Ancient Egyptian architecture

Ancient Egyptian architecture

Top: Great Pyramid of Giza (c. 2589–2566 BC); Centre: Columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall from the Temple of Karnak (c. 1294–1213 BC); Bottom: Temple of Isis from Philae (c. 380 BC-117 AD)
Years active	c. 3100 BC-300 AD

Spanning over three thousand years, ancient Egypt was not one stable civilization but in constant change and upheaval, commonly split into periods by historians. Likewise, ancient Egyptian architecture is not one style, but a set of styles differing over time but with some commonalities.

The best known example of ancient Egyptian architecture are the Egyptian pyramids and Sphinx, while excavated temples, palaces, tombs, and fortresses have also been studied. Most buildings were built of locally available mud brick and limestone by paid laborers and craftsmen.^[1][2] Monumental buildings were built using the post and lintel method of construction. Many buildings were aligned astronomically.^[3] Columns were typically adorned with capitals decorated to resemble plants important to Egyptian civilization, such as the papyrus plant.

Ancient Egyptian architectural motifs have influenced architecture elsewhere, reaching the wider world first during the Orientalizing period and again during the nineteenth-century Egyptomania.