The Ancient Egyptian Metaphysical Architecture

by Moustafa Gadalla

  Here are a few examples of their work:

  The Sphinx

  As an artistic synthesis, the Sphinx is a work of mastery without parallel anywhere on Earth. So perfect is the fusion of lion and human that it seems organic.

  One cannot help but admire this marvelous statue and the nice proportion of its head. The mastery of the sculptor is evident in his ability to preserve the exact proportion and balance of every part (nose, eyes, ears, etc.) in a face of such colossal size.

  But when was the Sphinx built? And who built it? Many believe the answers are somewhere between 2520–2494 BCE, during the reign of Khafre (Chephren). But these commonly held beliefs are wrong. [For more information about the Great Sphinx of Giza, its age, and the very remote antiquity of Ancient Egypt, read Ancient Egyptian Culture Revealed by Moustafa Gadalla.]

  The Statue of Khafra (Chephren)

  This statue is generally acknowledged as one of the great masterpieces of world sculpture. In terms of technique and expressiveness, it would be a wondrous sculpture even if it were carved from some easily managed stone. But it is carved from diorite, the hardest known granite. It is housed at the Cairo Museum.

  The Cross-Legged Seated Scribe Statue

  One of these statues, with its lifelike eyes gazing into eternity, is housed in the Cairo Museum. The inlaid eyes of the statue have excited the admiration of many, including scholars, sculptors, and physicians.

  When photographs are taken of this and other similar statues, the eyes actually look real. The Egyptologist Mariette recorded that when his workmen dug up the famous Seated Scribe, now in the Louvre, the eyes frightened them; they thought the statue was actually alive.

  The Fallen Colossus at Ramesseeum Temple—Western Luxor

  The fallen colossus lies broken in several gigantic pieces. It was originally carved out of a single block of granite weighing 1,000 tons (907 metric tons). The seated colossus was originally 60 feet (18 m) high, which was the largest statue in Egypt. The Sphinx is much bigger, but it was carved, in-situ, out of the living rock.

  The colossus was brought down, possibly as a result of the earthquake that shook Egypt in 27 BCE. Even in pieces on the ground, the colossus is still an awesome scene. The ear is 3½ feet (1.2 m) long, the circumference of the arm at the elbow is 17½ feet (5.3 m), the index finger is 3¼ feet (1 m) long. The workmanship is superb.

  The Colossi Of Memnon

  The two seated Colossi stand over 60 feet (18 m) high on the western bank of Luxor (Thebes), and originally both had crowns, so were even taller.

  They are made of a pebbly, quartzose sandstone. The sandstone is extremely difficult to work and at the same time is highly porous and subject to relatively quick decay.

  Appendix G: Concrete Blocks Various Types

  For the reader to be informed about the differences between natural and man-made stone blocks, it is advisable to read the extensive work on this subject in the publication Egyptian Pyramids Revisited or its older edition, Pyramid Handbook, both by Moustafa Gadalla. We will highlight here just two points from this work:

  1. Natural stone consists of fossil shells which lie horizontally or flat in the bedrock as a result of forming sedimentary layers of bedrock over millions of years.

  The blocks of the masonry pyramids of Egypt show jumbled shells which are indicative of man-made cast stone. In any concrete, the aggregate are jumbled, and as a result, cast concrete is devoid of sedimentary layers. These pyramids consisted essentially of fossil shell limestone, a heterogeneous material very difficult to cut precisely.

  2. The French scientists found that the bulk density of the pyramid blocks is 20% lighter than the local bedrock limestone. Cast blocks are always 20-25% lighter than natural rock because they are full of air bubbles.

  A man-made concrete is defined as building material made of sand and gravel, bonded together with cement into a hard, compact substance and used in making bridges, road surfaces, etc.

  There are countless concrete mixes with varied ratios of the main ingredients: aggregate, cement, water and admixtures. Various applications require different concrete mixes. The Ancient Egyptians had utilized a wide variety of concrete mix applications. Examples:

  In the Giza Plateau, we can find three types of concrete. At the Khufu Pyramid, for example, there are three types in the interior pyramid blocks, the exterior angled blocks, as well as the paving blocks around the pyramid site.

  The interior pyramid blocks were not intended to be exposed to natural elements, therefore they were not finely graded. In other words, they were the bulk-type variety. When the exterior blocks were stripped away, these interior blocks were exposed to the natural elements. Over the years, they have deteriorated rapidly.

  The exterior blocks were intended to withstand the natural elements and therefore were made of more finely graded stones, as we can see here in this photograph at the Khafra Pyramid in Giza.

  Mastabas throughout the Giza Plateau utilized this strong exterior-type concrete mix in their walls, as shown herein next to Khufu Great Pyramid.

  The third type of concrete mix that we can find at the Giza site is the paving blocks that surround the base of the pyramid. The exposed paving blocks at the Great Pyramid site shows us a finely graded concrete of such quality that it can withstand the abrasion forces caused by traffic.

  At the Khafra Pyramid site, the paving blocks are in much better shape. They have maintained their superior qualities for thousands of years.

