Transcript Predynastic Architecture

Pyramids
• By the time of the early dynastic period of Egyptian history,
those with sufficient means were buried in bench-like structures
known as mastabas. These structures were the forerunners to
the pyramids.
• The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.
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• There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008. Most were built as tombs for
the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.
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• The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Saqqara, northwest of Memphis. The
earliest among these is the Pyramid of Djoser (constructed 2630 BCE–2611 BCE) which
was built during the third dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding complex were
designed by the architect Imhotep, and are generally considered to be the world's oldest
monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry. The estimate of the number of
workers to build the pyramids range from a few thousand, twenty thousand, and up to
100,000.
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• The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo.
Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures ever built. The
Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It is the only one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence
• The Pyramid of Djedefre consists today mostly of ruins located at Abu Rawash in Egypt. It
is Egypt's most northerly pyramid, and is believed to be built by Djedefre, son and
successor to king Khufu. Originally it was thought that this pyramid had never been
completed, but the current archaeological consensus is that not only was it completed
under Djedefre, but that it was originally about the same size as the Pyramid of
Menkaure — the third largest of the Giza pyramids It is believed to have originally
been the most beautiful of the pyramids, with an exterior of polished, imported granite,
limestone and crowned with a large pyramidion. It is also believed for this reason the
completed pyramid was largely deconstructed by the Roman Empire to build their own
construction projects after the conquest of Egypt under Roman Emperor Augustus. The
pyramid's ancient name was "Djedefre's Starry Sky"
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• According to the documentary "The Lost Pyramid," aired by the History Channel, the
pyramid may actually have been the highest ever built at 722 feet (about 240 feet taller
than the Great Pyramid of Giza's 481 feet although this is due to its elevated location
rather than the pyramid's estimated actual height of 220 feet). It is believed that the
pyramid was actually destroyed, though it is unclear why. It is speculated that Djedefre
was an unpopular ruler
• Khufu (/ˈkuːfuː/ KOO-foo), originally Khnum-Khufu
(/ˈknuːmˈkuːfuː/ KNOOM-koo-foo), is the birth name of an
ancient Egyptian pharaoh, who ruled in the 4th dynasty of the
Old Kingdom, around 2580 B.C. He is equally well known under
his Hellenized name Khêops or Cheops (/ˈkiːɒps/, KEE-ops;
Greek: Χέοψ, by Diodor and Herodotus) and less well known
under another Hellenized name, Súphis (/ˈsuːfɨs/ SOO-fis;
Greek: Σοῦφις, by Manetho). A rare version of the name of
Khufu, used by Josephus, is Sofe (/ˈsɒfiː/ SO-fe; Greek: Σοφe).
• Khufu was the second pharaoh of the 4th dynasty; he followed
his possible father, king Sneferu, on the throne. He is generally
accepted as having built the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but many other aspects
of his reign are rather poorly documented.
• The only completely preserved portrait of the king is a threeinch high ivory figurine found in a temple ruin of later period at
Abydos in 1903. All other reliefs and statues were found in
fragments and many buildings of Khufu are lost. Everything
known about Khufu comes from inscriptions in his necropolis at
Giza and later documents. For example, Khufu is the main actor
of the famous Papyrus Westcar from 13th dynasty.
• A view of the pyramids at Giza from the plateau to the south of
the complex. From left to right: the Pyramid of Menkaure, the
Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The three
smaller pyramids in the foreground are subsidiary structures
associated with Menkaure's pyramid.
• The Great Sphinx of Giza (Terrifying One), commonly referred
to as the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining or couchant
sphinx (a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human
head) that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the
Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx is generally
believed to represent the face of the Pharaoh Khafra.
• It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 73.5
metres (241 ft) long, 19.3 metres (63 ft) wide, and 20.22 m
(66.34 ft) high. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and
is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians
of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafra (c.
2558–2532 BC).
• The one-metre-wide nose on the face is missing. Examination of the
Sphinx's face shows that long rods or chisels were hammered into the
nose, one down from the bridge and one beneath the nostril, then
used to pry the nose off towards the south.
• The Arab historian al-Maqrīzī, writing in the 15th century, attributes
the loss of the nose to iconoclasm by Muhammad Sa'im al-Dahr, a Sufi
Muslim from the khanqah of Sa'id al-Su'ada. In AD 1378, upon
finding the local peasants making offerings to the Sphinx in the hope
of increasing their harvest, Sa'im al-Dahr was so outraged that he
destroyed the nose, and was hanged for vandalism. Al-Maqrīzī
describes the Sphinx as the "talisman of the Nile" on which the locals
believed the flood cycle depended.
• .
• There is also a story that the nose was broken off by a
cannonball fired by Napoleon's soldiers, that still lives on today.
Other variants indict British troops, the Mamluks, and others.
Sketches of the Sphinx by the Dane Frederic Louis Norden,
"View of the Sphinx, near Cairo" made in 1737 and published
in 1755, illustrate the Sphinx missing its nose (see pictures below
• In addition to the lost nose, a ceremonial pharaonic beard is
thought to have been attached, although this may have been
added in later periods after the original construction.
Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev has suggested that had the beard
been an original part of the Sphinx, it would have damaged
the chin of the statue upon falling. The lack of visible damage
supports his theory that the beard was a later addition
• In addition to the lost nose, a ceremonial pharaonic beard is
thought to have been attached, although this may have been
added in later periods after the original construction.
Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev has suggested that had the beard
been an original part of the Sphinx, it would have damaged
the chin of the statue upon falling. The lack of visible damage
supports his theory that the beard was a later addition.