The Ancient Near East

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

The Pyramids of Giza E2-18 E2-07a The Pyramid of Chephren E2-20 The Step- Pyramid of Djoser E2-20 The Step-Pyramid E2-21 E2-21a Architect’s Model of the Step-Pyramid E2-22 The Step-Pyramid E2-23 Diagram of a Mastaba Tomb E2-24 E2-25 E2-25a Interior of a mastaba tomb E2-25b E2-26 The Step- Pyramid: with temple complex in the foreground E2-27 E2-28 Temple near Step-Pyramid E2-29 Courtyard for Sed-Festival E2-30 E2-31 E2-32 Reconstruction of Step-Pyramid and its surrounding buildings E2-33 E2-07a E2-34 Snefru’s Pyramid at Meidum E2-35 A Stele Issued by Snefru E2-36 Diagram of the Pyramid at Meidum E2-37 Slagheap at the base of the Pyramid at Meidum E2-38 The Bent Pyramid at Dahshur E2-39 E2-40 The Bent Pyramid with remains of lower temple in foreground E2-41 E2-42 E2-43 The Lower Temple of the Bent Pyramid (at the end of the causeway) E2-44 Model of a smooth-sided Pyramid E2-45 The Pyramids of Giza E2-46 The Pyramids of Giza E2-47 View up the Great Pyramid at Giza Where’s Waldo?xxxx E2-47a Construction of the Great Pyramid E2-48 Construction of the Great Pyramid E2-49 Construction of the Great Pyramid E2-50 Construction of the Great Pyramid E2-51 Sledges E2-52 Construction of the Great Pyramid E2-53 Construction of the Great Pyramid E2-54 Workers hewing a stone E2-55 Copper Tools like those used on the Great Pyramid E2-56 Quarry E2-57 E2-57a E2-58 E2-59 The Pyramids of Giza E2-60 E2-60a E2-60b E2-61 General Plan of the Pyramids and Temple Complexes at Giza E2-62 043 The Sphinx E2-63 The Sphinx E2-64 The Sphinx E2-64a Diorite Statue of Chephren (with Horus Falcon) E2-65 The Great Pyramid of Khufu E2-67 (Cheops) Sun-Boat reconstructed in museum E2-68 Egyptian relief: boats on the Nile E2-69 Drawing of Sun-Boats as they would have looked at the time of Cheops’ burial E2-70 Relief showing the wealth of Egypt E2-71 Village along the banks of the Nile E2-71a.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Cambridge Archaeological Journal 15:2, 2005
Location of the Old Kingdom Pyramids in Egypt Miroslav Bârta The principal factors influencing the location of the Old Kingdom pyramids in Egypt are reconsidered. The decisive factors influencing their distribution over an area of c. eighty kilometres were essentially of economic, géomorphologie, socio-political and unavoidably also of religious nature. Primary importance is to be attributed to the existence of the Old Kingdom capital of Egypt, Memphis, which was a central place with regard to the Old Kingdom pyramid fields. Its economic potential and primacy in the largely redistribution- driven state economy sustained construction of the vast majority of the pyramid complexes in its vicinity. The location of the remaining number of the Old Kingdom pyramids, including many of the largest ever built, is explained using primarily archaeological evidence. It is claimed that the major factors influencing their location lie in the sphere of general trends governing ancient Egyptian society of the period. For millennia, megaliths and monumental arts were pyramids see Edwards 1993; Fakhry 1961; Hawass commissioned by the local chieftains and later by the 2003; Lehner 1997; Stadelmann 1985; 1990; Vallogia kings of Egypt. The ideological reasons connected 2001; Verner 2002; Dodson 2003). The reasons that may with the construction and symbolism of the pyra be put forward to explain their location and arrange mids were manifold, and in most cases obvious: the ment are numerous but may be divided into two basic manifestation of power, status and supremacy over groups: practical and religious. It will be argued that the territory and population, the connection with the whereas the general pattern in the distribution of the sacred world and the unlimited authority of the rulers pyramid sites may be due mainly to practical reasons, (O'Connor & Silverman 1995).