  A fourth type of concrete block was used as harbor water breaks in Alexandria’s outer harbor wall. It predates Alexander, as stated in Greek and Roman classical writings. These were designed to withstand the continuous water pressure forces of waves as well as the effect of salt in the water.

  One of the seven wonders of antiquity, the Pharos (lighthouse), 140 metres high, stood on the island with the same name, in front of the harbor, and showed the way to the ships that carried valuable goods from all over the world.

  Another application of concrete mixes is the type used by the Egyptians to build their arches and vaulted ceilings. Vaulted ceilings are found since the Old Kingdom in Menkaura Pyramid (in Giza) and Mastabat Faroon (in Saqqara).

  Construction details and quality are found in the Abydos Temple.

  Roofing is not only circular, but various shapes like Hatshepsut Temple – Anubis Shrine.

  Appendix H: The Masonic Egyptian Roots

  The masons claim that their rites, knowledge, and traditions are rooted in Egypt, and there are many indications that this may be so.

  The masons are members of a widespread secret fraternal society called ‘Free and Accepted Masons’ (popularly known as Freemasonry). There is a natural, instinctive fellowship and sympathy between their members.

  Modern masons claim their deep roots from the Ancient Egyptians. It is interesting that the obelisk and the pyramid were important symbolic forms for them, long before Egyptology and archaeology began. The Founding Fathers of America (many of whom were masons) put the un-American pyramid on the dollar bill and chose the shape of an obelisk for the design of a monument for George Washington, who was also a mason.

  Napoleon, like so many eminent men of his era, was also a Freemason. His campaign to conquer Egypt was part of his imperial military plan, but it was coupled with an intense desire to unlock the secrets of Egypt, which Napoleon believed to be the source of Masonic knowledge. Accordingly, in 1798, along with his 25,000 soldiers, he brought several hundred of the leading experts of his day, including the best draftsmen and artists in France.

  One of these famed masons is Mozart. In Mozart’s Masonic Opera The Magic Flute, the free spirit Papageno is trapping wild birds. This is purely Egyptian symbolism, because for the Ancient Egyptians, each bird (such as the falcon, vulture, stork, phoenix, goose, etc.) symbolized various spiritual qualities. Each species of bird represented a wild spiritual aspect that must be trapped, caged, sometimes tamed, and other times offered to the neteru in sacrifice. />
  Many other Masonic traditions are easily [and only] explained in Ancient Egyptian terms.

  Appendix I: Egyptian Influence on Modern Architecture

  The Egyptian influence on modern architecture is quite extensive. Several examples were specifically mentioned earlier in the text of this book. Here are a few broad, additional examples:

  1 – What is described as “Spanish Architecture’ or “Moorish Architecture” or “Southwestern USA” or even “Arabic/Islamic Architecture” are all found in Ancient Egyptian construction and practices. All elements of such design are listed and described throughout the text of this book.

  The design is characterized with its elegant simplicity of successive recessions and projections which is found in Egypt thousands of years earlier in the Saqqara’s Zoser Complex.

  The same type of design was used in the exterior of hundreds of tombs in Ancient Egypt.

  Each tomb in Egypt had what is called a “false door”, which was always built with successive recesses and projections.

  We find the same design patterns in the most admired Hatshepsut Temple in Luxor.

  2 – Throughout the major cities of the world, we always find an Egyptian Obelisk or an imitation of its form, such as the Washington Monument in Washington DC, the capital city of the USA.

  3 – Staying in the US capital city, we observe other Ancient Egyptian architectural features such as:

  – The famous Oval Office of the sitting President. The oval shape resembles the outline of an Ancient Egyptian cartouche which identified the role(s)/title(s) of the Egyptian Pharaoh.

  – The White House’s Portico with the appearance of the sitting President is exactly like the Great Court of an Egyptian Temple.

  – The US Congress roof is shaped in the form of a dome—a roof form preserved in Ancient Egypt for the Highest individuals, who become Folk Saints.

  – The famous “Statuary Hall” in the US Congress looks like and serves the same purpose as an Ancient Egyptian temple with statues of dignitaries appearing/situated between the outer columns of the Hall/Court.

  4 – Tomb stones in cemeteries look exactly like ancient Egyptian stelae, which also serve the same purpose as a monument of records.

  Appendix J: Types and Forms of Mortals' Buildings

  In conjunction with their mortal mentality, Ancient and Baladi Egyptians—the most humble—have never used the “eternal stones” for their dwelling houses. Their present life was only the pilgrimage; they were taught to consider their abode here on Earth as merely an “inn” along the road.

  Despite the repeated charges of vanity against the pharaohs, it is worth remembering that their abodes while on Earth were never made of stone, but of mud brick, the same material used by the humblest peasants.

  They all believed that the impermanent body, formed of clay, called for an equally impermanent abode on this Earth. The earthly houses of the kings have long since returned to the earth from which they were raised.

  Varying in form and quality, the houses were all made of sun-dried brick, and sometimes made with a mixture of straw. All used this same building material, the manufacture of which occupied thousands of workers along the whole length of the Nile.

