Arh2050 architecture of the afterlife embalming & tombs in ancient egypt

Architecture of the Afterlife
Embalming & Tombs in Ancient Egypt

Introduction To Art History I
Professor Will Adams
Valencia College

Ancient Egyptian History
 Early Dynastic (2950 – 2575 BCE): Step Pyramid built at
Saqqara
 Old Kingdom (2575 – 2150 BCE): Great Pyramids at Giza &
Great Sphinx
 First Intermediate Period (2125 – 1975 BCE): Memphis rules
Egypt in the north & Thebes in the south
 Middle Kingdom (1975 – 1640 BCE):
Egypt reunites & conquers Lower Nubia.
 Second Intermediate Period (1630 – 1520 BCE): The Hyksos
invade
 New Kingdom (1539 – 1075 BCE): Deir el-Bahri & The Valley of
the Kings

Ancient Egypt: Gift of the Nile
 The ancient Egyptians inhabited the
fertile valley of the Nile.
 The river's annual flood deposited a
fresh layer of silt, renewing the
fertility of the soil & ensuring that,
for the most part, the country was
prosperous & the population
sufficiently fed.
 For much of the year, most people
would be involved in agricultural
labor of some kind, but during the
Inundation (July – October) the
workforce was used by the state
for building & other major projects
such as "rehabilitation" of the land
following the flood.

Ancient Egyptian Mummification
Preserving Pharaohs for an Eternity

The Purpose of Egyptian Mummification

 The ancient Egyptians’ funerary
customs & beliefs called for the
preservation of the body & ample
provisions for the afterlife.
 This was envisioned as a continuation
of the mortal existence after death.
 An ancient Egyptian would provide
for the afterlife as best as his or her
economic abilities would allow.
 Today, this means that a huge
amount of information about daily
life in ancient Egypt can be found in
the tombs.
 Examination of mummies provides
information on health, diet & life-
expectancy.


 The body of a dead Egyptian would be
made into a mummy in order to
preserve the body for its immortal soul,
or ka.
 The word "mummy" comes from the
Arabic mumiyah (body preserved by
wax or bitumen)
 The process of mummification was
complicated, including removing organs
& wrapping the body in linen cloth.
 The body was treated with
preservatives which dried out the body
of the mummy.
 The ancient Egyptians believed that,
after death, their bodies would travel to
the world of the afterlife during the day
& return to their bodies at night.


 In order for the person’s
spirit, or ka, to live forever, it
had to be able to recognize &
return to the body.
 If a spirit could not recognize
the body it belonged to, it
would die.
 This is why the Egyptians
wanted to preserve the
bodies of the dead in as life-
like a state as possible.
 Mummification guaranteed
eternal life for the spirit.

The Mummification Process
 The entire process took 70
days to complete.
 Several embalmers
conducted the task in the
special embalming shop, or
per-nefer.
 The chief embalmer was
known as the hery sheshta.
 He wore a jackal mask to
represent Anubis, the god
of mummification.

 After the deceased’s body
was brought to the per-
nefer, it was washed with a
mixture of palm wine and
water from the Nile, then
shaved of its hair.
 Following that, all of the
body parts that might decay
or rot were removed.
 The embalmers first
removed the deceased’s
brain through his or her nose
using a long hook.

 The long hook was used to
stir up the brain until it was
liquefied.
 Then the embalmers would
turn the body face down to
allow the brain to ooze out
through the nostrils.
 The Egyptians were so rough
on the brain because they
didn’t realize its importance.
 They thought its sole
purpose was to produce
snot!

 Next, the embalmers
would remove the soft,
moist body parts that
would cause the body to
decay.
 A deep incision was made
in the left side of the
deceased’s abdomen to
remove his or her internal
organs, usually the lungs,
the stomach, the liver and
the intestines.

 In some cases they removed
the heart, but in the vast
majority of cases they left it.
 Unlike modern humans, the
ancient believed that the
heart, not the brain, was the
seat of the soul
 The Egyptians also believed
that the heart testified on
behalf of the deceased
during the Weighing of the
Heart Ceremony in the
afterlife.

