Egyptian Architecture

The houses in Egypt, and even the palaces, were made largely of wood, sun dried brick, and mud plaster. The early temples were probably built of the same materials. The slanting walls of later stone temples suggest that their shape was copied from these early temples. The walls of early temples were made thicker at the bottom than at the top because of the weakness of the clay and sun dried brick construction.

As the Egyptians became more skillful and more wealthy, they began to make greater use of the stone cliffs that frame the Nile Valley. The great temples, which date from about 1500 to 1200 BC, are fine examples of heavy stone construction, even by modern standards. Outstanding are the temples at Karnak and Luxor. Over a thousand years earlier they had used stone for the royal tombs, the greatest of which is the famous Great Pyramid. Tombs and temples were very important to the egyptians, who were constantly concerned with life after death. Their tombs were elaborately carved and painted to represent all the pleasures and activities of life so that the spirits of the dead might enjoy themselves.