Architecture of the land of the pharaohs. Ancient Egypt

The architecture of Ancient Egypt still raises many questions in terms of its creation and construction. So what made the architectural features of the Egyptians unique?

Early Egyptian architecture

The history of the development of architecture in Ancient Egypt has a certain structure.
The following periods of architecture of Ancient Egypt are known:

Early Kingdom;
Ancient Kingdom;
Middle Kingdom;
New Kingdom;
Later kingdom.

The architectural monuments of the early kingdom have not survived to this day. In those years, the Egyptians used bricks in construction made from clay and river silt, which did not withstand the test of thousands of years.

During the Early Kingdom, the construction of chapels and mastabas began widely.

A mastaba is a tomb of noble people in the form of a truncated pyramid with internal passages and halls. In the prayer chamber there was a statue, which, according to religion, was inhabited by the soul of the deceased.

During the Early Kingdom of Egypt, concave cornices and ornamental friezes began to be used in architecture.

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We also note that the Sphinx was also erected more than 12,000 years ago, as evidenced by the latest scientific research.

Rice. 1. Egyptian Sphinx.

Age of the Pyramids

It is the period of the ancient kingdom that is the embodiment of Egyptian mythology and its unique culture. The idea of building a pyramid instead of a mastaba first arose during the reign of Pharaoh Djoser. Architect Imhotep built a step pyramid measuring 121x109 meters with a height of 62.5 meters.

Its distinctive feature is a deep vertical shaft, covered with a dome on top. According to one version, this mine leads to a city built underground.

The pyramids of Giza are widely known. The tallest of them is the Cheops Pyramid - 140 meters high.

Rice. 2. Pyramid of Cheops.

Its main mystery is that it is not mentioned in the Egyptian papyri, but is in Herodotus. The pyramid has three tombs and many chambers and corridors.

During the Old Kingdom, the construction of solar temples began. Each of them looked like a building on a hill, surrounded by a wall, and an obelisk was installed in the center of the temple. The most famous sun temple is the temple of Nissuser.

Rice. 3. Temple of Nissuser.

The era of the Middle Kingdom witnessed the dominance of individualism. Every Egyptian cared about his afterlife, which led to the construction of small pyramids. During their construction, the emphasis was on the arrangement of the internal space.

Infrastructure is developing in cities. For example, in the founded city of Kahun, wide roads were made and drainage was installed.

It is worth noting the uniqueness of the Egyptian wall paintings with hieroglyphs and various designs.

Architecture of the New and Late Kingdoms

In the 16th century BC. The cult of the god Amun increases. The rectangular Luxor and Karnak temples are built in his honor. Both buildings were connected by an alley, which became the hallmark of the period.

Important: Another building was the temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahri, which was carved into the rock and presented in the form of three steps connected by ramp stairs. Its attraction lies in the use of many columns and reliefs dedicated to the life of the queen.

In the Late Kingdom, elements such as hypostyles and pylons gained popularity. The emphasis was on decorative processing.
After the invasion of the army of Alexander the Great into Egypt, a synthesis of two cultures begins to be observed.

What have we learned?

If we talk briefly about the architecture of Ancient Egypt, it is worth noting that it has 4 main features - monumentality, rhythm, geometricity and strict symmetry. This was the greatest culture of antiquity.

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The land of Egypt has always attracted travelers with its incomparable monuments of art. Back in the 5th century. BC e. the Greek historian Herodotus (between 490/480 - about 425 BC) described his impressions of what he saw there, and the philosopher Plato (428/427 - 348/347 BC), who highly appreciated ancient Egyptian art, set him up as an example to his compatriots. And in the 20th century. Interest in Egypt continued unabated. This is how he appears in N.S.’s poem. Gumilyov "Egypt":

Like a picture from an old book,

Delightful my evenings,

These emerald plains

And spreading fan palms...

This is how you will see Egypt

At the divine hour three times, when

The human day is drunk by the sun

And, conjuring, the water smokes.

To distant blooming plane trees

You come as you came before

Here is the sage, speaking with the Ever-Bearing One,

Loving birds and stars forever...

This is the gaze of the benevolent Isis

Or the twinkling of the rising moon?

But come to your senses! The pyramids are growing

Before you, black and scary.

On their moss-gray ledges

Eagles come to spend the night,

And in the depths lie corpses,

Unfamiliar with decay, in the midst of darkness.

The Sphinx lay down guarding the shrine

And with a smile he looks from above,

Waiting for guests from the desert,

Which you don't know about...

The art of Egypt begins the countdown from the 4th millennium BC. e. (predynastic period) and goes through the following stages of development: Ancient kingdom(XXXII-XXI centuries BC), Middle Kingdom(XXI-XVI centuries BC), New kingdom(XVI-XI centuries BC), Later kingdom(XI century - 332 BC).

During this long period, majestic pyramids were created in Egypt, guarded by mysterious sphinxes, grandiose temple complexes spread out in the Nile valleys and carved into the rocks, and numerous stone obelisks pointing to the sky. Here papyrus was invented - the first material for writing, the foundations of geometry were laid, the volume of a hemisphere was measured for the first time and the area of a circle was found, the day was divided into 24 hours, the role of the circulatory system in the human body was established.

