Egyptian Pyramids and Stone Cut Temples

The architecture of Ancient Egypt aimed to reveal two essential characteristics of culture in
this period. The first was the firm belief that earthly life was just a short sojourn in
preparation for an eternal afterlife.The second important characteristic was in the fact that,
as a theocracy, Egypt's King or Pharaoh was worshiped as a god who had absolute
powers. Consequently most Egyptian architectural designs, materials for building, and the
labour force were devoted to constructing colossal Pharaonic tomb complexes, known as
Pyramids.
Pyramids
These complexes were designed to safeguard the Pharaoh's body and protect his
possessions after death, in order to smooth his passage into the afterlife. Therefore, a
national and huge industry of craftsmen, painters, sculptors, architects, worked to
construct the funerary artworks.
Beside building tombs,Egyptian architects, as instructed by the Pharaohs strove to glorify
their gods by erecting temples in their honour. The relics of Egypt's epic architectural
achievements can still be seen across the country, and stand as a tribute to this great
civilization, despite earthquakes, wars and the forces of nature which have left their work
over the years.These construction projects required sophisticated architectural and
engineering skills and advanced organizational abilities to manage a large workforce of
craftsmen and labourers.
Decoration, Materials and Simplicity
Except for Pyramids, most Egyptians structures were decorated with paintings, images
carved on stone, three-dimensional statues, and hieroglyphs; all telling stories of the
pharaohs, the gods , the common people and the world of nature with its plants, animals
and birds.
In general, Egyptian architectural designs though massive are not architecturally complex.
Because of the lack of wood, stone; like limestone, sandstone, and granite, as well as sunbaked mud bricks were abundantly used in building. Stone was widely used starting from
the Old Kingdom. It was mainly used for temples, tombs and sculpture. But bricks were
used for everything such as temple walls, royal palaces, and civic complexes. In Ancient
Egypt, most major structures were built close to the Nile, since the building materials were
transported by river.
The most famous Egyptian architectural sculptures were completed during two periods:
The Pyramids were mostly constructed in the time of the Old Kingdom, and the temples in
the New Kingdom. The great stone temples dedicated to the gods were the most notable
architectural achievements of the New Kingdom. All temples had a huge gateway, a
colonnaded courtyard, a hall of columns (Hypostyle Hall), a shrine chamber with one or
more chapels accessible only to the Pharaoh and the high priests. Columns and pillars
and mural decorations usually had plant motifs. Extensive complexes of tombs and
funerary temples were constructed by New Kingdom Pharaohs in various parts of Upper
Egypt like The Valley of the Kings and Karnak in Luxor, Abydos, Abu Simbel and Tell El
Amarna.

Pyramids
Ancient Egypt is known for its Pyramids. But what is a Pyramid? Basically, a royal tomb,
the pyramid was known as mer, and it was viewed as a place of ascent for the spirit of the
deceased pharaoh. It was thought that the soul travels to the afterlife from the top of the
pyramid, and should it desire to return, could easily return to earth because the pinnacle of
the pyramid would serve as a beacon that the soul can recognize.
Pyramids were funeral monuments to the Pharaohs of The Old and Middle Kingdoms,
and the burial place of all the monarch's treasures and household goods that they would
need on their journey to the afterlife. Re or Amun-Re, the sun god,was one of the most
prominent gods worshiped by Ancient Egyptians. Every pharaoh was believed to be the
son of Re, and his role was to preserve unity and balance in the earthly realm. Moreover,
Egyptians believed that the sun strengthens its beams to generate a celestial stairway for
the spirit of the King to ascend to heaven when he dies. As such, to them, the shape of the
pyramid represented the sun and its rays descending to earth.
Saqqara
Initially, the simple Mastaba was the tomb for commoners , high officials and royalty alike.
