Egyptian Civilization

• Located in Africa on the

northern edge of the
Sahara
• The Nile bisects through
the land from the south to
the north
• The Nile is a seasonal river
that overflows its bank
yearly to create a fertile
valley
 GEOGRPHY
• Fertile alluvial soil along the banks of the river Nile.

• Mediterranean sea on the north, Red sea on the east.

• Most cities were founded on the banks of NILE.

• River Nile was the highway of
Egypt connecting upper and
lower Egypt
• It also offered protection
from Invasion by outsiders
 Government and Religion
• At the centre of ancient
Egyptian civilization was a
strong central government
headed by pharaohs
• The pharaohs provided Stability
and a unified sense of purpose.
• Pharaohs were considered to
be living Gods
• Ancient Egyptians were a religious people
• They believed in many Gods
• Different symbols were used to represent the
Gods and temples were built and dedicated to
them
Social Hierarchy
• Egyptians also believed in
life after death
• They believed that when
they die, their souls called
Ka would live in them for
ever
• For the Ka to live, it needed
either the body of the dead
person or a copy of it in the
form a statue
 Mummys
• To ensure the availability of a body to the ka of
a dead person, the Egyptians developed a
process of preservation called mummification
 ‘King is dead, Long live the King’
• Egyptian believe that even when the
body of the king is dead he lives into
eternity
 Architectural Ideas
• Ancient Egyptians viewed earthly dwellings as
temporary
• They paid little attention to house construction
• Houses were constructed out of relatively
temporary materials, just to last one life time.
• The tomb was seen as a permanent dwelling for
the afterlife
• Tremendous effort was exerted in tomb
construction
 Building for the Dead
• Initially Egyptians buried their dead in
chambers carved out of bed rock and covered
with flat piece of stone.
• Eventually these tombs were elaborated by
rectangular structures built above them.
MASTABAS
• Means ‘ a long Bench’ in Arabic
• Mastabas are stone faced mounds built above
burial chambers.
• They are square or rectangular in Plan, with
flat roofs and sloping sides from which a Shaft
lead to the underground burial chamber.
• It had a chamber called a serdab housed a
statue of the deceased that was hidden
within the masonry for its protection
2nd and 3rd dynasty mastabas: BEITH KHALLF

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• Later these Mastabas evolved into more
elaborate form of step pyramid where the
Mastaba has been extended vertically.
 The Step Pyramid of Djoser
• Built by Imhotep, earliest known architect who
is credited for his work.
• Rectangular in Plan 83m X 75 m
• 60m High
• It Began as a Mastaba, but then extended six
times to reach its final form.
Sneferu’s Attempts
• Pyramid of Meidum
• The Bent Pyramid
• The Red Pyramid
Pyramid at Meidum
Bent Pyramid
• Square plan 187m X 187m
• height of 102 m
• The pyramid had a change of angle midway,
leading to its being called the bent pyramid
• It was started with an angle of inclination of
43 degree, but later after reaching halfway
changed to 53.15 degree
It was started with an angle of
inclination of 43 degree, but later after
reaching halfway changed to 53.15
degree
Red Pyramid of Dashur
Evolution of Pyramid
 Pyramids of Giza
• The Necropolis of Giza contains three
monumental Pyramids
• Pyramid of Khufu (Cheop)
• Pyramid of Khafre
• Pyramid of Menkaure
 The Great Pyramid of Giza
(Pyramid of Cheop)
• The construction of a true geometrical
pyramid was achieved during the reign of
Cheops, son of Snefru
• This was located at Giza
• This pyramid is called the Great Pyramid
because of its size
• The pyramid is 146.5 m high on a plan 230m X
230m square
• The great pyramid has a unique internal arrangement
• First it has a chamber built below the base of the pyramid
• Another chamber was built above it known as the queen’s
chamber
• A larger burial chamber known as the king’s chamber was built
at the center of the pyramid
Queen's Chamber
The Queen's Chamber is exactly half-way between the north and south faces of
the pyramid and measures 5.75 metres (18.9 ft) north to south, 5.23 metres
(17.2 ft) east to west and has a pointed roof with an apex 6.23 metres (20.4 ft)
above the floor. At the eastern end of the chamber there is a niche 4.67 metres
(15.3 ft) high. The original depth of the niche was 1.04 metres (3.4 ft), but has
since been deepened by treasure hunters.

Grand Gallery

The Grand Gallery continues the slope of the Ascending Passage, but is 8.6
metres (28 ft) high and 46.68 metres (153.1 ft) long. At the base it is 2.06 metres
(6.8 ft) wide, but after 2.29 metres (7.5 ft) the blocks of stone in the walls are
corbelled inwards by 7.6 centimetres (3.0 in) on each side. There are seven of
these steps, so at the top the Grand Gallery is only 1.04 metres (3.4 ft) wide.