Egypt went through its own unique and original path, conditioned by religious and mythological ideas, in particular the belief in an afterlife and the deification of the power of the pharaoh.

The peculiarities of religion also shaped a completely unique style of architecture. The Egyptians believed that human earthly dwellings were temporary, and therefore it was not worth spending durable materials on them. But the temples of the gods and the tombs of the pharaohs were built of stone and luxuriously decorated, as they were built to last.

2.1. PYRAMIDS - “HOUSES OF ETERNITY” OF THE PHAROAH

The Ancient Kingdom is called the greatest period in the history of Egyptian civilization. It was at this time that the first civil and religious laws were established, hieroglyphic writing was born; construction began on the famous Giza pyramids Cheops, Khafre and Mikerin. The Greek historian Herodotus talks about it this way:

Cheops left behind a grandiose work: his pyramid... Cheops... ordered all Egyptians to work for him. Some were ordered to drag stones from the quarries of the Arabian Mountains to the Nile; others had to load them onto ships to transport them across the river and drag them to the Libyan mountains. One hundred thousand workers were constantly at the construction site, changing every three months.

They had already spent ten years laying the road along which they dragged the stones, but this was still nothing compared to the construction of the pyramid itself... The pyramid itself required 20 years of work. It's square. Each side is 146.26 m and its height is the same size. The stones are polished and carefully fitted, each of them no less than 9.24 m.”

Four centuries after Herodotus, in the 1st century. BC BC, the pyramids were named one of the seven wonders of the world. And today they amaze with their greatness. The saying “Everyone is afraid of time, but time is afraid of the pyramids” has not yet lost its meaning. Being close to them, one cannot help but feel surprise and awe. Walking around the pyramid, a person travels a distance of one kilometer; its height is approximately equal to the height of a 50-story building. Before the construction of the Paris Eiffel Tower in 1889, the largest of the pyramids - Cheops - was the tallest structure on earth!

The Pyramid of Cheops was initially 146 m high, now it reaches only 137 m, and in place of its top a platform 10 m wide was formed. The edges of the pyramid face the four cardinal directions, the entrance to the tomb is located on the north side, at a height of 16 m above the ground. Somewhere in the middle of one of the sides there was a stone, moving which one could get through a long winding corridor into the sarcophagus - the “dwelling of eternity” of the pharaoh.

Time has preserved for us some of the names of the builders and architects of the pyramids. Imhotep - the architect of the Pyramid of Djoser, one of the highest dignitaries of the pharaoh, was also known as the greatest scientist of Ancient Egypt. There are many legends about him, his works have been closely studied for thousands of years. He was a doctor, astronomer and magician; he, a mortal, was given honor on a par with deities. The name of the architect of the Cheops pyramid is also known - this Hemiun.

The purpose of the pyramids is twofold. On the one hand, they had to accept and hide the body of the deceased king, rid him of decay. On the other hand, to forever glorify the power of Pharaoh and remind all future peoples of his existence. Anyone who approached these man-made mountains felt overwhelmed by their power and realized their own insignificance.

In the immediate vicinity of the Cheops pyramid there are the tombs of other pharaohs, his descendants: his son and grandson. The tombs are oriented according to parts of the world and are intended for the deceased pharaoh, as if repeating the movement of the Sun god across the sky from east to west, perpendicular to the flow of the Nile. Currently, Khafre's pyramid is the only one that has preserved its polished cladding. Its height is less than the Cheops pyramid, but since it stands on a higher place, its top is at the same level. The smaller of them - the pyramid of Mikerin - barely reaches 66 m in height. It is surrounded by even smaller satellite pyramids, serving as the burial place of the pharaoh's wife, his children and immediate relatives.

Architecture of the land of the pharaohs.

The stone architecture of Egypt, as evidenced by the surviving monuments of ancient Egyptian civilization, served primarily the needs of religion. Residential buildings, including palace buildings, were built from light and short-lived materials, only the temples of the gods and tomb complexes were built from stone, they were made very durable, and were built to last for centuries. Naturally, it was these stone structures that stood the test of time and have survived to this day, sometimes almost in their original form. It was these monuments of Ancient Egypt that preserved the features of ancient Egyptian architecture.

Definition of space

volume and mass,

formation of the facade.

Egyptian architecture was multifaceted; its characteristic feature in defining space and volume was the gallery (corridor). Even the courtyards were rather an extension and continuation of the galleries than the compositional central places of the building's layout, areas for further distribution or collection. Covered with columnsThese courtyards were surrounded on all sides quite rarely by galleries. The doors of rooms and premises also sometimes opened onto the courtyard. The large columned courtyards and halls were of a gallery type, as evidenced by the direction of laying the beams and the direction of the wall paintings on the supports.

The arrangement and contiguity of individual rooms correspond to this gallery layout, which was usually linear. Internal rooms and premises followed one after another in one direction and along one axis. In the architecture of temple buildings, starting from the sanctuary, rooms and halls became more and more spacious, the height of the ceilings increased, and the volume of the premises increased. The building opened up like the flower of a plant. When building the pyramids, the Egyptians used the opposite concept: the end of the funeral path pyramid towered above all other elements of the architectural ensemble. A rare exception is the central layout of the structure. It is found only in the tombs of the Old Kingdom (archaic period) and in sanctuaries and temples of Roman times.