 After the body’s organs had
been removed, it was stuffed
with bundles of a strong
drying salt called natron that
was meant to further
dehydrate the corpse.
 The deceased’s entire body
was then covered with natron
& placed on an inclined slab so
that any moisture the natron
pulled from the body would
run off the end, be collected &
buried with the body.

 While the body was drying, the
previously removed internal
organs were also dried &
preserved with natron.
 They were then wrapped in
strips of linen & put into
separate containers called
canopic jars.
 The Egyptians believed that all
body parts would be magically
reunited in the afterlife and
that the body would become
whole again, just like the god
Osiris’s had.

The Egyptian Myth of Osiris
 According to Egyptian
mythology, the god Osiris was
murdered by his jealous
brother Set, who hacked
Osiris’s body into pieces &
scattered them into the Nile.
 Heartbroken, Osiris’s wife, the
goddess Isis, reassembled the
pieces with the other gods’
assistance & Osiris was
magically restored.
 He then went on to become
the god of the afterlife.

 The stoppers of the canopic jars
were shaped like the heads of the
four sons of the god Horus (god of
the Egyptian kings).
 Each son protected the organ
placed inside his respective jar:
 Jackal-headed Duamutef guarded
the jar that contained the
stomach.
 Falcon-headed Qebehsenuf
watched over the intestines.
 The baboon-headed son of Horus,
Hapi, protected the lungs.
 Human-headed Imseti was in
charge of protecting the liver.

 Next, the canopic jars
were carefully stored in
a heavy, secure chest
that was later placed in
the tomb with the
mummy.
 The chest of canopic jars
on the left was found in
the tomb of the famous
King Tutankhamen.

 After 40 days, the body was
completely dehydrated.
 During that time the skin
became shrunken, wrinkled
& leathery.
 The bundles of natron were
then removed from the
body’s abdomen.
 Next, the mummy was
washed with wine & water
one more time & rubbed
with sacred oils to soften the
skin.

 The mummy’s head & body
were packed with herbs,
sawdust & linen soaked in
scented oil so that the body
could regain its shape, and to
deodorize the deceased’s body.
 Then, small stones or small
onions were placed under the
eyelids to restore a life-like
appearance.
 Once this was done, the
mummy could be covered with
necklaces, rings and bracelets
made of gold & gems.

 According to Egyptian myth,
the god Horus had his eye
miraculously restored after
losing it in a battle with the evil
god Set.
 As a result, The Eye of Horus,
called a wedjat, is associated
with healing & protection.
 During mummification, a wax
or bronze plate with a wedjat
carved on it was placed over
the embalming incision to
magically heal the wound in
the afterlife.

 Once the wedjat was in
place, the entire body was
then covered in shrouds &
bound with strips of linen
until the mummy had
returned to its original
size.
 This was a complicated
job, could take as long as a
week, and usually required
1,000 yards’ worth of 2 –
8” wide linen strips.

 As the mummy was being
wrapped, small, magical
carvings called amulets
were inserted between the
layers of linen to further
protect the mummy’s spirit
on its way to the afterlife.
 As each layer was added, it
was coated with resin to
hold the wrappings
together with a waterproof
seal.

 After the week of wrapping
was finished, the head of the
mummy was covered with a
portrait mask.
 This was designed to ensure
that the ka would recognize
the body in the afterlife.
 Finally, the wrapped, masked
mummy was placed into a
series of wooden & gilded
coffins which were
ultimately placed into a
stone sarcophagus.

 On the day of the funeral, the
mummy was brought to the
western bank of the Nile on a
barque.
 The mummy was next brought
to its tomb, where Osiris’s
priests performed the Opening
of the Mouth Ceremony by
touching the deceased’s eyes,
nose, and mouth of the
sarcophagus with a sacred tool.
 This ritual symbolically
reactivated these senses in the
afterlife.

 The deceased’s sarcophagus was
then placed inside the tomb’s
burial chamber, the entrance to
which would be sealed to prevent
looting or theft.
 Before the tomb was sealed, the
deceased’s family members
deposited food, clothes, furniture,
and dishes into the burial chamber.
 They did this because the
Egyptians believed the deceased
would need the same
accoutrements in the afterlife that
he or she had used in his or her
mortal life.

