Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part I: Approach and Entrance by Mark Andrews

Ancient Egyptian temples, particularly in their fully developed state, became complex structures with many different architectural elements. Many people who visit ancient Egyptian temples will simply think of the massive pylon gateways as the temple entrance. Yet this is not really the case, and in fact the pylons were usually located well within the structure. The actual elements of the temples entrance usually included the landing quays, kiosks, gates and processional ways that preceded the temple's outer enclosure walls, which finally led to the pylon gateways themselves. 

Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part II: The Outer Courtyards by Mark Andrews

In what Egyptologists might refer to as more or less the "standard temple", for their design could vary considerably, there was usually a courtyard after the massive pylon gateway. In fact, in some huge complexes there could end up being pylon followed by courtyard in repetitions. It should be noted that there were indeed many variances in temples, and for example, private mortuary temples, while they did usually have a courtyard, functioned somewhat differently than other temple complexes. Also over time, temples did of course evolve. We are most familiar with the New Kingdom temples as the fully evolved complex.

Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part III: On the Path to the Sanctuary by Mark Andrews

If there is a modern, recognizable icon of the ancient Egyptian temple, it would almost certainly be the chamber (or chambers) directly beyond the open courtyard known as the hypostyle hall. While not the most sacred or even important area of the temple, to many modern visitors the hypostyle hall is the most impressive. The first area of the inner temple where the general public was never allowed, it was usually transverse to the courtyard, being broader than it was deep, and filled with sometimes over one hundred massive columns.

Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part IV: The Sanctuary and its Environs by Mark Andrews

Though it was hardly ever the most architecturally impressive part of a temple, the inner sanctuary was the most holy part of the temple complex. It was the heart of every temple, and regarded as the innermost chamber of the god's home. Therefore, it was a physical extension of the Egyptian heaven. Structurally, the sanctuary was often a deep and narrow room., usually incorporated into the very rear of the temple. The sanctuary of the principle deity honored within the temple almost always stood on the temple's main axis.

Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part V: Associated Element by Mark Andrews

A temple complex was virtually never constructed in isolation, for most at least needed an estate in order to survive at all. In fact, the temple itself was almost always surrounded by other support facilities, or facilities needing support from the temple. Some of the structures were directly related to religious functions of the temple, while others were more administrative in nature.

Building Materials of the Pyramids Builders by Alan Winston 

Many of the pyramids were built with a number of different stone materials. Most of the material used was fairly rough, low grade limestone used to build the pyramid core, while fine white limestone was often employed for the outer casing as well as to cover interior walls, though pink granite was also often used on inner walls. Basalt or alabaster was not uncommon for floors, particularly in the mortuary temples, as was mudbricks to build walls within the temples (though often as not they had limestone walls).

The Columns of Ancient Egypt by Monroe Edgar 

When we think of Egyptian temples, one of the principle architectural elements that comes to mind is the column. In fact, it is difficult to imagine a temple such as Karnak without thinking of its columned halls, and what many visitors will take away with them is visions of pylons, obelisks, statues and columns. Column shafts were often decorated with colorful depictions in painted, carved relief, and remain some of the most interesting architectural elements in Egyptian structures. Most people who have any familiarity with ancient Egypt will immediately recognize the form of Lotus and Papyrus style columns, but actually no less the about 30 different column forms have been isolated from temples of the various periods.

Construction in Ancient Egypt by the Egyptian Government

There is consensus among historians and Egyptologists that the ancient Egyptians were the first builders ever known to man; they taught humanity how to design and erect buildings; thus laying grounds for human civilization, urbanization and man's settlement in a specific homeland of his own for the first time in history

Construction of the Pyramids, Part I: Orientation and Layout and the Pyramid Platform by Alan Winston

Before the physical orientation and layout of a new pyramid took place, considerable planning was needed under the direction of a "royal master builder". Ultimately, the responsibility fell on the vizier, who was typically the head of all royal works. The first step in the process was taken by specialists who would draw up plans for the pyramid on papyrus. After the construction began, plans and sketches were drawn on papyri or flat slabs of limestone. Planners even made models of their projects, as evidenced by a limestone model of a substructure found in the Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Dahshur. After the planning stage, each step of pyramid building was initiated with foundation rituals. Pyramids, unlike many other types of religious structures, required strict orientation to the cardinal points. Pyramid alignment may have been carried out through a number of different means, including some methods we have probably never thought of. The primary theory of how the ancient Egyptians oriented most any building that had to conform to true primary coordinates has been by stellar measurements.

The Ecological Context of Ancient Egyptian Predynastic Settlements by Michael Brass

Predynastic Ancient Egypt was a contrast of mixed ecologies. These ranged from the borderland deserts both to the east and to the west of the floodplains, to the contrast between the Middle and Upper Egyptian floodplains itself and the Nile Delta. The differing environments affected not only settlement regions, but also site positions within those regions as well as the cultural composition of the inhabitants.

The False Door by Jimmy Dunn

False doors are a common element within Egyptian temples of the New Kingdom dedicated to their ancient gods, as well as much earlier mortuary temples dedicated to the deceased and within the tombs themselves (beginning with the 3rd Dynasty). They represented thresholds that allowed gods or the deceased to interact and link with the living world, and are most commonly associated with offering rituals. However, in New Kingdom temples they were also associated with the so-called "hearing" chapels, or chapels of the "hearing ear", which were usually located at the very rear of many temples directly behind the sanctuary in the outer walls of the temple structure.

