Egyptian architecture
(3000 B.C.–200 A.D.)An ancient architecture along the Nile River from Neolithic times, built of reed huts with inward sloping walls and thick bases to resist the annual inundation. The decorative “bundling” of reeds later influenced stone construction of fluted columns and capitals. Massive funerary monuments and temples were built of stone using post-and-lintel construction, with closely spaced columns carrying the stone lintels supporting a flat roof. A hypostyle hall, which was crowded with columns, received light from clerestories above. Walls were carved in ornamental hieroglyphs in low relief. There were many varieties of columns, often used side by side, and their capitals were distinctly ornate, based on the lotus, papyrus, or palm.
Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Egyptian architecture
The architecture of Egypt from the 3rd millennium B.C. to the Roman period. Its most outstanding achievements are its massive funerary monuments and temples built of stone for permanence, featuring only post-and-lintel construction and corbel vaults without arches and vaulting.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.