 If you still can’t get
enough of the Egyptian
mummification process,
then you might enjoy the
opportunity to act like a
virtual hery shesta, using
the Québec Museum of
Civilization’s online
embalming game at:
www.mcq.org/momies

Erecting A Pharaoh’s Eternal Home

The Sahara’s Shaping Influence
 Ancient Egyptian architecture can
only be understood by also looking
at the environment in which it is
located.
 Egypt is essentially located in a
desert, which is vast, empty space.
 For anything to be visible &
considered monumental in that
environment, it must match the
scale of the desert.
 This understanding may have
influenced the architects of ancient
Egypt to focus on designing &
constructing the massive buildings
that we study today.

The Nile’s Shaping Influence
 The Nile River had an
important influence in the
geometry of ancient Egyptian
architecture.
 The Nile is a very straight
river, and the straightness of
its line provided the ancient
Egyptians with both a
symbolic sense of direction &
a principle for application in
the creation of monumental
buildings.

Building Materials
 The 3 most common materials
for construction in Egypt were
plant materials, clay & stone.
 Plant materials consisted of
readily available materials like
reeds, papyrus, & palm tree ribs
& shafts.
 Timber was available in limited
quantity & used for roofing.
 Nile-sourced clay was used for
construction, either for frame
construction or as sun-dried
brick.
 Stone was not used much during
the early period of Egyptian
civilization, but became popular
later for tombs & temples.

Building Materials
 Construction systems in ancient
Egypt reflected the availability
of materials.
 Two construction systems were
predominant: Adobe & post-
and-beam construction
 Adobe construction took the
form of clay on plant material
or sun-dried brick construction.
 This construction was reserved
for houses & other buildings of
daily life.
 These buildings were only
supposed to last for a
generation.

Construction Systems
 In contrast, Egyptian monumental
construction is mainly post-and-
beam.
 This is found mainly in pyramids,
tombs & temples.
 Ironically, columns are designed to
look like plant materials:
 Their shafts resemble bundles
of plant stems tied together.
 Their capitals are derived from
the lotus bud, the papyrus
flower, or the palm frond.
 Great importance was attached to
relief carving & it was an integral
part of the architecture.

Building On A Massive Scale
 Ancient Egyptian architecture
displays more concern with
massing & less attention to
space or function.
 The architects of ancient Egypt
gave little consideration to
creating functional space.
 Consideration of function in
design was limited to providing
spaces for ritual activities such
as chapels dedicated to gods or
pharaohs in pyramid funerary
complexes or mortuary
temples.

Environmental Harmony & Contrast
 Architecture in ancient Egypt
also displays an understanding
of the principle of harmony &
contrast.
 A great illustration of this is
reflected in the Pyramids at
Giza.
 The color & materials of the
pyramids create a harmony
between themselves & the
desert.
 However, the form & shape of
the pyramids contrast sharply
with the smooth, undulating
desert.

The Socio-Cultural Context
 Ancient Egyptians viewed
earthly dwellings as
temporary, so they spent
very little emphasis on
house construction.
 Instead, tremendous
effort was exerted in
tomb construction.
 This stemmed from the
belief that the deceased’s
tomb was his or her true
permanent dwelling, as it
would be used for the
entirety of the afterlife.


 As previously stated,
Egyptians believed that a
dead person needed all her
or his worldly goods in the
afterlife.
 Subsequently, the tomb was
usually packed with all the
dead person’s treasures.
 If something could not be
provided, its image was
painted on the walls of the
tomb.

 Ancient Egyptian tombs also
had charms or curses painted
onto or carved into their walls
to protect the dead person’s
property from looters or grave
robbers.
 The Egyptians buried their dead
in cities of the dead, called
necropoli, located in the desert
on the west bank of the Nile.
 The Egyptians saw the setting
sun on the Nile’s west bank as a
symbol of the deceased’s
transition into the afterlife.

 During the Old Kingdom, the
pharaoh and his court lived in
Memphis.
 When they died, they were buried
at the necropolis at Saqqara.
 Today, very little of ancient
Memphis survives because its
structures were built from
inexpensive, locally-sourced
materials.
 Houses were built of materials
like wood and mud-brick, and
were only meant to last for 1
lifetime.

