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Ancient Egyptian Architecture
Spanning over three thousand years, ancient Egypt was not one stable civilization but in constant change and upheaval, commonly History of ancient Egypt, split into periods by historians. Likewise, ancient Egyptian architecture is not one style, but a set of styles differing over time but with some commonalities. The best known example of ancient Egyptian architecture are the Egyptian pyramids and Sphinx, while excavated Egyptian temple, temples, palaces, tombs, and fortresses have also been studied. Most buildings were built of locally available mud brick and limestone by paid laborers and craftsmen. Monumental buildings were built using the post and lintel method of construction. Many buildings were Egyptian astronomy, aligned astronomically. Columns were typically adorned with Capital (architecture)#Pre-classical capitals, capitals decorated to resemble plants important to Egyptian civilization, such as the Cyperus papyrus, papyrus plant. Ancient Egyptian architectural motifs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Pyramid Of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only wonder that has remained largely intact. It is the most famous monument of the Giza pyramid complex, which is part of the World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site "Memphis, Egypt, Memphis and its Memphite Necropolis, Necropolis". It is situated at the northeastern end of the line of the three main pyramids at Giza. Initially standing at , the Great Pyramid was the world's List of tallest buildings and structures#History, tallest human-made structure for more than 3,800 years. Over time, most of the smooth white limestone casing was removed, which lowered the pyramid's height to the current ; what is seen today is the underlying core structure. The ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyperus Papyrus
''Cyperus papyrus'', better known by the common names papyrus, papyrus sedge, paper reed, Indian matting plant, or Nile grass, is a species of aquatic plant, aquatic flowering plant belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is a Hardiness (plants), tender herbaceous perennial, forming tall stands of reed-like swamp vegetation in shallow water. In nature, it grows in full sun, in flooded swamps, and on lake margins throughout Africa (where it is native), Madagascar, and the Mediterranean region. It has been introduced to tropical regions worldwide, such as the Indian subcontinent, South America, and the Caribbean. Along with its close relatives, papyrus sedge has a very long history of use by humans, notably by the Ancient Egyptians (as it is the source of papyrus paper, one of the first types of paper ever made). Parts of the plant can be eaten, and the highly buoyant stems can be made into boats. It is now often cultivated as an ornamental plant. Description This tall, robu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fourth Dynasty Of Egypt
The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty IV) is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from to c. 2498 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other countries is officially documented. The Fourth Dynasty heralded the height of the pyramid-building age. The peaceful rule of the Third Dynasty of Egypt, Third Dynasty allowed artistic expressions to flourish. Building experiments done by King Sneferu led to the evolution of mastaba tombs into the smooth sided pyramids like those seen on the Giza Plateau. No other period in Egyptian history equaled the accomplishments achieved during the Fourth Dynasty.Egypt: Land and Lives of the Pharaohs Revealed, (2005), pp. 80–90, Global Book Publishing: Australia Rulers Summary of Listed Kings Sneferu Sneferu, lauded as "Bringer of Beauty", "Master of All Justice", and "Ruler of Lower and Upper Nile", was the first pharaoh of the fourt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arch
An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but structural load-bearing arches became popular only after their adoption by the Ancient Romans in the 4th century BC. Arch-like structures can be horizontal, like an arch dam that withstands the horizontal hydrostatic pressure load. Arches are usually used as supports for many types of vaults, with the barrel vault in particular being a continuous arch. Extensive use of arches and vaults characterizes an arcuated construction, as opposed to the trabeated system, where, like in the architectures of ancient Greece, China, and Japan (as well as the modern steel-framed technique), posts and beams dominate. Arches had several advantages over the lintel, especially in the masonry construction: with the same amount of material it can have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirgissa
Mirgissa (originally Iken) was a settlement in Northern (state), Northern state, Sudan. Situated at the Cataracts of the Nile, 2nd cataract in Wadi Halfa, it contained one of the largest fortresses in Nubia. In the time of Thutmose II, 250 to 450 people inhabited the area. The first European explorer was English people, English geologist Sir Henry George Lyons in 1892, and was excavated without Sudanese permission, by the French people, French Egyptology, Egyptologist Jean Vercoutter from 1962 to 1969. In addition to the fort, excavations uncovered the remains of two cities, one of which was fortified, a northern enclosure, two cemeteries, a boat slide, and a port. Construction of the Aswan High Dam caused the disappearance of Mirgissa, which now lies under the waters of Lake Nubia. Geography Travelers from the north who reached Abusir had to leave their boats and circumvent the 2nd cataract in order to reach Mirgissa. It was situated from the harbor, where boats from the south ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buhen