The external forms of the buildings were very simple: straight-sided and inclined prisms and pyramids. There were buildings that had only internal volumes (they were very small), such as rock temples and tombs. These structures did not have their own separate mass. There were buildings that did not have their own internal volumes (or they were very small), among them: pyramids, facade towers and pylons at the entrance to the temple, as well as steles that stood separately and served as a vertical accent of the architectural complex or composition.

The surfaces of buildings inside and out, as a result of the simplicity of architectural forms, were flat and even. This geometric isolation and monotony inherent in Egyptian architecture was softened by numerous wall texts, paintings and bas-reliefs. However, this wall painting as a whole did not affect the impression that the architecture of Ancient Egypt evokes in an outside observer. For the buildings of the ancient Egyptians, windows were not a characteristic element; they were extremely rare only on the facade of the building. The problem of internal lighting was solved with the help of small terraces and platforms that were located at the very top of the building.

Sometimes the façade had columns; often this was the look of the veranda facing the courtyard. The gaps between the columns were filled with brickwork, sometimes up to half, sometimes to the full height. This was especially typical for buildings during the reign of the Ptolemies. In the latter case, the so-called pseudoperipter was obtained(Peripter (Greek - “feathered”) type of temple in which the sanctuary, enclosed in blank walls, is surrounded by a colonnade on all sides. Pseudo-peripter differs in that the role of columns is played by half-columns protruding from the wall, and only in front of the entrances at the ends of the building are columned porticoes installed ).This architectural design of the facade is also found in the monuments of the Old Kingdom, for example, in the complex of the pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser, but it was subsequently forgotten. The sectional linear solution of the facades of the building from the time of the Old Kingdom was also forgotten in later times.

Construction Materials.

The main building material of the ancient Egyptians was stone. Various types of stone were mined in the quarries located in the cities on the borders of the Nile Valley. The most famous was Aswan granite. In Aswan today you can see an ancient quarry, at the bottom of which lies a stone obelisk, half carved into the rock. Equally famous was the Tours limestone mined near Memphis. The facing slabs of most pyramids are made from it. Sandstone was also used by ancient builders. From hard rocks they used porphyry and diorite. To create certain color schemes and combinations, stones of various colors and shades were specially selected. The Egyptians also used brickwork, but its share in relation to stone was insignificant. The tombs of the Archaic period, the pyramids of the Middle Kingdom and some large residential buildings were built from brick. Due to the lack of combustible material and wood, the bricks were dried in the sun. There was not enough wood for construction work. Only furniture and rich decoration of the apartments of the pharaoh and the highest nobility were made from wood brought from other countries. But despite this, the technique of working with wood had a great influence on the formation of the style of stone architecture of Ancient Egypt.

In archaic times, the homes of ordinary people and small sanctuaries were built from reed mats, the doorways were also hung with mats, but of finer workmanship, and they were woven from grass and straw. Some forms of this reed construction were used later in stone architecture, for example in Saqqara, in the Djoser pyramid complex, you can find semi-columns resembling the shape of bundles of reeds, and you can also find rolled mats carved from stone. Later, the dwellings of common people began to be built from clay, a tradition that has been preserved in the Delta to this day.

Construction of buildings.

The Egyptians used both types of load-bearing (support) structures: a wall and a post (column or pillar).

In the archaic period, the walls of buildings were erected from bricks; the bricklaying technique indicates a great influence from Mesopotamia, and perhaps originates from there. The great architect of the Ancient Kingdom, Imhotep, is considered the founder of stone construction and its inventor.(The nature of the buildings erected by Imhotep in Saqqara serves as additional confirmation that the ancient Egyptians borrowed construction techniques from Mesopotamia (from there the idea of a step pyramid ziggurat, but without a temple on the upper platform), however, the use of stone required intensive invention from the Egyptian architect).Stone walls were erected in two ways: thinner ones were assembled from well-processed stone blocks, the base of thicker and more massive walls was made of rough-hewn stone blocks of poorer quality, and the outside was lined with smooth and well-polished stone slabs. This is how the pyramids of the Old Kingdom were built. The pyramids of the Middle Kingdom had an inner core made of bricks.

Egyptian stone columns arose as an architectural expression of the forms of the plant world. An example of this is the half-columns at Saqqara; they, like the stone wall, belong to the Djoser pyramid complex. Stone columns of ancient Egyptian architecture are divided into several types. They repeat the shape of those plants whose character the builders wanted to give them. These are palm-shaped, lotus-shaped and papyrus-shaped columns, which is especially evident from their bases and caps. Such columns and columned galleries were often likened to an alley or grove of trees. In addition to columns of plant forms, the Egyptians often used pillars of a quadrangular or polyhedral cross-section. Since the Middle Kingdom, two special types of columns have been found. These are columns with the image of the head of the goddess Hathor on the capitals and the so-called columns of Osiris in temple buildings. Such a column usually stood in front of the colonnade framing the entrance to the temple; sometimes it was a statue of the god Osiris, forming one whole with the column.