 Egyptian tombs were the most
outstanding architectural
achievements of the period.
 In addition to housing the deceased
Egyptians’ remains, tombs served as
places of worship for the Cult of the
Dead.
 The Egyptians thought that their
pharaohs became gods upon their
deaths, and worshipped them as
such.
 The tomb evolved during the Old
Kingdom from the mastaba, through
the stepped pyramid, to the
renowned ancient Egyptian pyramids.

 The earliest method of burial in
ancient Egypt was actually in
shallow pits in the desert of the
Nile’s west bank.
 The desert sand dried the
bodies and preserved them.
 When animals preying on
bodies became a problem in
burial, the people dug their
graves deeper.
 In the end, to ensure the
preservation of their burials,
they built a bench-like structure
over graves to create the first
burial structure called a
mastaba.

 The name mastaba derived
from the name for the steps or
podiums found in the front of
traditional Egyptian houses.
 In the Old Kingdom, rich &
noble people built mastabas for
their burials in the necropolis.
 Above ground, the mastaba
looks like a large bench of
sunbaked bricks rising about 30
feet high, with a flat roof &
sloping walls.
 The earliest mastabas were
decorated with painted
patterns in brilliant colors.

 Internally, a mastaba
consists of three spaces: an
underground burial chamber
& an above ground serdab &
chapel.
 The burial chamber was
located 30 feet below
ground & was the place for
the deceased’s sarcophagus.
 It was connected to the
serdab & chapel above
ground through a shaft.

 The mastaba’s serdab &
chapel are located above-
ground.
 The serdab is a room where
the ka statue of the dead
person is kept.
 The ka statue would act as a
substitute for the
deceased’s body in case it
was destroyed and was also
the focus of worship by the
deceased’s family members.

 The ancient Egyptians
believed that the ka must
return to the body, or a copy
of it, each night.
 They believed that if both
body & statue were destroyed,
the ka would die.
 The serdab is where the ka is
supposed to live forever
 Typically, it is a colorful room
meant to deceive the gods
into letting the ka enter the
afterlife.
 A painted, false door led to
the land of the dead.

 Some mastabas had
surrounding security
fences or walls, and some
even had chambers for
the burial of the
deceased’s servants or
pets.
 The design of the
mastaba is the
architectural embryo that
grew into the pyramids.

Architecture of the Afterlife:
The Step Pyramid of King Djoser


 Egyptian King Djoser was a
powerful pharaoh of the third
dynasty of the Old Kingdom.
 His tomb, known as the Step
Pyramid of King Djoser, was
designed by Imhotep (the
first named artist in history)
in 2,667 BCE.
 It was built as a funeral
complex at the necropolis of
Saqqara.
 Initially, Imhotep conceived
of the tomb as a large
mastaba of stone.

 Apparently, King Djoser did
not like Imhotep’s initial
idea, so instead Imhotep
designed a series of layered
mastaba “steps” instead.
 The result was a pyramid
with five sloping tiers set
upon a massive mastaba
base.
 As a result, this step pyramid
acts as the intermediate step
between the mastaba and a
true geometric pyramid.

 When it was complete, the
Step Pyramid stood 200’
high, with 6 giant steps.
 The pharaoh’s burial
chamber was entered from
north side & is 92’ below
ground level.
 On either side of chamber
are store rooms for the
pharaoh’s treasures

 Sadly, the pharaoh’s
stockpile of treasures
were looted in
antiquity, and none of
them survive today.
 Recently, however, a
ka statue of King
Djoser was found,
staring out through
peep holes in his
serdab!


 The serdab is located on  The funerary complex’s
the north side, within a wall follows an alternating
funerary temple. pattern of over 200
 The Step Pyramid is projecting & receding
actually the middle of a panels.
large funerary complex.  Fourteen of the projecting
 The funerary complex panels were larger & 13 of
consisted of palaces, them had false “doors”.
temples, courtyards & the
pyramid.  The false “doors” for use
of Pharaoh’s ka, & to
 These were all surrounded confuse looters.
by a 33’ wall.


 The complex’s actual
entrance door leads to a
long, enclosed hall
supported by two rows of
columns.
 These are believed to be the
oldest surviving stone
columns in history!
 Cleverly, the architect,
Imhotep, designed the
columns to look like bundles
of reeds from the Nile.