However, Imhotep, the architect during the reign of Djoser of the 3rd Dynasty, decided to
place 5 more mastabas above the first one in a graduated design each smaller than the
last. This will give the spirit of the deceased a larger space to roam, and in so doing, built
the first pyramid in Egypt; which is the famous Step Pyramid of Saqqara. It rose 204 feet
and was composed of 6 separate steps.The base of the pyramid is 358 by 411 feet and
the steps, or layers, were constructed and faced with limestone. The Step Pyramid is
considered the oldest surviving pyramid, and also the oldest surviving building in the world
made entirely of stone. The substructure of the pyramid comprises a maze of tunnels and
chambers, including several burial chambers, and to the north of the pyramid is a mortuary
complex which encompassed a life-size limestone statue of Djoser.
Giza
It is time now to talk about the famous Giza Pyramids, the only remaining structures of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The best known of all three pyramids is the Great
Pyramid of Giza, the burial place of King Khufu (or Cheops), the second king of the 4th
Dynasty who lived around 2600 BCE. Until the 19th Century CE, the Great Pyramid was
the tallest structure in the world. It was originally 481 feet high. Now, it has lost the top 30
feet. Historians estimate the number of the builders to be around 20,000 and and it took
more than 20 years to build. The sides point to the 4 directions of the compass, and the
length of each side at the base is about 755 feet. Two pits contained some cedar wooden
pieces of two of Khufu's boats were among the most fascinating finds to the south of the
Great Pyramid, and one of them was reassembled to give us one of the largest
boats known from ancient times, it was 142 feet long. Built for Khufu's son: Khafre, the 4th
of the 8 kings of the 4th Dynasty, the Middle Pyramid was built for Khafre. It was originally
471 feet high and the basis measured 707 feet on each side. The last of the 3 pyramid
was that of the 5th king of the 4th Dynasty: Menkaure, and its height was about 218 feet,
and each side measured only 356 feet.
The pyramids do not stand today as they were built. During the medieval times, all 3
pyramids were plundered, and the goods that were originally deposited in the burial
chambers went missing. The pyramids also do not reach their original heights because the
outer casing of smooth white limestone have been almost entirely stripped-down, except
perhaps for the Middle Pyramid that still has on its uppermost point the limestone layer
that gives it its shine.

The pyramids were part of a funerary complex that included other structures as well. There
was a causeway that led from the valley temple to the funerary temple and then to the
pyramid. There were also solar barques buried around the 4 sides of the pyramids,
and there were also other pyramids, smaller in size,and mastabas where members of the
royal family were buried.
The Sphinx
No less fascinating is the famous Sphinx. The Sphinx, which is the largest stone sculpture
from the Old Kingdom, had various other titles. During the 18th Dynasty, it was called "
Horus of the Horizon and " Horus of the Necropolis meaning the sun god that stands
above the horizon. The Pharaoh's power as god was reflected in the image of the Sphinx,
which led to reproductions of the Sphinx in later times. It was carved in smaller sizes with
the face of the then ruling monarch. However , it is believed that the face of the Great
Sphinx is actually that of Pharoah Khafre. The Sphinx was carved from a single mass of
limestone. It is 65 feet 240 feet long and it sits on the eastern side of the plateau apart
from the pyramids.
The original name of the structure remains unknown, although there are hundreds of
tombs at giza with 4,500 year old inscriptions, none however referring to the statue. The
word "Sphinx" refers to the human-headed lion in ancient Greek mythology. The term was
used to refer to this particular statue some 2000 years after its building. The statue is
similar to the double lion God Ruti, that sat at the entrance to the underworld and guarded
the horizon, and that is why it is also referred to as "The Guardian of the Horizon.
Everyone of the surviving monuments of Ancient Egypt bears witness to the Egyptians'
extraordinary' knowledge of science and the decorative arts.
The Pyramids could not possibly have been built without architects well-versed in physics
and mathematics; while the adornment of temples and the artifacts found in the tombs are
irrefutable evidence of the craftsmen who executed them.Talented painters, sculptors,
carpenters, and goldsmith where employed in large workshops controlled by the pharaoh,
the government or a temple, to carry out huge projects for the greater glory of the
individual, the state or the gods. Indeed this only goes to prove how dedicated this
civilization was in preserving its characteristics.
