HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

1ST SEMESTER OMDAYAL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

N.Africa was once a vast fertile area of forests and pasturelands that was populated by humans . But in 6th millenium BCE, warming that affected the globe changed that into a Sahara like desert. People moved to Morrocco , Spain or bank of Nile. Density of the bank of Nile river was unlike any seen at the time and assertions of divinity in local elite assured protection and isolation of power.

One of the oldest Egyptian sites Merimda Beni Salama is a major Predynastic settlement site on the western margin of the Delta, about 60km north-west of Cairo. The site has been found to consist of five levels, showing three phases of occupation dating from 5000 BCE to 4100 BCE, The later or Classic Merimda culture refers to the Level III period of occupation, when the settlement consisted of a large village of mud huts and work spaces in organised groups of buildings which were laid out in streets. The high level of organisation in the villages is indicated by numerous subterranean silos or granaries, lined with basketware and used to store grain, probably associated with individual dwellings.

The suggestion is that by the later phases the population consisted of economically independent family groups in a formalised village life. Most of the burials found among the houses of the settlement contained the bodies of children or adolescents, while it is thought that the adult population must have been buried elsewhere in yet undiscovered cemeteries. The dead were wrapped in matting and accompanied by goods, - clay vessels, shells, idols and wall paintings all point to an aesthetic that would become characteristically Egyptian smooth surfaces ,abstract forms and heroic actions.

Considered one of the most important archaeological sites of ancient Egypt ,100km from Thebes, under the face of an imposing cliff the sacred city of Abydos was the site of many ancient temples, including Umm el-Qa'ab, the royal necropolis, where early pharaohs were entombed. A gorge opens out dramatically through the cliff at the spot and according to some this was regarded as the entrance to the netherworld. These tombs began to be seen as extremely significant burials and in later times it became desirable to be buried in the area, leading to the growth of the town's importance as a cult site. Like no other group of monuments, the graves of the early rulers and kings reflect in their architecture and funerary equipment the particular developmental stage of society and the religious beliefs

Abydos Umm el-Qaab

Hor-Aha's tomb comprises three chambers B10, B15 and B19, shown in inset with over 1.50 m thick brick walls. B14 could be the tomb of Hor-Aha's wife. The chambers are rectangular, directly dug in the desert floor, their walls lined with mud bricks. The tomb of Narmer a had only two adjacent chambers, while the tomb of Hor-Aha comprises three substantially larger yet separated chambers.

The reason for this architecture is that it was difficult at that time to build large ceiling above the chambers. Moreoever timber for these structures often had to be imported from Palestine.

The tomb of Hor Aha was stockplied with provisionslarge cuts of ox meat, freshly killed water birds, loaves of dried bread, figs and jars of beer and wine, each bearing Ahas official seal. There were also more than__________ ancillary graves for servants and animals

The tomb complex of Aha, which was built in three stages, for the first time includes subsidiary burials for servants and takes a qualitative step towards monumental architecture. Thus the new position of the king ruling over a unified Egypt becomes apparent. From Djer (Djet) onwards, the tomb complexes of the kings of the 1st Dynasty, which are set into the desert floor and lined with mud-brick, comprise a large central chamber for the burial of the king and up to 200 subsidiary burials lined in rows containing offerings, the remains of servants and also animals (hunting dogs, lions) .

The chambers were covered with wooden beams and layers of mats and bricks. The kings chamber was superimposed by a sand tumulus, a symbolic primeval mound, which emerged from the primeval waters during the creation of the world. From this building element, which guaranteed the continuation of life, the pyramid developed later on.

In the graves there were also false exits, orientated towards the opening of a wadi (valley or riverbed) in the mountains west of the tombs: the entrance to the netherworld, which the resurrected king was supposed to enter

Merneith is believed to have become ruler upon the death of her husband, Djet. The title she held, however, is debated. It is possible that her son Den was too young to rule when Djet died, so she may have ruled as regent until Den was old enough to be the king in his own right.