The builders laid out the support panels between the pillars from stone beams, and laid stone slabs on top of them to form a flat ceiling. There was no roof above it, because rain in Egypt is the greatest rarity. At first the cornice served only as the crown of the walls, but then it was raised above the floor beams, and it turned into one of the elements of wall decoration. Such a cornice was often decorated with figures of animals and plants (for example, images of the sacred uraeus cobra).

Despite the fact that Egyptian architecture primarily used flat shapes and straight lines, the builders knew how to arrange vaultsThy coatings. The ceiling of the burial chambers had the shape of a gable roof and was constructed from stone slabs carefully fitted to each other. These slabs were sometimes concave from below, the lower part of the horizontal stone beams was given a concave shape, and a covering similar to a cylindrical vault was obtained.(The Egyptians knew how to build genuine vaults, but they preferred either a false vault (the floor slabs gradually move towards the center or axis of the room with each subsequent row, held in place by the weight of an artificial mountain on top), or a kind of image of the vault by giving the giant monolithic slabs a curved outline surfaces from the inside), as in rock temples and tombs. The Egyptians also knew how to build real vaults, but they did this exclusively during the construction of brick tombs, when constructing warehouses and laying canals. Stairs began to be used much later; before that, in most cases, an inclined plane and a ramp were used to connect different levels and floors of a building.

Architectural planning,

Labour Organization

and execution of work.

Egyptian craftsmen, from time immemorial, worked according to precise, carefully developed plans. The architect wrote down his thoughts on a sheet of papyrus, a clay tablet or a limestone slab, often working using square markings, which helped him in designing and later in executing the work. The shards and pieces of such construction projects found by archaeologists indicate that the ancient architect depicted the object under construction, both in general terms and in various projections. The projections sometimes depicted parts of the structure being built that were not visible from the outside. Thus, in these ancient construction projects, sections and sections of individual elements of the building under construction were made. In most cases, the facade was depicted at the very edge of the plane of the main drawing.

The oldest examples of architectural projects known to us date back to the period of the 3rd dynasty. A piece of limestone tablet found near the Pyramid of Djoser shows perpendicular lines. They form a coordinate grid. The curve with length records corresponds to the line of the arched roof of one of the buildings belonging to the Tomb of Djoser complex. This tablet is kept in a museum in Cairo and is part of the architectural design of Imhotep, the oldest architect and builder known to us.

We know very little about the work on designing the pyramids. It can be assumed that the builders worked on the basis of designs, drawings and plans. Probably, and most likely this is exactly the case, they also made models of future pyramids. For example, a model of a pyramid from the 13th dynasty with corridors and chambers was found in Dashur(The greatest difficulty in designing the pyramids was represented by two tasks. The first was the need to perfectly level the base, which is very difficult with a side length of 100, 200 m or more. The second was the need to perfectly calculate the angle of inclination of the edges of the corner stones of the base, so that these edges would meet to one point at a great height. Both were carried out with high accuracy, which confirms the excellent mastery of applied mathematics, subsequently borrowed and developed by ancient Greek scientists).

And in later times, great importance was attached to the design of structures under construction. For example, on the construction drawings and plans of the royal tombs in Thebes the following data were indicated: the general dimensions of the tomb, the dimensions of the chambers and corridors, the purpose of individual rooms, their names, the theme and form of execution of wall paintings and bas-reliefs, their compositional structure. Among others, the design of the tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses has reached us. IV , it depicts the contours of the tomb under construction, its most important elements in various projections. The drawings were approximate, without scale, only proportions were observed, and exact digital data were attached in the explanations to the drawings. Along with design work, the responsibilities of the pharaoh's chief architect included providing transport services for construction and construction work. Naturally, numerous administrators and officials helped him in this. The organization of labor was very high, thousands of people worked on construction, but individual “teams” did not interfere with each other’s work.

Based on his Egyptian impressions, Herodotus talks about the construction of the Cheops pyramid. He wrote that Cheops forced the entire Egyptian people to work for himself, dividing them into two parts. He was the first to order the delivery of blocks from quarries in the Arabian mountains to the banks of the Nile. Others were engaged in their further transportation to the foot of the Libyan mountains. One hundred thousand people worked constantly, they replaced each other every three months. Over ten years of hard work, a road was built along which the blocks were delivered to the river. According to Herodotus, the construction of this road was no less difficult than the construction of the pyramid itself. It took ten years to build the road; it was paved with polished stone slabs decorated with carvings. Construction work around the pyramid was completed, the construction of underground structures, which were intended for the tomb and burial chamber of Pharaoh Cheops, was completed. The construction of the pyramid itself lasted twenty years. The base of the pyramid was a regular quadrangle, consisting of carefully polished stone blocks that were precisely fitted to one another. The pyramid was erected in several stages. After the construction of the first stage, the stone blocks were lifted using special lifts made from short wooden beams. First, the finishing of the upper part of the pyramid was completed, after which the adjacent lower parts were finished. The finishing of the base and the very bottom part was completed last.

Modern researchers agree with Herodotus that, in all likelihood, one hundred thousand people worked on the construction of the Cheops pyramid, but only for three months a year, during the Nile flood. Only about four thousand people worked constantly on construction (apparently these were high-class specialists and architects). A residential town was built for them.