[Show full text]
Architecture and the Pyramids of Giza Known As “The Age of the Pyramids,” the Old Kingdom Was Characterized by Revolutionary
Architecture and the Pyramids of Giza Known as “the Age of the Pyramids,” the Old Kingdom was characterized by revolutionary advancements in architecture. Figure 1: The Pyramids of Giza This view shows all three pyramid structures: the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure. The Old Kingdom (2686 BC - 2182 BC) was a period of political stability and economic prosperity, during which great tombs were built for Egyptian Kings in the form of pyramids. The first king to launch a major pyramid building project was King Djoser, who built his famous “Step Pyramid” at Saqqara. The Pyramids of Giza are the greatest architectural achievement of the time, and include three pyramid structures and the Great Sphinx monument. It would have taken several thousand workers decades to complete just one pyramid. While we know that the stone for the pyramids was quarried, transported and cut from the nearby Nile, we still cannot be sure just how the massive stones were then put into place. While stone was generally reserved for tombs and temples, sun-baked mud bricks were used in the construction of Egyptian houses, palaces, fortresses, and town walls. Note: Limestone is an abundant rock of marine and freshwater sediments, primarily composed of calcite (CaCO₃). It occurs in a variety of forms, both crystalline and amorphous. To quarry means to obtain (mine) stone from an excavation pit, usually by blasting, cutting, or digging. A quarry is a site for mining stone, limestone or slate. A sphinx was a creature with the head of a human and the body of an animal (commonly a lion).
[Show full text]
The Debates on the Perception of the Ancient Egyptian Civilization
International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Studies Volume 4, Issue 12, 2017, PP 11-21 ISSN 2394-6288 (Print) & ISSN 2394-6296 (Online) The Debates on the Perception of the Ancient Egyptian Civilization Dr. Jock Matthew Agai School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg *Corresponding Author: Dr. Jock Matthew Agai, School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. ABSTRACT There is a tradition according to which the ancient Egyptians were the most civilized people that ever lived. This researcher contests this tradition and argue that the Semitic Peoples and the archaeological findings in Egypt are primary in developing the construct according to which human civilization started from Egypt. The purpose of this research is to firstly shed light on the reasons that led to the development of the tradition of the ancient Egyptian civilization, and secondly, to highlight the implications of the perception of the ancient Egyptian civilization on other Africans. Keywords: Archaeological Discoveries, Artefacts, Civilization, Construct, Culture, Theories, Perception 3 THE CONCEPT OF CIVILIZATION racialization of the concepts of civilization. Professor Philippe Denis is a senior lecturer in Botz-Bornstein have presented a theory according the history of Christianity at the School of to which the French people and the Germans Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of originated the concept of civilization (Botz- Kwa-Zulu Natal. Denis believed that the ancient Bornstein 2012:10). Another school of thought Egyptians were not civilized as it has been emphasizes that the beginning of writing is speculated. He thought that the conceptualization equivalent to the beginning of human of the civilization of the ancient Egyptians was a civilization.
[Show full text]
Hawara & Meidum Add-On
Hawara & Meidum add-on (day 1 of the tour) - $195 per person Do you want to see even more pyramids in Egypt? For the guests who would like to arrive one day early, we prepared a trip to Hawara and Meidum pyramids. On that day we normally organize reception at the airport for the arriving guests, but you will drive towards Faiyum oasis and make a stop in Meidum. In many ways, Meidum, built for pharaoh Snefru, is the most mysterious of all the great Pyramids. It is often known as the "collapsed pyramid" because of its ruined state. It seems to have been designed as a seven step pyramid with a further step being added once construction was in a fairly advanced stage. It was then turned into the first true pyramid by filing in the steps and capping them with limestone. No sarcophagus was found inside the chamber and there is no evidence that Snefru or anyone else was ever buried in this pyramid. We will enter inside the pyramid and later we will also visit a nearby mastaba of an unknown noble which can be entered via a robber's tunnel. The burial chamber contains the first example of a red granite sarcophagus known in antiquity. After the visit in Meidum, we will drive south to see the Hawara pyramid. The pyramid stands in the north of an elaborate complex enclosed by a wall measuring 385 by 158 meters. This makes the Hawara complex the largest Middle Kingdom funerary complex. The entrance was located at the southern corner of the east wall.
[Show full text]
Egypt Revisited “It Was an Amazing Experience to See Such Wonderful Sites Enhanced by Our Lecturer’S Knowledge...A Fabulous Experience!”
