Egyptian Art Lessons - Architecture
Architecture of Ancient Egypt
The Egyptians stopped using the pyramids for burial tombs because, in spite of good precautions, they continued to be vulnerable to robbers. During the New Kingdom, at the height of Egyptian power, the pharaohs began to build underground tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It was in the Valley of the Kings where the tomb of King Tut was found by Carter in the early 1900's. The importance of the tomb was that it was the first tomb, which was not looted by grave robbers. It survived, nearly untouched, because of it was buried by a collapsed temple.
During the New Kingdom the large temples of Hatshepsut, Luxor, and Karnak were built in or near Thebes. Most of the Egyptian temples have a very heavy look to them with very large columns which are relatively close to each other. The kind of stone the Egyptians used was not able to hold heavy weight like the marble used in Greece and Rome. Because of this, the spans between supporting columns had to be short to support the weights of the roofs.
Egytian Art Conclusion