Workers were united in special units, which consisted of smaller groups. The division was based on the capacity of the Egyptian river transport felucca. The smallest group “link” could consist of ten people. The detachments, “teams” of builders had their own names. These names necessarily included the name of the pharaoh. For example, the detachment “How loved is the white crown of Snofru”, or “Cheops ennobled two kingdoms”, etc.

In stone quarries, blocks were marked with a “number” and date of manufacture, and on this basis labor productivity and production rates were determined. The average daily output of a stonemason was approximately 2 cubic meters of stone. To build the Cheops pyramid, 2,300,000 stone blocks weighing 2.5 tons each were needed. If we take Herodotus’ data as a basis, i.e., the construction time of the pyramid is 20 years, we get a very realistic period, it turns out that on average 315 such blocks had to be laid every day.

In subsequent centuries, special teams of craftsmen worked on the construction of the pyramids. For example, we are well aware of the lifestyle and organization of work of the master builders of the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Thanks to archaeologists, we have the opportunity to read Egyptian hieroglyphs, we even know the names of some ancient masters. The design, construction and decoration of royal tombs and tombs was the work of a special “office”, in which artists, stone carvers and other highly qualified specialists worked. The main “curator” of the work of this “firm” was the highest dignitary of the pharaoh, his vizier. The number of workers in one “office” reached or exceeded 120 people. Along with highly qualified specialists, low-skilled labor and assistants (for example, transport workers) were also used. The workers were divided into two groups: the right and the left, again following the example of the river workers. These teams were headed by bosses, next to them were constantly scribes who had to take daily notes on the progress of work, the life and working conditions of workers, draw up lists of various materials needed for work, tools, and calculate wages. Most of these records have survived to this day, thanks to them we were able to get acquainted with the life and work of ancient artisans.

Through the study of ancient drawings and texts, we have learned a lot about how the ancient Egyptians built and designed buildings. Archaeologists have found ancient construction tools made of copper and bronze: cutters, drills, chisels, adzes, as well as tools made of stone and wood (sizing and grinding stones, wooden hammer, etc.). The ancient Egyptian civil engineer was helped in his work to check the accuracy of measurements by plumb lines, levels, triangles and measuring rulers.

Most Egyptologists believe, in contrast to the statements of Herodotus, that the Egyptians did not use any devices or mechanisms during the construction of the pyramids. As they built the pyramid, they built special inclined platforms from clay bricks, along which, with the help of wooden sleds and human physical strength, the stone blocks were raised to the required height. There is no evidence that the pyramid builders used a wheel or a lift system. The remains of such ramp platforms were discovered by archaeologists.

For the construction of small objects, scaffolding and scaffolding were used, for large construction works, such as the construction of pyramids, and in later times, when building temples, etc., special inclined platforms were used to deliver the necessary materials. These platforms were expanded as the structure grew. After completion of construction work, these platforms were destroyed. Simultaneously with the construction of the building, its interior was filled with sand. The final finishing work was done from top to bottom. As they were completed, the sand was removed.

In quarries, blocks were cut out somewhat larger than needed. These stone blocks were roughly processed. In this form they were delivered to the construction site. Fine processing of stone, final preparation of blocks to the required standards and giving them shape were carried out already at the construction site, sometimes during the work process(The careful finishing of the giant stone blocks is evidenced by their precise markings before installation in place (the block numbers were found painted on their surface) and the fact that to this day the thickness of the seam between the stones does not, as a rule, exceed 0.15 mm.).

In addition to inspecting and taking into account the features of the site chosen for construction, the architect religiously observed traditions, especially regarding the orientation of the future building by the stars. In addition to solving purely technical issues, it was necessary to ensure the exact observance of many construction-related rituals. These rituals began from the moment the place of work was determined and continued throughout the preparatory period. Based on the texts found at the excavations in Abusir, we have a fairly complete understanding of the rites and ceremonies that accompanied the work of clearing the area, leveling it, etc. The most solemn ceremonies were held on the occasion of the start of construction work. The pharaoh personally drove in the first pegs, dug the first hole, fired the first brick and laid it himself into the foundation of the future pyramid. Sacrifices (sacrificial animals or sacred figurines) were performed near the site of the foundation work. To impart magical power to the new structure, stones from more ancient tombs and temples were laid into the foundation of the pyramid under construction. It was believed that some architectural patterns and shapes also had magical powers. They were made at the same time as construction work.

Column capitals: palm-shaped, papyrus-shaped with a closed flower bud, papyrus-shaped with a blossoming flower, in the form of the head of the goddess Hathor

Construction of the pyramid

Saqqara. A restored chapel on the territory of the complex of Pharaoh Djoser.

Abusir. Temple of the Sun of Pharaoh Nausserre. Reconstruction

Literature: Catalina Cellar “Architecture of the Land of the Pharaohs. Dwelling of the living, the dead and the gods” / translation from Hungarian A. D. Ragimbekova, edited V. L. Glazychev. M.: Stroyizdat, 1990.

The main distinguishing feature of Egyptian architecture is its monumentality. We can judge this primarily by those known throughout the world.

However, in the building art of Ancient Egypt there were not only majestic pyramids, but also many other types of structures, which were very original. The development of the culture of this unique civilization can be traced over several time periods.

