Architecture of Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian architecture is a type of architecture of the Ancient Egyptian civilization that developed along the Nile coast in a hot climate and certain plant life. Throughout centuries of history it has been characterized by conservatism.

It is impossible to establish the exact archaeological dates: in the present state of our knowledge we have to classify the monuments in the order of their contemporary dynasties or epochs: Early Kingdom architecture, Ancient Kingdom architecture, Middle Kingdom architecture, New Kingdom architecture, Late Kingdom architecture and Hellenistic Egypt architecture.

Ancient Egypt, which laid the foundation of architecture, was a country devoid of building wood. Trees were as scarce as in other oases of the African desert, the main vegetation being palm trees, yielding wood of poor quality, and reeds. All this largely determined that the main building materials were adobe and stone, mainly limestone mined in the Nile Valley, but also sandstone and granite. Stone was used mainly for tombs and burials, while bricks were used to build palaces, fortresses, buildings around temples and cities, as well as auxiliary structures for temples.

It is the period of the Ancient Kingdom that epitomizes Egyptian mythology and its inherent culture. For the first time the idea to erect a pyramid instead of a mastaba arose during the reign of Pharaoh Djoser. The architect Imhotep built a stepped pyramid measuring 121x109 meters with a height of 62.5 meters.

Widely known are the pyramids of Giza. The tallest of them is the Cheops pyramid, which is 140 meters high.

Its main mystery is that it is not mentioned in Egyptian papyri, but is in Herodotus. The pyramid has three tombs and many chambers and corridors.
During the Ancient Kingdom the construction of solar temples unfolded. Each of them had the appearance of a building on a hill surrounded by a wall, with an obelisk set up in the center of the temple. The most famous temple of the sun is the temple of Nissusera.

During the Middle Kingdom there was a dominance of individualism. Every Egyptian cared about his afterlife, which led to the construction of small pyramids. In their construction, the emphasis was placed on the arrangement of the interior space.
Infrastructure developed in the cities. For example, in the city of Cahun, which was founded, wide roads were made and drainage was carried out.
It is worth noting the uniqueness of Egyptian wall paintings with hieroglyphs and various drawings.