Tombs And Temples
Tombs And TemplesWhat are some major architectural structures
of Ancient Egypt? There are many amazing sites of architecture in Egypt from
ancient times. Many have been discovered, but there are still ones being discovered
and excavated today. Pyramids, tombs, and temples are the main structures
still standing that can be seen today.
The first tombs of the pharaohs were
large, unimpressive, bunker affairs called mastabas. A mastaba (Arabic for
"bench") is a low rectangular structure which was built over a shaft which
descended to the burial location. They were made from sun dried mud bricks
and most have long since crumbled to dust. This all changed around 2630 BC
with the creation of the step pyramid.
The Step Pyramid was designed for King
Djoser ,of the 3rd dynasty, by his vizier, Imhotep. The pyramid is located
in Saqqara, the main necropolis of Memphis. The Saqqara pyramid has a series
of six levels of stone decreasing in size as they ascend to about 200 feet/60
meters in height. The Step Pyramid originally began as a mastaba, and it has
been visualized as a series of mastaba shapes, decreasing in size, stacked
one on top of another. The surface was originally encased in smooth white limestone
which must have caught the sun light and reflected its rays. It has the distinction
of being the site of the first large stone structure built in the world. The
place where humans began to strive for the impossible, where the imagination
gained the power to transform reality.
Some of the loveliest works of art
ever seen can be found at Saqqara, in the tombs of the nobles. The limestone
walls are delicately incised with myriads of animals, fish, birds, insects,
vegetation and people - hunting, herding and farming. Some of the forms still
retain their original paint, after 4,500 years! The quality of these compositions
demonstrates that the Egyptians had attained, at an early stage, an artistic
culture of a very high order. Cattle Crossing is an etching made from sketches
done at Saqqara. The medium of etching, itself a process of erosion, seems
well suited to capturing the time worn quality of the relief carving.
The
person responsible for the step pyramid, Imhotep, is credited as being the
inventor of building in stone and was a man of many talents - Architect, physician,
master sculpture, scribe, and astronomer. He must be the first true genius
in recorded history and the impression he had on the Egyptians was profound
because later generations revered him as a god of wisdom.
The age of the
first ancient wonders of the world began with the pyramids of Northern Sneferu.
This Pharaoh built three pyramids and may have had a hand in others. His pyramid
at Medium began as a step pyramid and was then modified to form the first true
pyramid. It standardized the shape of all pyramids to come. Its four sides
are equilateral triangles which meet at a point. He built another pyramids
at Dahshur. It was called the Bent Pyramid because its upper part has a shallower
angle of inclination than the lower part. The slope of its sides probably
was adjusted due to...
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