Ancient Egyptian Construction and Architecture (Dover Books on Architecture)

Book Synopsis: When this book was first published in 1930, there was no shortage of excellent books dealing with the architectural styles of ancient Egypt; no book of any significance, however, discussed in detail the actual construction methods used to erect some of the world's most colossal and enduring structures. This profusely illustrated volume remedied that situation by providing the first important description and analysis of Egyptian building practices, which differed radically from those of classical, medieval or modern architecture. Based on thirty years of research and investigation, much of it firsthand, the present work offers a detailed examination of Egyptian quarrying methods, transportation of stone, foundations, mortar, techniques for dressing and laying blocks of stone, pyramid construction, facing, sculpturing and painting masonry, brickwork, Egyptian mathematics and much more. Nearly 270 photographs and other illustrations bring the text to life, providing superb pictorial documentation of actual sites and excavations, quarries, building plans, architects' diagrams and elevations and a myriad of construction details. Also presented are such evocative materials as a map for gold miners in the time of Seti I, photographs of tool marks left by ancient quarry workers, mason's guidelines on a column in the Great Hall at Karnak, a scene of workmen polishing a sphinx and other small details that bridge the centuries and remind us that flesh-and-blood human beings sweated and toiled to accomplish the marvelous technical feats so well described here. For any student of ancient Egypt, this will be an enlightening and fascinating survey. For architects, engineers, and students of the history of technology, the book offers a revealing picture of early techniques of monumental construction. 125 photographs. 144 line illustrations.