  Because of the warm climate, the Egyptians lived most of their time in the open air, and the houses were constructed to be cool throughout the summer; currents of fresh air circulating freely throughout them by the practical arrangement of passages and courts. Corridors, supported on columns, gave access to different apartments through a succession of shady avenues and areas, with one side open to the air.

  It is/was also common for several small Egyptian houses to share a common courtyard. The open court located in the center of the Ancient Egyptian house was planted as a garden with palms and other trees and sometimes paved with stone, with a small tank or a fountain in its center.

  Most houses had a ground-floor and one or two stories above it. In major cities, houses were as tall as five stories high.

  Diodorus speaks of the tall houses in Luxor (Thebes) as being four and five stories high, and Ancient Egyptian paintings show some houses with four, including the basement story.

  Some roofs were vaulted, especially in the warmer areas of southern Egypt, and were built, like the rest of the house, of crude brick.

  The Ancient Egyptians utilized arches and vaulted roofs in their buildings since their earliest history. The early invention of the brick by the Ancient Egyptians led to the invention of the arch; and we find arches in Egypt as far back as the 27th century BCE, in Saqqara.

  The ceilings of the Ancient Egyptian buildings were of stucco, richly painted and tasteful both in their form and the arrangement of their colors. One of the oldest decorative trims is the guilloche, often misnamed the “Tuscan” or “Greek” border.

  There were also public buildings for schools, governmental offices, communal grain silos with vaulted roofs, etc.

  Glossary

  abacus – a slab that forms the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column.

  amulet – a charm or ornament containing special powers or symbolic representation.

  Animism – the concept that all things in the universe are animated (energized) by life forces. This concurs, scientifically, with kinetic theory, where each minute particle of any matter is in constant motion – i.e. energized with life forces.

  attributes – the Divine qualities and meanings that are the real causative factors of the manifested creations.

  Baladi – local; a term used to describe the present native silent majority in Egypt which adheres to the Ancient Egyptian traditions, under a thin layer of Islam.

  BCE – Before Common Era. Also noted in other references as BC.

  Book of Coming Forth By Light (Per-em-hru) – consists of over 100 chapters of varying lengths which are closely related to the so-called Pyramid Texts at Saqqara. These texts are found on papyrus scrolls that were wrapped in the mummy swathings of the deceased and buried with him.

  Book of the Dead – see Book of Coming Forth By Light.

  CE – Common Era. Also noted in other references as AD.

  Circle Index – designates the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, and is equal to 22/7, or 3.1415927.

  corolla – the inner petals of a flower.

  cosmology – the study of the origin, creation, structure, and orderly operation of the universe as a whole, and of its related parts.

  cubit – the Ancient Egyptian unit of linear measurement which is symbolized by the distance between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger of the extended hand. One cubit = 1.72′ (0.5236 m)

  Duat/Tuat – (Ancient Egypt) the Underworld, where the soul goes through transformation, leading to resurrection.

  Heb-Sed – ancient festival associated with the rejuvenation of the spiritual and physical powers of the Pharaoh.

  mastaba – Mastaba is the word for bench; a mud-brick, above-ground structure. Below the mastaba are the burial chambers of the deceased. The tombs consisted of subterranean burial chambers with large, low, rectangular, mud-brick superstructures.

  The superstructures were rectangular, low in proportion to their lengths, and with convex roofs. They varied in size from 24 sq. yards (20 square m) to an area of more than ¼ acre.

  mysticism – consists of ideas and practices that lead to union with the Divine. Union is described more accurately as togetherness, joining, arriving, conjunction, and the realization of God’s uniqueness.

  Neb (Golden) Proportion – is the “key to the structure of the cosmos”. If an approximation must be made, its value is 1.6180339.

  neter/netert – a divine principle/function/attribute of the One Great God. Incorrectly translated as ‘god/goddess’.

  ostracon – Term used by archaeologists to refer to shards of pottery or flakes of limestone bearing texts and drawings.

  papyrus – could mean either: 1) A plant that is used to make a writing surface. 2) Paper, as a w
riting medium. 3) The text written on it, such as the Leiden Papyrus.

  perfect solid – a solid figure composed of plane faces, each of whose faces is identical and is an equilateral planar form (e.g. a triangle, square or pentagon).

  phi – see Neb (Golden) Proportion.

  pi – see Circle Index.

  polyhedron – see perfect solid.

  pylon – a towering structure flanking a temple’s gateway.

  Pyramid Texts – a collection of transformational (funerary) literature that was found in the tombs of the 5th and 6th Dynasties (2465-2150 BCE).

  sacred geometry – The process by which all figures are to be drawn or created by using only a straight line (not even a ruler) and a compass; i.e., without measurement (dependent on proportion only).

  segment – A geometric shape bound by a cord and an arc of a circle.

  slope (common definition) – the amount or degree of deviation from the horizontal or vertical in an inclined surface. The ratio of the vertical difference divided by the horizontal difference.

  slope (in Ancient Egypt) – For the ancient Egyptians, the slope was the length required for half the base when the height was equal to 1 (one cubit).

  stele (plural: stelae) – stone or wooden slab or column inscribed with commemorative texts.

  vertex – the point opposite to and farthest from the base in a figure; a point that terminates a line or curve or comprises the intersection of two or more lines.