Buhen, alternatively known as Βοὥν (Bohón) in Ancient Greek, stands as a significant ancient Egyptian settlement on the western bank of the Nile, just below the Second Cataract in present-day Northern State, Sudan. Its origins trace back to the Old Kingdom period (about 2686–2181 BCE), where it served as an Egyptian colonial town, particularly recognized for copper smelting. In 1962, archaeological discoveries brought to light an ancient copper manufacturing facility encircled by an imposing stone barrier, indicating its origin during the rule of Sneferu in the 4th Dynasty. Inscriptions and graffiti disclosed a continuous Egyptian presence spanning two centuries, only to be interrupted by migration from the southern regions in the 5th Dynasty. History of Buhen In the Old Kingdom (about 2686–2181 BCE), there was an Egyptian colonial town at Buhen, which was also used for copper working. An archaeological investigation in 1962 revealed what was described as an ancie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El-Lahun
El Lahun ( ''El Lāhūn,'' alt. Illahun, Lahun, or Kahun, (the latter being a neologism coined by archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie) is a town and pyramid complex in Faiyum, Egypt founded by Senusret II. The Pyramid of Senusret II () is located near the modern town, and is often called the Pyramid of Lahun. The site was occupied during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom into the late Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt, Thirteenth Dynasty, and then again in the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom. The ancient name of the site was rꜣ-ḥn.t, literally, "Mouth (or Opening) of the Canal". It was known as Ptolemais Hormos () in Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemaic Egypt. There are multiple areas at El Lahun including the Pyramid of Senwosret II, cemeteries, the Valley temple, and the town of Kahun. It contains many artifacts of daily life like pottery from the Middle Kingdom and evidence of administrative procedures seen on Papyrus, papyri and seals. Excavation history El Lahun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deir Al-Madinah
Deir el-Medina (), or Dayr al-Madīnah, is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of Egypt (ca. 1550–1080 BC).Oakes, p. 110 The settlement's ancient name was ''Set maat'' ("Place of Truth"), and the workmen who lived there were called "Servants in the Place of Truth". During the Christian era, the temple of Hathor was converted into a Monastery of Saint Isidorus the Martyr () from which the Egyptian Arabic name ''Deir el-Medina'' ("Monastery of the City") is derived. At the time when the world's press was concentrating on Howard Carter's discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, a team led by Bernard Bruyère began to excavate the site."Pharaoh's Workers: How the Israelites Lived in Egypt", Leonard and Barbara Lesko, Biblical Archaeological Review, Jan/Feb 1999 This work has resulted in one of the most thoroughly documented accounts of commun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tura, Egypt
Tura ( ' , , ) was the primary quarry for limestone in ancient Egypt. The site, which was known by the ancient Egyptians as ''Troyu'' or ''Royu'', is located about halfway between modern-day Cairo and Helwan. Its ancient Egyptian name was misinterpreted by the ancient Greek geographer Strabo, who thought it meant it was inhabited by Trojans, thus the Hellenistic city was named Troia. The site is located by the modern town of Tora in the Cairo Governorate. The limestone from the quarry is thought to be part of the Mokattam Formation, which was deposited during the late Lutetian stage of the Eocene epoch, about 42 million years. Some fossil fish species have been described from the quarry. Ancient mining town The limestone from Tura was the finest and whitest of all the Egyptian quarries, so it was used for facing stones for the richest tombs, as well as for the floors and ceilings of mastabas, which were otherwise made of mudbrick. It was used during the Old Kingdom an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyramid
A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as triangular or quadrilateral, and its surface-lines either filled or stepped. A pyramid has the majority of its mass closer to the ground with less mass towards the pyramidion at the apex. This is due to the gradual decrease in the cross-sectional area along the vertical axis with increasing elevation. This offers a weight distribution that allowed early civilizations to create monumental structures.Ancient civilizations in many parts of the world pioneered the building of pyramids. The largest pyramid by volume is the Mesoamerican Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. For millennia, the largest structures on Earth were pyramids—first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tomb
A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', although this word mainly means entombing people alive, and is a method of final disposition, as an alternative to cremation or burial. Overview The word is used in a broad sense to encompass a number of such types of places of interment or, occasionally, burial, including: * Architectural shrines – in Christianity, an architectural shrine above a saint's first place of burial, as opposed to a similar shrine on which stands a reliquary or feretory into which the saint's remains have been transferred * Burial vault – a stone or brick-lined underground space for multiple burials, originally vaulted, often privately owned for specific family groups; usually beneath a religious building such as a * Church * Cemetery * Churchyard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Kingdom
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynasty, such as King Sneferu, under whom the art of pyramid-building was perfected, and the kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, who commissioned the construction of the pyramids at Giza. Egypt attained its first sustained peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom, the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods (followed by the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom), which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley. The concept of an "Old Kingdom" as one of three "golden ages" was coined in 1845 by the German Egyptologist Baron von Bunsen, and its definition evolved significantly throughout the 19th and the 20th centuries. Not only was the last king of the Early Dynastic Period related to the first two kings of the Old Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
