The document summarizes the evolution of pyramid architecture in ancient Egypt. It describes how Snefru constructed three pyramids, establishing new designs and proportions. It then discusses the three large pyramids built by Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure at Giza, including their precise construction, layouts, and the associated temples. The pyramids were carefully designed structures meant to facilitate the pharaoh's journey to the afterlife and provide sustenance through offerings to their ka statue. Food offerings were an important part of ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian religious practice and architecture.

1. History and Theory of Architecture (1) - 0902241
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University of Jordan
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Architecture

2. • After zoser the pharanic institution began to assert its cosmological
narrative with greater force and precision
• Snefru’s first project was the step faced pyramid at meidum
• Snefru abandoned the building after 15 years of work and started another
• Bent pyramid : originally planned to be towering 150 meters high , the
designers added a kink or bend to reduce the weight and angle of the
slope
• They returned to the step pyramid and added a layer that transformed it
into a true pyramid
• In roman times , the stone facing was removed to be made into stucco
• Red pyramid : He constructed a third pyramid with reddish cast stone and
that’s where senfru was buried it was the model for subsequent tombs 1.
first true pyramid 2. harmonious proportions 3. perfection of the system
of tomb chambers
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6. Pyramids of giza
• They were surrounded by a wall that defined the sacred precinct. altar on the
base of pyramid . And mortuary temple.
• At ceremonial center of the temple complex was ka statue (placed near the
altar )
• ka statue : is a type of ancient Egyptian statue intended to provide a resting
place for the ka (life-force or spirit) of the person after death mortuary temple
was connected to valley temple placed along the nile river
• The pharaoh’s body would be brought there on a funerary ship , other rituals
would take place : daily prayers , incantations and offering the coffin
• The pharaoh and the canopic jars ( contained his entrails ) along with assorted
possessions were placed in the tomb chamber.
• Funerary party exited the pyramid and the entrance was sealed so well.
• Sun god Re : creator of all things who created himself out of a mound that
emerged from primeaval ocean’s .
• Snefru’s son khufu (cheops) identified himself with the sun god to such an
extent that his successors refered to themselves by the title : son of Re
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8. • Khafre’s mortuary temple consisted of an intricate though largely
symmetrical combination of galleries and courts, at the center of which
was a monumental courtyard with twelve colossal statues
• Behind the courtyard was a row of five chapels (held sacred barges )
• Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) : engineers chose a solid rock foundation
on the ridge above what is now Giza. 1. orientation close to north 2. 6
million tons of solid masonry 3. The casing stones were fitted together
with such precision that the sides would have been seen as a smooth
sheet glistening in the sun.
• Though the Egyptians were highly proficient mathematicians, the
mathematical and astronomical systems used in the design of the
pyramids is much debated. Furthermore, the exterior measurements of
the pyramid are uncertain because the outer surface has been removed
over the years.
• The angles of the internal passages, as well as the location of the various
chambers, are also thought to have been defined mathematically
• the layout of the three pyramids is not haphazard, but that it too
conforms to a unifying geometric plan.
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12. • The upper granite burial chamber stands isolated in the interior of the
pyramid; five upper chambers with granite beams serve to relieve the
pressure.
• The uppermost burial chamber has a gabled roof of limestone blocks.
• Narrow mock corridors point toward the southern and northern skies to
provide a direct route to heaven for the deceased’s soul.
• The northern one, so it is thought, symbolically also allows the
regenerative north wind to flow down to meet the body of the king.
• The room below the burial chamber was meant to house the Ka statue of
Khufu. This room has been misnamed the queen’s chamber by early
explorers, but it cannot have served as a tomb since it was not provided
with a stone sarcophagus and was not sealed by a portcullis (stone plug).
• There is a subterranean chamber that was cut out of the solid bedrock it
was designed with a rough and disorderly look. It is clearly cultish in
nature, but its purpose remains unknown.
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14. Valley Temple of Khafre
• The only preserved valley temple at Giza is the one
associated with the Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren), the
second pyramid complex to get built after that of Khufu.
• The plain square piers support red granite
• lintels that, in their stark simplicity .The rectilinear
perfection of the piers contrasts with the more organic
coursing of the gigantic stones of the wall.
• On the outside, the box-shaped form gives no indication of
the complex internal layout. In fact, the space between the
interior and the exterior is filled solid with enormous
stones; the interiors would thus have seemed to be carved
from the earth itself.
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17. Architecture and Food
• For both Mesopotamian and Egyptian societies, food was not only the
sustenance of humans but also of the gods.
• food was not only the sustenance of humans but also of the gods. Offerings of
food were laid out in front of the Ka statue in its niche to provide for the
difficult journey ahead.
• The slaughter of the animals, out of sight of the gods, was supervised by the
priests.
• There is also evidence of this in Mesopotamia, where the ziggurat was a type
of elevated feasting platform.
• Unlike the Greeks, the Egyptians did not perform the actual killing and
bloodletting in “sight” of the gods; the meat arrived fully cooked. The
difference is telling.
• The Ka is visualized as alive and sensitive,
• Sacrifice would remain important, but mainly in a symbolic sense, in Judaism
and Christianity. Hinduism is one of the few modern religions that still
preserves ritual food offerings to the gods, though meat sacrifices are
forbidden.
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18. • Egyptian slab stela
• A slab stela shows a royal personage
at a funerary repast sitting next to an
offering table covered with the
loaves of bread that have been
brought to him. Next to him on the
floor, on small platforms, are
containers holding incense,
ointments, figs, and wine.
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