The Foundation Ceremony  For Ancient Egyptian Religious Buildings by Alan Winston 

Most all of Egypt's best built monuments, the ones still around for us to see today, were somehow related to religion, and all construction of religious buildings in ancient Egypt began with ceremonies of very ancient origin. Today, we call these foundation rituals. The rituals involved leaving a foundation deposit buried not only under the corners of, for example, a temple, but sometimes at the apex and even at the corners of individual halls, courtyards and shrines as well as underneath pylons, columns and obelisks. They have been a valuable source of information for Egyptologist throughout the years.

Great Pyramid Cores by Allen Winston

Most of Egypt's pyramids are made up of core stones. These core stones resulted in tiers, making most pyramids, at least internally we believe, step pyramids, though the steps may have been very crude. Then there was masonry that filled in the steps, which we could call packing stones. There was also a softer stone that the builders set between the core and casing that is frequently referred to as packing stone, and finally the pyramid was finished off with a smooth outer casing of limestone or granite. When laymen talk about the Great Pyramids of ancient Egypt at Giza, frequently expressing doubts about the ability of the Egyptians to construct such mammoth structures, one argument that is used is the extreme precision with which a massive number of huge blocks were set.

Houses and Villages of Ancient Egypt by Marie Parsons

Knowledge of cities, towns and houses in the Predynastic through Middle Kingdom periods is limited to rare traces of domestic architecture, because for the most part, the settlements are destroyed or covered by later and even modern construction. It is even more difficult to study early agricultural villages because they were built of reed mats and mud-brick that did not last the millennia as stone does. We know less about the houses the people lived in and more about their "houses of eternity," their tombs.

The Labors of Pyramid Building by Alan Winston

When many of us were young, we were taught that the great pyramids required immense human resources to build, which of course, they did. We were told that as many as 100,000 slaves worked as forced labor for decades to build the Great Pyramid at Giza. Regrettably, it would seem that our teachers needed something to say about this ancient Egyptian civilization, and as is not unusual, memorizing some sort of data outweighed the importance of having correct information. Hence, we committed to memory the fantastic estimates of ancient historians who were mystified by the large volumes of material required to build these great stone edifices. However, we must give them credit, for at least they did not degrade the accomplishments of the early Egyptians by proposing the builders of these great structures to be space aliens or Atlantians. To many, the sheer size of the pyramids made such overestimation seem reasonable. Wieslaw Kozinski, a Polish architect, believed that an average of 25 men were required to transport a block weighing one and one-half tons.

Lifting Material to Build the Pyramids of Egypt: Ramps and Other Lifting Devices by Alan Winston 

The problems related to material movement for pyramid building has been much discussed and debated. Lifting huge blocks of stone, some weighing many tons, has inspired Egyptologists, enthusiasts and uninformed laymen to speculate on theories ranging from space alien assistance to the use of gigantic kites. However, it is also essential to understand that these problems not only involve lifting the material, but also the high rate of delivery and placement of the material in some of the largest of the pyramids. Many of the theories, including those proposed by scholars, often attempt to reduce these problems to a simple answer, but modern research, as well as common sense, seem to suggest that such solutions are not to be found. The ancient Egyptians fairly consistently built pyramids for a thousand years, in various locations and utilizing a number of different structural designs. It is highly probable, considering these factors along with archaeological evidence, that the means of lifting blocks and other material varied considerably.

The Location and Orientation of Ancient Egyptian Temples by Monroe Edgar 

Just about everything that the ancient Egypt's did sometimes seems to have been dictated by religious considerations. Actually, this is probably not entirely true. It is just that they had a tendency to build religious structures more durably then many others, so they have survived for us to study. It probably places a bias to some extent, on our perception of the importance of their religion. But temples were definitely religious structures, and even their placement and orientation were often dictated by some sort of theology. However, in actuality, it was probably less of an overall scheme then a temple by temple decision. Much of this discussion is also relevant to other religious structures in Egypt, such as tombs and pyramids. In theory, Egyptian temples were almost always located at a point of some religious interest, and most often oriented in the direction of another significant religious point.

Private Housing at Amarna by Jimmy Dunn

Residential housing, though perhaps providing us with clues as to the general elements included in ancient Egyptian homes, was at the same time also atypical at Amarna. Specifically, the Amarna type of house is remarkably uniform, even in upper and middle class residences. Here, we have hundreds of houses that have been excavated and because of their uniformity, we may derive certain characteristics that were common to all residences at Amarna. Outside of the workers village, the characteristic Amarna house was essentially a country home on large grounds and surrounded by a courtyard comprising a garden, a kitchen, servants' quarters and stables or silos, all within an enclosure wall. In fact, the typical house at Amarna was more of a mansion than a town house. The walls were generally made of brick, supplemented by stone for the bases of columns and even for doorways. Columns, roofs and staircase supports were of wood, while floors were made of mud or of brick, that whitewashed and painted.

Restoring Egyptian Monuments by Mark Walters

Sometimes there have been complaints about restoration work carried out in Egypt, a situation which is easy to criticizes, but much more difficult to find equitable solutions. Egypt has thousands of historical monuments, yet it does not have the resources of many western nations. Also, so many of the monuments are thousands of years older then those found in the west, and that creates complexities that few really understand.

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