Mortuary Practices and the Afterlife
Essential to Egyptian mortuary practices was the belief in afterlife.
People had different views about where the afterlife is, and what would it be like.
It was very important to take the necessary measures for it,
so they prepared a burial place that would not only protect their body during the journey to
the afterlife, but would also provide a returning point for the owners free-roaming spirit for
when it needed to obtain sustenance once again.
Usually, royals were buried in the pyramids but nobels and high officials were buried in
other tombs. The design varied over the centuries, but two main architectural designs
remained characteristic - the mastaba tomb and the rock-cut tomb.
The Mastaba Type Tomb
First, let us look at the mastaba type tomb. The burial site was a home for the spirit for
every Egyptian. This idea was developed in the mastaba tomb, and so all components of a
house such as a bedroom, reception area, storerooms were replicated.

The dead were believed to have the same needs as the living - shelter, food, drink and
possessions. These were supplied by funerary offering rituals and funerary goods. The
mastaba tomb had two structures, one underground; it was called substructure and one
above ground that was called superstructure.
The superstructure had the shape of a rectangular bench, hence the term used by
Egyptologists, since "Mastaba" is the Arabic word for bench-shaped'. At first, the mastaba
tomb was used for both royalty and the noble class, but when the kings began to build
pyramids by the beginning of the Old kingdom, the nobels and officials retained and
developed the mastaba tomb for themselves, which were grouped to form royal courts
around the pyramid. The tomb's main functions were to house the body and the funerary
goods and provide an earthly location for the offerings to sustain the owner's spirit.
Because it was believed that the tomb was a house in which the deceased would continue
to exist after death, certain architectural features had to be developed as well.
Rock-cut tombs and Temples
By the end of the 4th Dynasty the rock-cut tombs began to appear and became
widespread in the succeeding dynasties. Some could be found in Giza, but the more
developed ones were to be found in the provincial areas alongside the Nile. Each tomb
was cut into the mountainside or cliffs bordering parts of the Nile, in Middle or Upper
Egypt. A particle with columns more or less resembling a terraced courtyard was a part of
the tomb and led to a columned hall. Natural rocks were the main material used for all the
architectural features. A small room or niche that contained the tomb honour statue could
be entered through that hall and the offerings were presented here on his or her behalf.
The burial chamber led beyond the offering chapel that could be accessed through an
opening in the floor of the chapel.
Kings themselves by the beginning of the New Kingdom, had abandoned pyramids in favor
of rock-cut tombs in the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of Luxor. The ruling class
were buried in rock-cut tombs in the nearby valley of the Queens. The tombs of many
courtiers and officials were scattered across several areas of the same necropolis. A king's
tomb usually consisted of a series of stairways and corridors, interspersed by one or more
rectangular halls that descended to a pillared hall. This hall contained a stone coffin that
accommodated the mummy of the deceased. The tombs in the Valley of the Queens were
similar in design, but slightly less elaborate and smaller in size.
Scenes representing aspects of food production and everyday pass-time were usually
found on the walls of the tombs with the purpose of providing the owner with a series of
activities, that he or she could magically practice for their own benefit and enjoyment after
death. The main principles of tomb art remained the same over centuries, although some
minor variations developed. In the absence of good quality stone however, the artists
painted scenes directly onto plastered surfaces, on the top of mud stone walls using
techniques that they developed themselves. While scenes of daily life decorated non royal
tombs of all periods, New Kingdom royal tombs depicted representations from the
funerary books, to help the king overcome the dangers he might encounter while passing
into the world of the dead.
Temples
Temples were very important edifices in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians believed that the
living, the dead and the gods, all had the same basic needs. Shelter, food and drink,
washing, rest and recreation. The living were accommodated in houses, the dead were
provided with tombs and the gods resided in temples. Food was supplied for the dead by

means of the funerary cult, and the gods needs were met through the divine rituals. Once
performed within the certain areas of the temple, they are still depicted and preserved in
the scenes carved and painted on many of the interior walls of the temples.