Limited to just 16 guests EGYPT Revisited “It was an amazing experience to see such wonderful sites enhanced by our lecturer’s knowledge...A fabulous experience!” - Barbara, Maryland Foreground, Red Pyramid at Dahshur; background, Temple of Seti I at Abydos October 19-November 3, 2019 (16 days | 16 guests) with Egyptologist Stephen Harvey optional extensions: pre-tour Siwa Oasis & Alexandria (8 days) and/or post-tour Jordan (5 days) Archaeology-focused tours for the curious to the connoisseur. Dear Traveler, You are invited to return to Egypt on a brand-new, custom-designed tour in the company of AIA lecturer/host Stephen Harvey, Egyptology guide Enass Salah, and a professional tour manager. © Ivrienen Snefru's Bent Pyramid at Dahshur Highlights are many and varied: • Gain inside access to the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, enter the burial chamber of the collapsed pyramid at Meidum, and visit two mud-brick pyramids (Illahun and Hawara) at the Fayoum Oasis. • Go behind-the-scenes at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara to see some of the new and remarkable excavations that are not open to the public, including (pending final confirmation) special access to the newly- discovered, 5th-dynasty Tomb of Wah Ti. • Make a special, private visit (permission pending) to the new Grand Egyptian Museum. • Explore the necropoli of Beni Hasan, known for its 39 rock-cut tombs © Olaf Tausch with well-preserved paintings of dancing, acrobatics, juggling, fishing, Red Pyramid at Dahshur hunting, and weaving; and Tuna el-Gebel, with huge catacombs for thousands of mummified ibises and baboons, and much more. • Visit Tell el-Amarna, which replaced Thebes (modern Luxor) as capital of Egypt under the heretic, 18th-dynasty pharaoh Akhenaton and was significant for its monotheism and distinctive artistic style.
[Show full text]
I General for Place Names See Also Maps and Their Keys
Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-12098-2 - Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology Edited by Paul T. Nicholson and Ian Shaw Index More information Index I General For place names see also maps and their keys. AAS see atomic absorption specrophotometry Tomb E21 52 aerenchyma 229 Abbad region 161 Tomb W2 315 Aeschynomene elaphroxylon 336 Abdel ‘AI, 1. 51 Tomb 113 A’09 332 Afghanistan 39, 435, 436, 443 abesh 591 Umm el-Qa’ab, 63, 79, 363, 496, 577, 582, African black wood 338–9, 339 Abies 445 591, 594, 631, 637 African iron wood 338–9, 339 A. cilicica 348, 431–2, 443, 447 Tomb Q 62 agate 15, 21, 25, 26, 27 A. cilicica cilicica 431 Tomb U-j 582 Agatharchides 162 A. cilicica isaurica 431 Cemetery U 79 agathic acid 453 A. nordmanniana 431 Abyssinia 46 Agathis 453, 464 abietane 445, 454 acacia 91, 148, 305, 335–6, 335, 344, 367, 487, Agricultural Museum, Dokki (Cairo) 558, 559, abietic acid 445, 450, 453 489 564, 632, 634, 666 abrasive 329, 356 Acacia 335, 476–7, 488, 491, 586 agriculture 228, 247, 341, 344, 391, 505, Abrak 148 A. albida 335, 477 506, 510, 515, 517, 521, 526, 528, 569, Abri-Delgo Reach 323 A. arabica 477 583, 584, 609, 615, 616, 617, 628, 637, absorption spectrophotometry 500 A. arabica var. adansoniana 477 647, 656 Abu (Elephantine) 323 A. farnesiana 477 agrimi 327 Abu Aggag formation 54, 55 A. nilotica 279, 335, 354, 367, 477, 488 A Group 323 Abu Ghalib 541 A. nilotica leiocarpa 477 Ahmose (Amarna oªcial) 115 Abu Gurob 410 A.
