Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/40

II. — Egyptian Architecture. It is on the banks of the Nile that we meet with the earliest examples of architecture which have come down to us. The history of Egyptian architecture is divided into two great periods : the first is that of the Pyramids, the prin- cipal of which are near Memphis, once the capital of Lower Egypt ; and the second is that of the Temples erected by the kings of the Theban dynasty, whose royal city was Thebes. The Pyramids are the oldest monuments of the world, and date from about 3000 B.C. They consist of masses of masonry, each raised over a small tomb which con- tained the sarcophagus of the monarch ; their mode o construction was as follows : A shaft of the size of the sarcophagus was first sunk in the rock, and a suitable chamber for it hollowed out when the right depth was reached ; above this chamber a step - formed, gradually tapering mound was erected, and blocks of masonry were then laid on each layer of the steps, enlarging the size of the pyramid till the intended dimensions were reached, the whole being subsequently cut to an evenly sloping surface. The outer masonry or coating has in most cases been par- tially removed. These huge buildings are constructed in most cases of blocks of stone; bricks were occasionally employed. The three great pyramids are at Gizeh, a village near Cairo ; and according to the inscriptions the first was erected by Cheops, the second by Kephren or Suphis II., and the third by Menkara or Mycerinus. The height of the oldest, or Great, Pyramid, was 480 ft. 9 ins., and its base was 764 ft.