, however, were aligned toward the Nile with an axis running roughly east–west.

An elaborate series of foundation rituals preceded construction.

Temple structures were built on foundations of stone slabs.

Construction Egyptians mostly used stone and brick for

construction purpose. The main stones used in temple construction

were limestone and sandstone, which are common in Egypt; stones that are harder and more difficult to carve, such as granite, were used in smaller amounts.

Walls and other structures were built with large blocks of varying shapes. The blocks were laid in courses, usually without mortar.

Each stone was dressed to fit with its neighbors, producing cuboid blocks whose uneven shapes interlocked.

Once the temple structure was complete, the rough faces of the stones were dressed to create a smooth surface.

Temple construction did not end once the original plan was complete; pharaohs often rebuilt or replaced decayed temple structures or made additions to those still standing. In the course of these additions, they frequently dismantled old temple buildings to use as fill for the interiors of new structures.

Hypostyle halls They were covered rooms filled with columns. they typically lay directly in front of the

sanctuary area. These halls were less restricted than the inner

rooms, being open to laymen at least in some cases.

Kingdom halls rose into tall central passages over the processional path, allowing a clerestory to provide dim light.

The epitome of this style is the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, whose largest columns are 69 feet (21 m) tall.

Hypostyle halls

Peristyle courtyards Beyond the hypostyle hall were one or more

peristyle courts open to the sky . These open courts, which had been a part of

Egyptian temple design since the Old Kingdom, became transitional areas in the standard plan of the New Kingdom, lying between the public space outside the temple and the more restricted areas within. Here the public met with the priests and assembled during festivals.

At the front of each court was usually a pylon, a pair of broad, flat towers flanking the main gateway.

Upper view of a peristyle court

Enclosure Outside the temple building proper was the

temple enclosure, surrounded by a rectangular brick wall that symbolically protected the sacred space from outside disorder.

In late temples these walls frequently had alternating concave and convex courses of bricks, so that the top of the wall undulated vertically.

Some enclosures contained satellite chapels dedicated to deities associated with the temple god, including mammisis celebrating the birth of the god's mythological child.

The sacred lakes found in many temple enclosures served as reservoirs for the water used in rituals, as places for the priests to ritually cleanse themselves, and as representations of the water from which the world emerged.

Mortuary temples sometimes contained a palace for the spirit of the king to whom the temple was dedicated, built against the temple building proper.

Sanatoria in some temples provided a place for the sick to await healing dreams sent by the god.

Especially important was the "house of life", where the temple edited, copied, and stored its religious texts, including those used for temple rituals. The house of life also functioned as a general center of learning, containing works on non-religious subjects such as history, geography, astronomy, and medicine.

Sectional view of a temple

Dwellings (Residence)For workers

Most of the houses were built with the mud brick , sundried bricks. The bricks were made up of mud & straw

The houses were 1 or 2 storey high, with a living hall in the centre, to protect it from the heat sunlight.

There were only 2 or 3 furniture in the houses of poor workers.

The poor working people lived in the unplanned streets.

The poor slept on the bare floor, the roof or on the mat. They had a head rest litle raise because of the danger of scorpions.

Dwellings (Residence)For Nobels

Nobles lived in the huge vilas along the Nile. Some were front with white limestone which made the wall sparkle.

Each vilas 25-30 rooms each was for different purpose.They had a family room, guest room, kids rooms and many more.

Homes had a front & back doors. Each was built 4 feet above the ground to protect from dust

Rather than stairs, ramps led from one level to other inside the house

All the rich people had garden. Most of the gardens were peaceful.

Dwellings (Residence)For Pharaohs

Residence of pharaohs were called as Palaces.

They consisted of a complex of building design to house the headquaters of power & the temples of worshipping the god

There were 2 main section one to accommodate the needs of pharaohs & other to meet the requirement of administration.

They were a rect. structure consisting of high walls topped with towers.The top of the tower were often decorated with panels.

Rooms to accommodate the needs of court were located at one side of the hall & lakes , gardens were also added to these complex.

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