Ancient Egyptian Architecture

elective

Archaeology

Richly illustrated lectures on basic issues concerning pharaonic architecture: its origin and development, main forms, materials and symbolic values. Presentations are exemplified with best known tomb complexes and temples. Theoretical issues like definitions, interpretations and terminological problems are addressed as well.

Week 1 Introduction. Character of Ancient Egyptian architecture. Basic forms and symbolic notions. Sources, definitions, terms. Research and literature.

Week 2 Building materials: stone. Quarries, transport of stone blocks, construction techniques.

Week 3 Building materials: brick, wood, metals.

Week 4 Measures: cubit, seked. Project, plan, model. Building logistic and control. Architects.

Week 5 Forms of the architecture. Typologies of tombs and temples.

Week 6 Temple structure: horizontal. Enclosure walls, gates, pylons, courtyards, hypostyle halls, rooms and niches, sanctuaries.

Week 7 Temple structure: vertical. Foundations, floors, walls, columns and pillars, ceilings and vaults.

Week 8 Decoration. Columns, obelisks, naoi, altars, statuary, relief and painting. Hieroglyphs.

Week 9 Mastabas and rock-cut tombs. Archaic through New Kingdom.

Week 10 Step Pyramid complex of Netjerykhet at Saqqara: template architecture.

Week 11 Pyramid complexes of the Old Kingdom. Raising, structure and function. Case study: Great Pyramid complex of Khufu at Giza.

Week 12 Valley of the Kings. Case study: tombs of Thutmose III, Tutankhamun and Seti I.

Week 13 Mansions of millions of years. Case study: Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari.

Week 14 Architecture for the living. Towns, palaces, fortresses.

Week 15 Riddles of the Egyptian architecture: Great Rectangular Monuments, Minor Step Pyramids, pyramid of Meidum, Wadi Gerawi dam, Thot’s Hill temple, temple of Qasr el-Sagha, KV 5.

D. Arnold, Building in Egypt. Pharaonic Stone Masonry, Oxford-New York 1991.

D. Arnold, Temples of the last Pharaohs, New York – Oxford 1999.

D. Arnold, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, London 2003.

A. Badawy, A History of Egyptian Architecture, vol. I-III, Giza 1954, Berkeley and Los Angeles 1966-68.

S. Clarke, R. Engelbach, Ancient Egyptian Masonry, London 1930 (new edition: Ancient Egyptian Construction and Architecture, New York 1993).

A. Dodson, S. Ikram, The Tomb in Ancient Egypt, Cairo 2008.

I. E. S. Edwards, The Pyramids of Egypt, 8 London 1991.

M. Isler, Sticks, Stones, and Shadows. Building the Egyptian Pyramids, Norman 2001.

M. Lehner, The Complete Pyramids, Cairo 1997.

S. Quirke (ed.), The Temple in Ancient Egypt. New Discoveries and Recent Research, London 1997.

N. Reeves, R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Valley of the Kings, London 1997.

B. E. Shafer (ed.), Temples of Ancient Egypt, London - New York 1997.

W. S. Smith, The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt (revised with additions by W. K. Simpson), New Haven - London 1998.

J. Spencer, Brick Architecture in Ancient Egypt, Warminster 1977.

R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt, Cairo 2000.

Oral exam.