The strongest evidence that Merneith was a ruler of Egypt is her tomb. This tomb in Abydos (Tomb Y) is unique among the otherwise exclusively male tombs. Merneith was buried close to Djet and Den.

Her tomb is of the same scale as the tombs of the kings of that period. Inside her tomb archaeologists discovered a solar boat, that would allow her to travel with the sun deity in the afterlife. The framing around the tomb is open on the SW side presumably that the spirit can escape through the gorge through the cliff. In Dens tomb this was more explicit a special chamber next to the tomb with separate stair leading to the west. Merneiths name appears on a seal found in the tomb of her son, Den. The seal includes Merneith on a list of the first dynasty kings. Merneith's name was the only name of a woman included on the list. However, Merneith's name is accompanied by the title "King's Mother".

An important innovation during Dens reign was the introduction of numbering using hieroglyphs. Den is said to have brought prosperity to his realm and numerous innovations are attributed to his reign. He was the first to use the title King of Lower- and Upper Egypt, and the first depicted as wearing the double crown (red and white).

Tomb T is among the largest and most finely-built of the tombs in this area, and is the first to feature a staircase and floor of his tomb at Umm el-Qa'ab near Abydos is made of red and black granite, the first time in Egypt this hard stone was used as a building material.

In the original layout for the tomb, a wooden door was located about half-way up the staircase, and a portcullis placed in front of the burial chamber, designed to keep out tomb robbers

Semerkhet's burial site was excavated and is known as "Tomb U". While excavating, no stairways like at the necropolis of Den .He found a ramp, four metres wide and leading straight into the main chamber. The burial chamber measures 29.2 20.8 metres and is of simple construction.

Qa'a had a fairly large tomb in Abydos which measures 30 X 23 meters. A long reign is supported by the large size of this ruler's burial site at Abydos. A seal impression was found of Qa'a (Tomb Q) The discovery near the entrance of the tomb of the seal impression bearing Hotepsekhemwy's name, has been interpreted as evidence that Qa'a was buried, and therefore succeeded, by Hotepsekhemwy, the founder of the second dynasty of Egypt

The beautiful tomb stela of Qa'a is now on display at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The tradition of burying the family and court of the king when he died was abandoned at the time of king Qaa, one of the last rulers of the 1st dynasty.

In this early stage of Egyptian culture, there was no temple architecture as in China where religion unified society. Architecture was meant as interface between life and death for members of the elite. It has much less social proliferation but wonderfully Dramatic. Death for the Chinese was handing down of family memoirs articulated spatially within house shrines and fragile wooden temples. In Egypt death was majestic making the way for a simulated house with all arrangements for a comfortable afterlife. How the spirit moved about was to determine the flow of history while entombing the house

Archaeological evidence suggests that unification of Egypt was a slow process that took several centuries. This unification as Old Kingdom combined with rapid development of hieroglyphic script and powerful bureaucracy was the final transformation of this complex and vertically structured society of several million. This organisation of efficient work force that little contact with ruling elite and its ..unlike Mesopotamia and China. Thus large numbers of labourers, slaves and then cooks, technicians, bureaucrats were all employed solely for royal projects.

No shortage of building material red granite of Aswan, white marble of Gebel Rokham and black basalt of Faiyum and various types of sandstone from Nubia. By 3rd dynasty of Old Kingdom political stability of Egypt was secure with Zoser creating building projects against which later kings would measure their accomplishments. The Mortuary Complex of Zoser just north of Saqqara was enclosed by 277m x 544m x 10.5m wall laid out in precise orientation to 4 cardinal points.

The Saqqara royal tombs were cut from the bedrock and incorporated a new design, unlike the earlier tombs at Abydos that were basically pits lined with mudbricks. The practice of building subsidiary graves for family and servants surrounding the royal tomb was discontinued. Hetepsekhemwys immense tomb, very close to the Pyramid of Unas with extensive galleries partly underlying the pyramid, was identified by numerous seal impressions bearing the Kings Horus names and those of his successor Nebre, but his tomb was otherwise empty.