[Show full text]
The Masterpiece of a Demigod Modern Architecture Carried Back Fifty Centuries by This Amazing Discovery by Dr
April THE 11 Independent 1925 The Masterpiece of a Demigod Modern Architecture Carried Back Fifty Centuries by this Amazing Discovery By Dr. George A.Reisner Head of the Boston-Harvard Expedition Inventing Crime by Statute By Prof. Fred E. Haynes Spring Book Number Reviews of the Season’s "Books VOLUME114 NUMBER3906 Five Dollars a Year Fifteen Cents a Copy 400 THE INDEPENDENT Vol. 114,No. 3906 The Masterpiece of a Demigod The Story of the Recent Amazing Discovery of the First Stone Building in the World By Dr. George A. Reisner a result of the IV, Philopater, and at discovery of the Dr. Reisner, the foremost Egyptologist in Medinet Habu with Ptolemy funerary temple America today, and chief of the Harvard Univer- emy IX, Euergetes 11. ofAs King Zoser of Dynasty sity-Boston Museum Expedition which recently Priests of the god Imhotep ‘reported the important discovery of an intact hotep are known, and a III who reigned as king tomb of the Fourth Dynasty, has received the in Upper and Lower cabled permission of the Egyptian Government to number of bronze figures Egypt about 3100 B.c., tell the amazing tale unfolded here-the story which were probably votive every book on Egyptian of the,first stone building in the world, the Temple tive offerings to him. architecture and art is of Zoser, and of that mysterious Imhotep, now Every scribe when preparing identified for the first time as the temple’s creative rendered obsolete and genius. The story coming from the excavations paring to write poured will have to be rewritfen.
[Show full text]
THE PYRAMIDS of EGYPT Fathi Habashi
Laval University From the SelectedWorks of Fathi Habashi July, 2015 THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT Fathi Habashi Available at: https://works.bepress.com/fathi_habashi/153/ De Re Metallica, 24, 2015 pp. 81-89 © Sociedad Española para la Defensa del Patrimonio Geológico y Minero ISSN: 1888-8615 THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT Fathi Habashi Laval University, Quebec City, Canada [email protected] RESUMEN La Gran Pirámide de Egipto, construida aproximadamente dos mil años A.C., no es solamente un apila- miento de piedras. Es una tumba que contiene una cámara de enterramiento, pasajes, conductos de ventila- ción, etc. Es una proeza de la ingeniería. Fueron muchas centurias las que transcurrieron hasta que fue posi- ble la construcción de una verdadera pirámide. Existen aproximadamente cien pirámides en Egipto. Hace 500 años que los egipcios dejaron de construir pirámides. Los Nubios, quienes ocuparon Egipto alrededor del 1000 D.C., construyeron en Meroe otras doscientas pirámides, pero de mucho menor tamaño que las de Menfis. PALABRAS CLAVE: Pirámides, canteras, construcción, Egipto. ABSTRACT The Great Pyramid in Egypt built about two thousand years BC is not just a pile of stones. It is a grave containing a burial chamber, passages, and ventilation ducts, etc. It is an engineering feat. It took many cen- turies of experimentation till it was possible to build a true pyramid. There are about one hundred pyramids in Egypt. After about 500 years when the Egyptians stopped building pyramids, the Nubans who occupied Egypt around 1000 BC, built in Meroe another two hundred pyramids but far much smaller than those at Memphis.
[Show full text]
Cwiek, Andrzej. Relief Decoration in the Royal
Andrzej Ćwiek RELIEF DECORATION IN THE ROYAL FUNERARY COMPLEXES OF THE OLD KINGDOM STUDIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT, SCENE CONTENT AND ICONOGRAPHY PhD THESIS WRITTEN UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROF. KAROL MYŚLIWIEC INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY FACULTY OF HISTORY WARSAW UNIVERSITY 2003 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work would have never appeared without help, support, advice and kindness of many people. I would like to express my sincerest thanks to: Professor Karol Myśliwiec, the supervisor of this thesis, for his incredible patience. Professor Zbigniew Szafrański, my first teacher of Egyptian archaeology and subsequently my boss at Deir el-Bahari, colleague and friend. It was his attitude towards science that influenced my decision to become an Egyptologist. Professor Lech Krzyżaniak, who offered to me really enormous possibilities of work in Poznań and helped me to survive during difficult years. It is due to him I have finished my thesis at last; he asked me about it every time he saw me. Professor Dietrich Wildung who encouraged me and kindly opened for me the inventories and photographic archives of the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, and Dr. Karla Kroeper who enabled my work in Berlin in perfect conditions. Professors and colleagues who offered to me their knowledge, unpublished material, and helped me in various ways. Many scholars contributed to this work, sometimes unconsciously, and I owe to them much, albeit all the mistakes and misinterpretations are certainly by myself. Let me list them in an alphabetical order, pleno titulo: Hartwig
[Show full text]
Astronomy, Topography and Dynastic History in the Age of the Pyramids
Astronomy, topography and dynastic history in the Age of the Pyramids. Giulio Magli Faculty of Civil Architecture - Politecnico di Milano Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy It is known since the 19 century that in the layout of the pyramid field of the pharaohs of the 4 th Egyptian dynasty at Giza, a “main axis” exists. Indeed, the south-east corners of these monuments align towards the site of the temple of Heliopolis, which was plainly visible in ancient times. It was later discovered that a similar situation occurs in the main pyramid field of the subsequent dynasty at Abu Sir. Here, the north-west corners of three chronologically successive pyramids again voluntarily align towards Heliopolis. However, the temple was in this case not visible, due to the rock outcrop- today occupied by the Cairo citadel - which blocks the view. In the present paper, a multi-disciplinary approach based on historical, topographical and archaeoastronomical analysis is developed in an attempt at understanding this peculiar feature, which governed from the very beginning the planning of such wonderful monuments. A general pattern actually arises, which appears to have inspired the choice of the sites and the disposition on the ground of almost all the funerary complexes of the kings during the Old Kingdom. 1. Introduction An interesting feature exists in the layouts of the pyramids of Giza and Abu Sir: the presence of a “main axis” directed to the area where the ancient temple of the sun of Heliopolis once stood, on the opposite bank of the Nile. These axes are connected with a process of “solarisation” of the pharaoh which probably started with Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid.