Periods of development of Egyptian architecture

The long and narrow valley of the Nile River was surrounded on all sides by a sultry desert. And yet, on this small area of fertile land, the inhabitants of Egypt were able to create their own civilization, unlike all the others that existed before and after it. We can safely say that Egyptian art, religion and today are the most significant achievements of the ancient world.

The small territory of Egypt was conditionally divided between the tribes of Upper and Lower Egypt. However, these tribes independently create unique architectural traditions. The development of Egyptian architecture can be divided into several time periods:

Prehistoric period- (lasted until 3200 BC) - at this time, separate villages were built on the territory of Ancient Egypt, fortified for defense. They consisted of residential buildings, which were made from simple and short-lived materials. Also during this period, small tombstone structures were built.
Ancient kingdom- (from 2700 to 2200 BC) - this period is characterized by the construction of large temple buildings.
Middle Kingdom- (from 2200 to 1500 BC) - during these times, temples carved into rocks or located in deep caves became extremely popular.
New kingdom- (from 1500 to 1100 BC) - famous architectural complexes were built in Luxor and Karnak.

Subsequently, Egyptian architecture begins to be enriched with elements of other cultures, and its originality and uniqueness are no longer so expressive.

The main rule for Egyptian architects was the law of symmetry. It was involved in the composition of all buildings, in the scale of buildings and in the placement of parts of the structure relative to its central axis.

Construction Materials

The main building material in Ancient Egypt was natural stone. The Egyptians learned how to mine it, and the ancient craftsmen knew how to skillfully process it. The quarries belonged to the state, so the methods of extraction and processing of stone were the same throughout the country and did not change for 3,500 years.

Tall, slender ones were carved from solid blocks of stone; massive columns and pillars tens of meters high were made from stone, which to this day amaze specialists with the sophistication and perfection of their forms.

Even the giant pyramids were made from huge stone blocks, so skillfully processed that their installation did not require the addition of mortar. Moreover, the masonry turned out to be of such high quality that it was impossible to insert the blade of the thinnest knife between two adjacent stones.

Heavy floor beams rested on walls, columns and pylons. Egyptian craftsmen did not use vaults in the construction of buildings, although they were familiar with the technology of their construction.

Instead of vaults, various types of supporting elements were used:

Stone pillars- they were monolithic and had a simple square cross-section. Such supports were made massive from monolithic stone blocks. The stone pillars looked strict, ascetic, but at the same time incredibly impressive.
Columns— they consisted of a base element, a trunk and a capital. The trunks of simple columns were also square in shape, while more complex ones were made in the form of polyhedrons, which were decorated with the stems of a plant used to make papyrus. Sometimes on the trunks of columns you can see vertical grooves - flutes.

The architecture of Ancient Egypt was characterized by capitals in the shape of palm leaves, lotus flowers or papyrus. You can also find images of the head of the goddess Hathor, the patroness of farmers.

Ancient temples of Egypt

Along with the large temple complexes that were built on Egyptian soil, cave temples with rich interior decoration were cut down in rocky deposits.

The facade walls of the temples were inclined, which contributed to their greater stability. It is possible that the inclined form was borrowed from the earliest adobe buildings.

Immediately behind the facade pylon there was a square courtyard - a peristal, surrounded on all sides by a frequent row of massive columns. They were located very close to each other. Anyone could enter the courtyard.

Next came the columned hall - the hypostyle, which was illuminated through gaps in the ceilings. The lighting was arranged so skillfully that at certain times the interior of the hall presented a uniquely beautiful spectacle.

The composition of the entire temple complex clearly showed the law of symmetry, inviolable for the Egyptians. Therefore, all rooms were located strictly symmetrically to the central axis of the temple.

Temple complex of Queen Hatshepsut

The ancient architects of Egypt were not only talented craftsmen and brilliant designers. They thought through the influence of the exterior of buildings and the location of the premises in them on the worldview of the average citizen. Thus, the sequential alternation of spaces of various sizes, huge columns, a gradual decrease in lighting and thickening darkness were supposed to emphasize the power of divine beings and have an incredibly strong emotional impact on those entering.

The largest and most significant temple complexes of this period are the great temple of Amun in the city of Thebes (today Luxor and Karnak), as well as the temple of Horus in Edfu and on the island of Philae.

Among the famous cave temples are the structures in Abu Simbel, which were carved out of the rock. On the outer side of the rock there is a façade with giant sculptures, and into the depths go entire suites of rooms, lavishly decorated with relief images, sculptural compositions and skillful paintings in a rich range of colors.

Temple of Ramesses in Abu Simbel

Types of tombs

In the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, the human soul Ka lived as long as the body (Ba) was preserved in its proper form. That is why the art of mummification of the remains of the dead was invented and successfully developed. And to house mummies, special buildings were used - tombs, which had different sizes and design types:

Small tombs- were intended for the repose and preservation of the remains of ordinary citizens. They contained a minimum list of mandatory items necessary for the deceased to live in the afterlife.
Mastabas- had the shape of a small truncated pyramid, and were used to preserve the mummies of officials and noble nobles. Most often they were built near the pyramids. They were placed in regular rows, oriented to the cardinal points. In this way, entire “cities of the dead” were formed.
Cave tombs- sometimes the tombs were cut into the thickness of the rocks, making several deepening rooms. At the same time, the entrance to the tomb was decorated with reliefs or statues.
Pyramids- these world-famous tombs of the pharaohs were built during their lifetime. The giant pyramids were designed to perpetuate the name of the ruler, as well as preserve his body for subsequent eternal life. The chamber for storing the mummified remains of the pharaoh was very small, and was located deep underground in the network of an intricate labyrinth. This was done in order to avoid the destruction of the mummy even if the main premises of the pyramid were opened and looted.