 The complex’s north palace
also features engaged (non-
structural) columns with
capitals designed to look like
a papyrus plant.
 In effect, King Djoser’s
funerary complex was
designed to mimic his palace,
his city & his kingdom.
 Symbolically, the pyramid
resembles a stairway the sky,
through which Djoser could
join the supreme god, Amon-
Ra, god of the sun.


 After the completion of King Djoser’s Step
Pyramid at Saqqara, subsequent pharaohs
made several attempts at designing &
building purely geometrical pyramids for
themselves as tombs.
 Among the more successful, prominent
attempts were the Pyramid of King Huni at
Meidum, & the two pyramids built by
Pharaoh Snefru at Dashur.

Pyramid of King Huni at Meidum


 It was King Huni made
the first attempt at
building pure,
geometrical Pyramid at
Meidum in 2637 BCE.
 To do this, he
constructed a seven-
stepped pyramid with a
square plan, a height of
295’, & an angle of
incline of 51°.

 Unlike King Djoser’s Step
Pyramid at Saqqara, Huni’s
Pyramid at Meidum did
not have mortuary temple
or a surrounding complex.
 A later pharaoh, Snefru
attempted to convert
Huni’s stepped pyramid
into a pure pyramid by
facing over the layers, but
that work doesn’t survive
today.

Snefru’s Bent Pyramid at Dahshur

Snefru’s Bent Pyramid at Dahshur

 The later Pharaoh Snefru
made two attempts at
creating a true pyramid.
 His first attempt in 2,600
BCE, the Bent Pyramid at
Dahshur, had a square plan
with a height of 334’.
 Due to structural instability
during construction, the
pyramid’s sides changed
angle halfway up, which led
to its being nicknamed the
“Bent Pyramid”.

Snefru’s Red Pyramid at Dahshur

Snefru’s Red Pyramid at Dahshur

 King Snefru’s second
pyramid to the north,
known today as the Red
Pyramid, is the tomb in
which the pharaoh was
actually buried.
 It is not a true pyramid,
because its sides have a very
low pitch of 43° instead of
52°, making it look stunted
or squatty.
 A true pyramid has an
incline angle of 52°.

The Pyramids at Giza


 Construction of a true
geometrical pyramid was finally
achieved during reign of King
Cheops, son of Snefru, in 2,560
BCE.
 His pyramid is located, along
with the other most famous true
pyramids, on the Giza Plateau on
the west bank of the Nile.
 Today, King Cheops’ Pyramid is
nicknamed “The Great Pyramid”
because of its size.
 The pyramid is 482’ high on a
plan of 760’ square.


 Eventually, two additional
pyramids were built at Giza
by Cheops’ successors.
 The second and largest, in
the center, was built by King
Chefren, King Cheops’s son.
 The third and smallest was
built by King Mycerinus,
Chefren’s son.
 Collectively, the three are
referred to as the Pyramids
at Giza.


 The three are aligned
diagonally along the
axis set by the Great
Pyramid.
 The three small
pyramids located
close by were built
for the pharaohs’
queens.

 The Great Pyramid is
unique among the three
because of its internal
chambers’ arrangement.
 First, a chamber was built
below base of pyramid.
 Then, another chamber
was built above it, known
as “Queen’s Chamber”.
 Finally, the largest
chamber, known as the
“King’s Chamber” was
built at the center of the
pyramid.

 It was the final chamber
where the king was buried in
his sarcophagus.
 It measures 35’ x 17’ and 19’
high.
 Both the King & Queen’s
Chambers are connected to
the entrance on the
pyramid’s north side.
 Two air shafts also connect
the King’s Chamber to the
outside for ventilation.
 Once the king was buried, his
burial chamber was sealed.

 All the pyramids were
designed as part of a
dynastic funeral complex for
the burial of the pharaohs.
 Today, Chefren’s complex is
the best preserved example.
 His complex consist of three
interconnected units:
 A valley temple by the
Nile where the pharaoh’s
body was embalmed
 A pyramid mortuary
temple for rituals
 A long narrow causeway
connecting the two


 How were the pyramids constructed?
 There is no completely certain knowledge about the
method of construction used to create the pyramids.
 That said, scholars estimate that roughly 100,000 men
worked 3-4 months each year for 30 years to build the
pyramids.
 The material used to construct the pyramids was limestone
quarried from nearby & transported by lever action.
 Pyramid construction workers were paid in food, clothing
& drinks.

