Page 5 - 4606

PART I

UNIT 1

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

I. Read the text and translate it in the written form

The architecture of Egypt developed from the 3rd millennium B.C. to
the Roman period. During this period artist and craftsmen were drawn to
the court to work under the patronage of the King and his great nobles.

Techniques of the working in stone, wood and metal made tremendous
progress. The most outstanding achievements of this period are massive
funerary monuments and temples build of stone for permanence, featuring

only post-and lintel construction, corbel vaults without arches or vaulting,
and pyramids. This architecture gave the world the earliest building in
dressed stone, invented the column, capital and cornice. Features charac-

teristic of the ancient Egyptian architecture also include the obelisk, the
steeply battered pylon, the symbolical lotus column, and incised relief
decoration without any structural relevance.

The pyramids of the Old Kingdom, majestically planted on the desert
edge, are the most spectacular of all funerary works and the only remained
wonder of the world. The world’s first large-scale monument in stone is
Zoser’s necropolis at Sahara, built it 2766 B.C. by the Imhotep, the earliest

named architect. These monuments celebrated the divinity of the kings of
Egypt, linking the people with the great gods of earth and sky.
During the prosperous period known as the Middle Kingdom for-

tresses were built to defend the southern and eastern borders. Craftsmen
achieved new levels of excellence. Very little architecture remains, but
what has survived shows great simplicity and refinement, less durable ma-
terials were used. The example is the pyramid of Sesostris I at Lisht.

Great buildings began to be erected once again in the New Kingdom
(1570-1085 B.C.), marking new blossoming of the arts and crafts of an-
cient Egypt. The kings gave encouragement to artists and craftsmen by or-

dering great temples and palaces to be built throughout Egypt. The temple
walls were covered with reliefs celebrating the achievements of the kings
and the power of the gods. The most notable monuments are the Mortuary

5