Ancient Egypt

The Architecture of the Old Kingdom

Egypt was for over 2,000 years one of the richest and civilized land in the ancient world.   Even to this day its lands are filled with fascinating architecture rich with history.  Most of the history of ancient Egypt has been learned through its art and architecture.  Egypt’s ruins,temples,tombs etc have provided a look back into the lives of the ancient Egyptians.  The period in Egypt called the old kingdom began during the rule of King Zoser ( also spelt Djoser).  His rule was during the third dynasty.

The king’s first minister Imhotep, a skilled architecture,statesman, and scholar helped to create many advances of the period.  It is speculated that Imhotep probably was the architect for the Step Pyramid at Saqqara.  The Step Pyramid was the first stone pyramid built.  It is also the oldest pyramid still standing,.  It was built 4,700 years ago.  It would become the first of many to be built in ancient Egypt.  The pyramid was made as a final burial place for Zoser and members of his family.  The pyramid is about 10km from modern day Cairo.  The Step Pyramid is unusual because unlike the other pyramids of the time, it was built with broad steps growing bigger towards the bottom of the structure.  Within the pyramid is a well, where the king is buried.  Surrounding the king is a maze of corridors and chambers that contain large amounts of artifacts such as bowls,vessels and jugs.  All of which were put there to serve the king in the afterlife.  The Egyptians had a strong belief in religion and the afterlife.  They believed that the pharaohs had a connection with the gods even in the underworld.  The pyramids built were a reminder of the past pharaohs almighty powers.   The Step Pyramid is 60 meters tall and has high walls, an entrance gate and has a court for religious celebration festivals.  The pyramid also has a second tomb close by.  The entire pyramid was constructed from limestone.

The Pyramid of Meidum was supposedly started in the third dynasty by Pharaoh Huni and finished by his son Snefru, who was the founder of the fourth dynasty.  The pyramid originally had seven steps but it was changed to 8 before it was turned into an attempt at a traditional pyramid.  This was because of its construction flaws.  During its construction it partly collapsed.  It stands 92 feet high.  Its steps were filled to make the pyramid more smooth and to appear more like a regular pyramid.  The exterior is made out of limestone.

The Meidum Pyramid being a bit of a failure for Snefru he decided to try again to build a pyramid, the Bent Pyramid.  During the construction of the Bent Pyramid, half way up builders realized that it would not be any more durable than the Meidum Pyramid.  This was because there was a sharp incline to the pyramid.  So the builders reduced the angle to make the pyramid less steep. 

Snefru being still unsatisfied with the Bent Pyramid he built the Red Pyramid.  The Red pyramid is a mile from the Bent one.  The Red Pyramid is also known as the North Pyramid.  The height is the same as the Bent one except that it’s angle was reduced by about 43 degrees.

The most well know pyramids of Egypt are the Pyramids of Giza.  They are on the west bank of the Nile river.  They were all built between 2660 and 2560 B.C.  The pyramids are built for the Kings Cheops, Chephren and Mycerius.  The first one built was by Snefru’s heir., Khufu.  It is called the Khufu Pyramid and stands about 148 meters high.  It is estimated that it took almost 2 and half million stone blocks to create the magnificent structure.  Each stone in its self weights around 2 and a half tons.  This pyramid was the tallest building in the world for 4 millennia.  The second Pyramid of Giza is Khafre’s Pyramid.  Khafre built this pyramid to honour his father.  He even built the pyramid so that it was a few feet shorter, at around 476 feet tall (145m).  However he did build the pyramid on higher ground so it appeared taller.  The third Pyramid of Giza is Menkaure’s Pyramid.  Menkaure was possibly Cheop’s grandson, this is however not known for sure.  The pyramid is the shortest of them all. It is only 220 feet (67m).  Each of these pyramids had a valley temple, a landing and staging area.  The pyramid’s temple was used for religious rite performances for the king’s spirit.  Surrounding the pyramids at Giza is a necropolis (city of dead) grew up.  Inside this city of dead is a mastabah ( mud- brick bench) tombs.  They were called this because of their resemblance to the sloped mud benches in front of Egyptian houses.

The overall architecture of ancient Egypt mainly consists of temples and tombs built of stone constructed to last.  However little is known about the domestic architecture of the Old Kingdom.  The houses and palaces were built of unbaked mud brick and much of it has not survived.  Much of the information on the customs and living conditions of the ancient Egyptians comes from the preserved stone building.