 The Pyramids at Giza were
built to contrast the vast
Saharan desert landscape
that surrounds them.
 For structures to be visible in
the immense desert, they
had to be built on a huge
scale.
 The pyramids were a product
of the will to achieve
immortality by the pharaohs.
 The pyramids were built with
such monumentality because
they were the everlasting
homes of the pharaohs’ kas.

The Great Sphinx
 Also located at Giza is the
Great Sphinx with the body
of a lion & the head of
Chefren.
 The reason for its
construction & its purpose
are unclear.
 A theory holds that it was
produced from leftover
pyramid materials that were
a applied to an existing
stone.
 It may also have been carved
to stand guard over the
temple & tomb of Chefren.

The Period of Pyramids Passes

 With King Mycerinus’s death, the era of the pyramid ended
for the most part.
 More pyramids were built by later pharaohs, but they
were smaller & less complex.
 Also, later pharaohs could not afford the cost of huge
pyramid construction.
 Of even greater concern, ancient grave robbers quickly
learned how to break into the pyramids & steal the goods
buried with pharaohs.
 The end of the Old Kingdom therefore marked the end of
the great era of Egyptian pyramid construction.

Middle Kingdom Temples & Tombs
 The Middle Kingdom began
when Pharaoh Mentuhotep
united Egypt again.
 During the Middle Kingdom,
the practice of pyramid
construction disappeared
altogether.
 The focus in architectural
development was still on
tombs & burial chambers
however.
 During this time, 2 categories
of structure came into use:
mortuary temples &
underground rock-cut tombs.

 Middle Kingdom mortuary temples served as a place for
burial & worship of pharaohs after their deaths.
 Temples dedicated to the Egyptian gods were also located
within them.
 Mortuary temples evolved from the original pyramid
funerary complex, but without the expensive & unsecure
pyramid itself.
 Later, underground rock-cut tombs became popular because
they were considered more secure.
 Many powerful & wealthy pharaohs & nobles carved tombs
directly into rock cliffs & below ground during the Middle &
New Kingdoms.
 The majority of mortuary temple & rock-cut tomb
construction was carried out at the necropolis of Deir el-
Bahri.

 Two types of underground
tombs were built by pharaohs &
nobles during the Middle & New
Kingdom periods: Rock-cut
tombs & shaft tombs.
 A rock-cut tomb is a tomb that
is carved into the earth itself.
 Many of these are found along
the western cliffs of the Nile.
 Good examples are the 30+
rock-cut tombs at Beni Hassan,
built for royal governors from
the 21st – 19th centuries BCE.

 The Beni Hassan tombs consist
of three elements:
 A colonnaded (column-
lined) entrance with a
portico (recessed porch)
for public worship.
 Behind the portico, a
chamber or hall with
columns supporting the
roof, serving as a chapel.
 A small chamber towards
the back of the chapel
where the person was
buried.

 The Beni Hassan tombs’
exterior columns are prism-
shaped, with either 8 or 16
sides.
 The columns in the tombs’
interiors were designed to
resemble bundles of reeds
tied together by rope, and
bear an uncanny
resemblance to those in
King Djoser’s hall at the
Step Pyramid at Saqqara.


 Later, shaft tombs were
constructed as a complex
series of underground
corridors & rooms, cut
into the mountains in the
Valley of the Kings at Deir
Al-Bahri.
 Their large number of
rooms & complicated
arrangement were
deliberate: they were a
maze or puzzle to confuse
grave robbers!

 Their designs made it
difficult for robbers to
determine where the
deceased were buried.
 A dead pharaoh or
nobleman would be
buried in one of the many
underground rooms.
 Once the burial was
finished, the entrance was
sealed permanently &
hidden from everybody.

Arh2050 architecture of the afterlife embalming & tombs in ancient egypt

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Arh2050 architecture of the afterlife embalming & tombs in ancient egypt

Similar to Arh2050 architecture of the afterlife embalming & tombs in ancient egypt (17)

More from ProfWillAdams

More from ProfWillAdams (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Arh2050 architecture of the afterlife embalming & tombs in ancient egypt