Similar to tombs, the temples were designed to last forever. They were therefore built of
stone. An Egyptoligist of the 19th century, categorized temples as divine, designating that
the resident deity, was worshipped by means of regular rituals carried out by the king or
the priest. Or mortuary, where the king or priest performed rituals for a resident deity plus
the dead defied ruler who had built the temple. Together with all the previous legitimate
rulers who were known as the royal ancestors. There are only minor variations between
temples that belong to different eras or sites, because basically mythology and rituals
dictated the basic form, layout and architectural features.
Interpretation of what a temple stands for are that it was the mansion of the god where the
deity resided, it was the island of creation where the god had created all the elements of
life and the universe on the first occasion, or the microcosm of the universe or a reflection
of the heavens. The temple as the house of god was very much like the home, and it
fulfilled the same function for its owner. It provided shelter, protection and a place of
worship. Therefore the design of the temple was very much like a house; it was
rectangular in shape, enclosed within a mud brick wall and provided accommodation for
the god, just like a bedroom. It had a reception area and storerooms. Moreover, the temple
as the island of creation, was replicated in its architecture. The enclosure wall was
constructed in sections, in which the bricks arranged in alternative concave and convex
sections formed wavy lines which represented the primeval ocean from which the island
had emerged. Spectacularly demonstrated in the monuments of Thebes, the greatest
period of temples construction was that of the New Kingdom.
A typical temple of the period, was laid out as a series of pylons or entry gate ways and
courtyards interspersed with features such as obelisks all arranged along a ceremonial
axis reflecting the importance of processions in cult activity. A sacred lake was often
provided within the temple precinct. Each architectural element of the building resonated
with symbolism, and emphasized the temples over-reaching role as a microcosm of the
universe where cosmic order was maintained and chaos kept at bay. Hence, the shape of
the pylon deliberately resembled the hieroglyph for the word horizon, the place where the
Sun was reborn everyday defying death.
The temple usually starts with the pylon which consists of two towers with sloping sides
and linked by a bridge, it is the most distinctive architectural feature of the Ancient
Egyptian temples. The large pylons, separated the outside human realm from the sacred
space of the temple where the divine lived safely inside. Behind the entrance pylon, was
usually the open peristyle court. It was considered a transitional zone between the inner
sanctify and the outer more public areas, as it was accessible to the common people on
certain occasions. This court led to the inner halls and structures of the temple. The
sanctuary is the heart and most sacred place of every Egyptian temple. Usually, it is
situated at the rear of the temple at the furthest distance from the entrance. The floor of
the sanctuary was always higher than any other part of the temple. The sanctuary
contained the Naos or the god's shrine holding the god's image. The sanctuary was also
the most restricted area of the whole temple, which was only accessible to the king or the
high priests. The image of the God was usually made of gold, within lays of semiprecious
stones. It was the place where the most important temple rituals took place everyday.
The outer most parts of the temple are the lowest level and the deeper one goes inside the
temple the higher the floor is. The ceiling on the other hand was lowered progressively

Thus, the sanctuary has the highest floor and the lowest ceiling. At the same time it is
contained and completely protected within the framework of the temple walls.
Egyptian temples were oriented towards every direction of the horizon. In the Nile valley,
most of the temples were oriented on an east-west axis based on the local cordinal
directions that were determined by the Nile. The axis of the buildings were mostly
perpendicular to the course of the river but some had axis parallel to the river. This was
found in some of the major temples of the greco-roman period, like the temple of Edfu and
the Temple of Isis on Philae island. It was suggested that the east-west axis reflected the
solar ideology, while the north-south axis reflected the two lands ideology unified by the
Nile.
Astronomy
Astronomy in Ancient Egypt which, as with other ancient cultures, began with recording the
time of year for agricultural purposes, and may well have also served a navigational
purpose; a common practice in the desert. These astronomical observations soon became
of religious significance, and as such were incorporated into architecture. However, the
first reason the Ancient Egyptians studied astronomy was a religious one. They believed
that their gods lived among the stars and that once a pharaoh died he was transported up
to the sky to an eternal afterlife in the stars with gods.