[Show full text]
Geometry and Perspective in the Landscape of the Saqqara Pyramids
GEOMETRY AND PERSPECTIVE IN THE LANDSCAPE OF THE SAQQARA PYRAMIDS MAGLI Giulio, (I) Abstract. A series of peculiar, visual alignments between the pyramids of the pharaohs of the 4th , the 5th and the 6th Egyptian dynasties exists. These alignments governed from the very beginning the planning of the funerary monuments of successive kings and, in some cases, led to establish building sites in quite inconvenient locations from the technical viewpoint. Explaining the topography of these monuments means therefore also investigating on their symbolic motivations: religion, power, dynastic lineage and social context, as well as getting insights on the skills of the ancient architects in astronomy and geometry. In the present paper we focus on the relationships between the Old Kingdom pyramids at Saqqara. Key words. Ancient astronomy. Ancient and sacred geometry. Egyptian pyramids. Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 01A16, 51-03. 1 Introduction th It is known since the 19 century that an interesting feature exists in the layouts of the pyramids of th the 4 dynasty at Giza: the presence of a “main axis” connecting the south-east corners of the three main monuments and directed to the area where the ancient temple of the sun of Heliopolis once stood, on the opposite bank of the Nile [1,2,3]. This line is connected with a process of “solarisation” of the pharaohs which started with Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid, and th lasted up Menkaure, the builder of the third Giza pyramid [4,5]. The kings of the 5 dynasty moved - in spite of the presence of several favorable places to the immediate south of Giza - some 7 Kms apart on the plateau of Abusir.
[Show full text]
THE KUSHITE ORIGINS of SU~Ier and ELAM by Runoko Rashidi Ancient Sumer, the Biblical Land of Shinar, Modern Lower Mesopotamia, F
THE KUSHITE ORIGINS OF SU~iER AND ELAM By Runoko Rashidi And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel ••. in the land of Shinar. 1 Ancient Sumer, the biblical land of Shinar, modern lower Mesopotamia, flourished in the third millenium B.C. covering the territorial expanse of the Tigris/Euphrates River Valley. Embracing the shores of the Persian Gulf, Sumer extended north to Akkad, a distance of about 320 miles, thus constituting Southern Babylonia. The appellation Chaldea, frequently applied to the region, appears to have been introduced by the Assyrians in the ninth century B.c.2 The designations Babylon, Babylonia and Chaldea have been used extensively, particularly by nine teenth century scholars, in reference to the area now almost exclusively known as Sumer. Sumer appears to be the first major high-culture of western Asia. She bequeathed to her successor states a tradi tion of great achievement. Her many contributions to civili zation are well known. Brilliant agriculturalists, the Sumerians built very sophisticated canals and reservoirs to irrigate their fields. They possessed both an advanced legal system and a well developed knowledge of medicine and were perhaps the ancient world's greatest astronomers.3 While these salient facts regarding Sumer's obvious cultural genius are well known, the important question of the racial composition of its population is generally glossed over. This apparent cloud concerning race, however, is very thin and there is a substantial body of evidence in support of the position that the civilization of Sumer was the product of Black migrations from Africa's Nile Valley.
[Show full text]