Scientists believe that the very pyramidal shape of the huge tombs of the pharaohs arose as a result of the superstructure and increase in the mastaba. The base was expanded and additional steps were added.

An example of such a structure is the unique pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, built around 2800 BC. It reaches a height of 60 meters, and in plan the pyramid is a rectangle with sides of 116 and 107 meters. Later, pyramids began to be built on a square base.

Today, several dozen pyramids of different sizes have survived, which are located between the Fayum and Cairo. They were built in the 3rd millennium BC in Giza.

The most grandiose building is considered to be the Pyramid of Cheops, whose area is about 53 thousand square meters. It was built from many huge stone blocks, each of which weighs almost 2.5 tons. Scientists have calculated that the construction of the Cheops pyramid required about 2.5 million cubic meters of natural stone.

The outer side of the pyramids was lined with skillfully processed stone slabs. But the cladding has practically not survived to this day. Its remains can only be seen at the top of the pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre.

The smallest pyramid in Giza was considered the tomb of Mikerin, which was built in a later period. For its exterior decoration, slabs of durable and beautiful polished granite were used.

City architecture

The first settlements arose in Egypt in the 4th millennium BC. These were cities inhabited mainly by merchants and artisans. The ruins of the cities of Akhetaten and Kahuna have been preserved. During their construction, Egyptian architects used a single plan, so houses of the same type were formed into a rectangular street system.

The simplest buildings were intended for housing workers - pyramid builders, while for higher-level specialists (architects, engineers, doctors) and security, houses with varied, but still standard layouts were built.

The city of Kahun had special fortifications and was also equipped with a sewer system. For the construction of residential buildings, brick was most often used - raw brick, made from Nile silt mixed with straw. Burnt brick was a more durable material, but even buildings made from it could not survive to this day.

Layout of buildings in the city of Kahun

It is for this reason that the history of architecture of the ancient world is studied primarily through the surviving buildings of palaces and temples, bridges, dams and fortresses, which were built from strong and durable natural stone.

In the 2nd millennium BC, the layout of residential buildings was carried out in the form of a regular rectangle. In such a house there were several small rooms and halls, the ceiling of which was supported by internal columns.

During the New Kingdom, housing layouts improved. In Thebes and Akhenaten, square or rectangular residential buildings are built. Next to low one-story buildings, houses of several floors are being built, equipped with internal staircases. The orientation of the rooms was to the north, towards the refreshing air currents.

Egyptian craftsmen also built huge and complex technical structures. Among them are an extensive network of canals and reservoirs, from which the city was supplied with water. In particular, Egyptian builders built the world's first canal, which connected the Nile with the Red Sea.

Architecture of the land of the pharaohs.

Definition of space

volume and mass,

formation of the facade.

Egyptian architecture was multifaceted; its characteristic feature in defining space and volume was the gallery (corridor). Even the courtyards were rather an extension and continuation of the galleries than the compositional central places of the building's layout, areas for further distribution or collection. These courtyards were surrounded on all sides by covered columned galleries quite rarely. The doors of rooms and premises also sometimes opened onto the courtyard. The large columned courtyards and halls were of a gallery type, as evidenced by the direction of laying the beams and the direction of the wall paintings on the supports.

The arrangement and contiguity of individual rooms correspond to this gallery layout, which was usually linear. Internal rooms and premises followed one after another in one direction and along one axis. In the architecture of temple buildings, starting from the sanctuary, rooms and halls became more and more spacious, the height of the ceilings increased, and the volume of the premises increased. The building opened up like the flower of a plant. When building the pyramids, the Egyptians used the opposite concept: the end of the funeral path - the pyramid - towered above all other elements of the architectural ensemble. A rare exception is the central layout of the structure. It is found only in the tombs of the Old Kingdom (archaic period) and in sanctuaries and temples of Roman times.

Sometimes the façade had columns; often this was the look of the veranda facing the courtyard. The gaps between the columns were filled with brickwork, sometimes up to half, sometimes to the full height. This was especially typical for buildings during the reign of the Ptolemies. In the latter case, the so-called pseudoperipter was obtained (Peripter (Greek - “feathered”) is a type of temple in which the sanctuary, enclosed in blank walls, is surrounded by a colonnade on all sides. Pseudo-peripter differs in that the role of columns is played by half-columns protruding from the wall, and only in front of the entrances at the ends of the building are columned porticoes installed ). This architectural design of the facade is also found in the monuments of the Old Kingdom, for example, in the complex of the pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser, but it was subsequently forgotten. The sectional linear solution of the facades of the building from the time of the Old Kingdom was also forgotten in later times.

Construction Materials.