The beautiful illustrations of the numerous gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt appear in
many paintings and murals. These illustrations attest for the importance of these
astronomical links the Ancient Egyptians made. Gods were identified in the constellations,
and some were represented in astronomy. The Orion constellation represented Osiris, the
god of death, rebirth, and the afterlife. Interestingly, we find that the Belt Stars of Orion
align with the 3 pyramids on the Giza Plateau.
Astronomy and architecture were closely linked in Ancient Egypt. Egyptian buildings, like
pyramids and temples were oriented according to astronomy calculations and, based on
the specific religion of each city, the structures had different orientations. For example,
some temples were constructed in alignment with a star that appeared or disappeared at
harvest or sowing time. Indeed, the building of the pyramids provides the best example of
this connection, where the stars were used to help in their construction. Their eastern and
western sides are directed towards the north, and their southern and northern sides run
almost due west. Such positioning could not have been possible without good knowledge
of astronomy.
Furthermore, Ancient Egyptians used an indicator; an instrument called "Merkhet"
to observe the rising and setting of certain stars. The "merkhet" was a wooden tool that
had certain shape, and this tool helped the astronomer to look through and determine the
exact position of the stars. Because the Sun was represented by several gods for the
Ancient Egyptians, depending on its position in the sky, the horizon became important
since it was where the Sun rose and set daily. Representations of the Sun included
Kheper, the scarab beetle, representing the rising morning sun. Ra, the noon Sun,
because of its strength, and the evening sun was Atum, the creator god that lifted the
Pharaohs from their tombs to the stars. At sunset, the Sun with its red colour was seen to
represent the god of the Sun god as he died. When it finally set, it became Osiris, god of
death and rebirth. That is why to Ancient Egyptians, night was associated with death and
day with life or rebirth.

This cyclical pattern reflects the Egyptian idea of immortality. At the center of Ancient
Egyptian civilization was the Nile; the giver of life. When it flooded every year at the same
time, it's applied rich soil for agriculture. Egyptian astronomers, who also happened to be
priests, recognized that the flood always came with the summer solstice, which was also
when the star Sirius before the Sun, and thus, they were able to predict the annual
flooding. Ancient Egyptians had many achievements in the area of astronomy.
To begin with, they invented the 365-day calendar and let us see how. There was a clear
division between the orientation of Ancient Egyptian temples of Upper Egypt, and those of
Lower Egypt, and for many years the two parts of Egypt with two separate calendars. In
Lower Egypt, priests made a false horizon using circular mud-brick walls, then used a
plump-bob to note the Northern or Southern turning points (or solicitous) in order to track
and mark the position of the Sun as it rose. This helped them discover that the Sun disc,
personified as Ra took 365 days to travel from his birthplace of the winter solstice and
back to it.
After unification, problems appeared when attempting to work with two calendars. This led
to the idea of merging the two calendars into a single, simplified one that had twelve 30day months, 3 seasons of 4 months each, plus an extra 5 days,adding up to a 365-day
calendar. However, this calendar did not account for the extra quarter day each year.
Day and night were split into 24 units, each represented by a specific deity. Egyptians also
had some knowledge of the stellar constellations. They were familiar with at least 43
constellations in the 13th century BCE, and the oldest known copies of an almanac date
back to the time of Ramesses the Great.
Nabta Playa
Nabta Playa is an internally drained large basin. This basin was an important ceremonial
centre for the Ancient Egyptians, and it is located around a 100 kilometers west of Abu
Simbel in southern Egypt. Nabta Playa is a collection of huge stones that date back
around 6,500 years. The site is a stone circle, with a series of flat tomb-like stone
structures, and 5 lines of standing and toppled megaliths, which are large stones often
used to construct a monument. This is the only example of its kind in Egypt. More
importantly, this structure was situated, presumably on purpose, on the Tropic of Cancer,
which makes it one of the very first example of an astronomic observatory in the world.
"Nabta, being on the Tropic of Cancer, for one day only, on the summer solstice, the
sun's rays strike the ground absolutely vertically and upright stones cast no shadows for
several minutes."