Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 25 - A-AUS.pdf/658

 604

A R C H I T e o t u R E

The pyramid of Medum, already mentioned, was built by Sneferu, the first king of the fourth dynasty, c. 3998-3969 b.c. ; and on the east side Professor Petrie discovered a small temple attached to it, consisting of two chambers roofed over in stone with two steles and an altar between on the roof. Traces of other temples have since been found on the east side of the Great Pyramids; and from the temple of the second pyramid a causeway led down to the granite temple, known as the temple of the Sphinx (Fig. 3), the earliest temple known, and, according to Professor Petrie, built by Khafra after the completion of his pyramid. The temple, though now buried, was originally a free-standing building on the plain at the foot of the hill. The tablet referring to the restoration of the Sphinx by Khufu is now recognized as a forgery of the twentieth dynasty. No mention is made of the Sphinx on any monument of the old kingdom, and Professor Petrie places its date between the sixth and the tenth dynasties. Pyramid of Khafra.

Of the famous Labyrinth built by Amenemhat III., c. 2622-2578 b.c., nothing remains but the site, about 1000 x 800 feet—the masses of buildings described by Lepsius are, according to Professor Petrie, the brick houses of a Koman village built on the site. The Hawara pyramid on the north side was erected by the same king. It was built in crude brick and coated with a fine limestone casing like the other pyramids; its dimensions are about 334 feet wide and 197 feet high. In the interior of this pyramid Professor Petrie discovered a pointed arch 3 feet in depth and composed of three rings of bricks, which was employed to take off the weight of the upper part of the pyramid from the roof of the tomb chamber. The Pyramid of Illahun, built by Usertasen II., c. 2684-2660 b.c., to the south-east of, and situated about a mile from the Labyrinth, was partly composed of solid rock about 40 feet high, isolated by the cutting away of the rock round it. The upper portion consisted of cross walls of stone, fitted in with crude Sphinx. Pyramid of Khufu.

Fig. 3.—Temple of the Sphinx. brick and cased afterwards with limestone. It was near this pyramid that Professor Petrie discovered the town of Kahun, erected to house the overseers and workmen who built the pyramid, and deserted by them on its completion. The walls were all of crude brick, and where the rooms exceeded 8 or 9 feet in width columns of wood or stone were employed to assist in carrying the roof. The lower portion of a column fluted like those at Benihassan was found on its stone base. The pyramidal form given to the stone pylons of Egyptian temples is now generally acknowledged to have been derived from the material in which the earlier examples were built, viz., crude brick, the raking sides arising from the fact that these crude brick walls are always, for reasons already given, much thicker at the bottom. Even at the present day the pigeon-houses built on the roof of the modern Egyptian dwelling-houses take the same shape, and in the distance are often mistaken for temples. During 1894 and following years excavations have been carried out under the direction of Mr Naville at Deir-elBahri, the splendid temple built by Queen Hat’shepsut

1516-1503 B.c., and by the removal of the superincumbent earth a great portion of the temple foundations have been exposed. In that part buried by the falling in of the rock above at the north-east end, the hypostyle hall and colonnade are almost perfect. Since the plan was measured by Professor Brune in 1866 and published by Mariette, with some incorrect alterations, the principal architectural discovery has been that of the great altar in the north-east court, the only complete example found in Egypt, its preservation being due to the falling in of the rock above. Professor Brune’s restorations made in 1866-67, and published by Mariette, give an excellent idea of the aspect of this remarkable temple, which was built on a series of terraces; except that the later discoveries have shown the north-east corner to have been different in plan from the north-west corner. In 1891-92 Professor Petrie excavated and uncovered the remains of the Palace of Khu-en-aten (Amen-hotep IV.) 1383-1365 B.c., who not only made changes in the religious worship of the country, but in the decoration of his palace departed from the conventional art of the period, and intro-