Through the Eras

Architecture and DesignPainted burial chamber of a nobleman in Thebes. © ROGER WOOD/CORBIS. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.over the same time period. These trends suggest againthat resources were increasingly directed away from theroyal pyramid and instead to other goals during thecourse of the Old Kingdom.SOURCESNaguib Kanawati, The Tomb and its Significance in AncientEgypt (Cairo: Al Ahram Commercial Press, 1987).Philip Watson, Egyptian Pyramids and Mastaba Tombs(Aylesbury, England: Shire Publications, Ltd., 1987).DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN THEOLD KINGDOMPLANNED TOWNS. Archaeologists have discoveredonly a few Old Kingdom towns, all of which are locatedadjacent to or in Old Kingdom pyramid complexes. Thetowns demonstrate both the problems that the centralgovernment faced in maintaining pyramid complexesand also the way the original function of many buildingswas quickly lost as squatters occupied buildings. The36 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)