Construction of buildings.

The Egyptians used both types of load-bearing (support) structures: a wall and a post (column or pillar).

In the archaic period, the walls of buildings were erected from bricks; the bricklaying technique indicates a great influence from Mesopotamia, and perhaps originates from there. The great architect of the Ancient Kingdom, Imhotep, is considered the founder of stone construction and its inventor. (The nature of the buildings erected by Imhotep in Saqqara serves as additional confirmation that the ancient Egyptians borrowed construction techniques from Mesopotamia (from there the idea of a step pyramid - a ziggurat, but without a temple on the upper platform), however, the use of stone required intensive invention from the Egyptian architect). Stone walls were erected in two ways: thinner ones were assembled from well-processed stone blocks, the base of thicker and more massive walls was made of rough-hewn stone blocks of poorer quality, and the outside was lined with smooth and well-polished stone slabs. This is how the pyramids of the Old Kingdom were built. The pyramids of the Middle Kingdom had an inner core made of bricks.

Despite the fact that Egyptian architecture primarily used flat shapes and straight lines, the builders knew how to create vaulted roofs. The ceiling of the burial chambers had the shape of a gable roof and was constructed from stone slabs carefully fitted to each other. These slabs were sometimes concave from below, the lower part of the horizontal stone beams was given a concave shape, and a covering similar to a cylindrical vault was obtained. (The Egyptians knew how to build genuine vaults, but they preferred either a false vault (the floor slabs gradually move towards the center or axis of the room with each subsequent row, held in place by the weight of an artificial mountain on top), or a kind of image of the vault - by giving the giant monolithic slabs a curved outline surfaces from the inside), as in rock temples and tombs. The Egyptians also knew how to build real vaults, but they did this exclusively during the construction of brick tombs, when constructing warehouses and laying canals. Stairs began to be used much later; before that, in most cases, an inclined plane - a ramp - was used to connect different levels and floors of a building.

Architectural planning,

Labour Organization

and execution of work.

We know very little about the work on designing the pyramids. It can be assumed that the builders worked on the basis of designs, drawings and plans. Probably, and most likely this is exactly the case, they also made models of future pyramids. For example, a model of a pyramid from the 13th dynasty with corridors and chambers was found in Dashur (The greatest difficulty in designing the pyramids was represented by two tasks. The first was the need to perfectly level the base, which is very difficult with a side length of 100, 200 m or more. The second was the need to perfectly calculate the angle of inclination of the edges of the corner stones of the base, so that these edges would meet to one point at a great height. Both were carried out with high accuracy, which confirms the excellent mastery of applied mathematics, subsequently borrowed and developed by ancient Greek scientists).

And in later times, great importance was attached to the design of structures under construction. For example, on the construction drawings and plans of the royal tombs in Thebes the following data were indicated: the general dimensions of the tomb, the dimensions of the chambers and corridors, the purpose of individual rooms, their names, the theme and form of execution of wall paintings and bas-reliefs, their compositional structure. Among others, the design of the tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses IV has reached us; it depicts the contours of the tomb under construction, its most important elements in various projections. The drawings were approximate, without scale, only proportions were observed, and exact digital data were attached in the explanations to the drawings. Along with design work, the responsibilities of the pharaoh's chief architect included providing transport services for construction and construction work. Naturally, numerous administrators and officials helped him in this. The organization of labor was very high, thousands of people worked on construction, but individual “teams” did not interfere with each other’s work.

Workers were united in special units, which consisted of smaller groups. The division was based on the capacity of the Egyptian river transport felucca. The smallest group - a “link” - could consist of ten people. The detachments, “teams” of builders had their own names. These names necessarily included the name of the pharaoh. For example, the detachment “How loved is the white crown of Snofru”, or “Cheops ennobled two kingdoms”, etc.

In subsequent centuries, special teams of craftsmen worked on the construction of the pyramids. For example, we are well aware of the lifestyle and organization of work of the master builders of the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Thanks to archaeologists, we have the opportunity to read Egyptian hieroglyphs, we even know the names of some ancient masters. The design, construction and decoration of royal tombs and tombs was the work of a special “office”, in which artists, stone carvers and other highly qualified specialists worked. The main “curator” of the work of this “firm” was the highest dignitary of the pharaoh, his vizier. The number of workers in one “office” reached or exceeded 120 people. Along with highly qualified specialists, low-skilled labor and assistants (for example, transport workers) were also used. The workers were divided into two groups - the right and the left, again following the example of the river workers. These teams were headed by bosses, next to them were constantly scribes who had to take daily notes on the progress of work, the life and working conditions of workers, draw up lists of various materials needed for work, tools, and calculate wages. Most of these records have survived to this day, thanks to them we were able to get acquainted with the life and work of ancient artisans.

In quarries, blocks were cut out somewhat larger than needed. These stone blocks were roughly processed. In this form they were delivered to the construction site. Fine processing of stone, final preparation of blocks to the required standards and giving them shape were carried out already at the construction site, sometimes during the work process (The careful finishing of the giant stone blocks is evidenced by their precise markings before installation in place (the block numbers were found painted on their surface) and the fact that to this day the thickness of the seam between the stones does not, as a rule, exceed 0.15 mm.).