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The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture
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by Dieter Arnold
Princeton University Press
Due/Published
March 2003, 288 pages,
cloth
ISBN
0691114889
Arnold--a leading expert on Egyptian building and design--includes more than 300 illustrations and 600 alphabetically arranged entries spanning every type of ancient Egyptian building and every aspect of construction and design. He provides separate entries for each of the major Egyptian sites, from Abu Simbel in the south to Cleopatra's palaces in Alexandria. These document ordinary towns and houses as well as monuments as varied as the Step Pyramid of Djoser (the world's first significant stone building), the tombs of the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari, and the great temples that line the Upper Nile. Other entries cover materials (from reed and mud-brick to sandstone and granite) and construction techniques (including pyramid building and the erection of obelisks). The accessible text also addresses the symbolic meanings of various types of building, the importance of building orientation, and myriad architectural features, such as columns and false doors. This comprehensive encyclopedia offers an overview of the magnificent structures that continue to lure pilgrims and tourists, impress architects, and inspire awe. "This first English edition of Dieter Arnold's Encyclopedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture is very much to be welcomed. One of the great advantages of Arnold's work is that it is written by a single specialist, well-acquainted with the monuments, experienced in field-work, and a very good communicator. The greatest value lies in the extended entries on particular types of building, on specifically Egyptian stylistic characteristics, and on the employment in ancient Egypt of certain materials and technical methods. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture will indeed fill a very obvious gap in the range of Egyptological reference works."--T.G.H. James, Formerly Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities, The British Museum |
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