Through the Eras

Architecture and DesignNMediterranean SeaNile DeltaA S I ALower EgyptGizaMemphisSINAICairoPENINSULA00miles200200kilometers400400AFRICAS A H A R ASecond CataractThird CataractNileUpper EgyptFirst CataractR.FourthCataractAswanFifth CataractRed SeaARABIANPENINSULAArea under EgyptiancontrolAncient coastlineAncient cityGreat PyramidSphinxCataract (rapids)KhartoumWhite Nile R.Sixth CataractBlue Nile R.Map of ancient Egypt. XNR PRODUCTIONS, INC. THE GALE GROUP. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.ogists have discussed these sites, there were differingopinions on whether they were temples, tombs, or forts.Other discussions of them suggested that some of thesebuildings were cenotaphs, structures built only to honorcertain kings but not to house their burials. Most recentlyscholars have realized that these buildings representthe earliest royal tombs—located in the sectionof Abydos called in Arabic Umm el Gaab (“Mother ofPots”)—and the earliest cult temples dedicated to deceasedkings, located in the section of Abydos called inArabic Kom es-Sultan (“Mound of the Ruler”) abouttwo kilometers from the tombs. Moreover, the two setsof buildings can be divided into pairs that resemblelater funeral complexes consisting of a burial and atemple where the deceased king was eternally worshipped.EARLY EXCAVATION. One of the first archaeologiststo work in Egypt, the Englishman W. M. F. Petrie(1843–1942), excavated some of the earliest temples andtombs. Petrie worked all over Egypt, but during1899–1900 and 1902–1903, he concentrated his effortson a site in Middle Egypt called Abydos. Several villagesare now resident at the site formerly known as Abydos,including the village of Kom es Sultan and the village ofUmm el Gaab. Petrie worked first in the village of Ummel Gaab, then two years later at the village of Kom esSultan. At Umm el Gaab Petrie found and identified thecemetery of kings of the First and Second Dynasties(3100–2675 B.C.E.). The underground portion of thesetombs was lined with wood protected by a surroundingwall of mud brick. Some of the twelve known burialshad more than one room, and some were lined withgreen faience tiles—an early glazed material. In later erassuch tiles resembled bundles of reeds that formed theearliest sorts of temporary buildings built by the Egyptians.Many Egyptologists assume that the Egyptiansused these tiles in a similar way at the Umm el Gaabburials. Builders probably intended the entire undergroundburial to reproduce the king’s house on earth sothat he would have a home in the next world. Thus thispattern of designing the burial after houses on earth beganwith the very earliest royal tombs. Above ground wasa platform, built of brick. The platform was marked bya stele (an upright slab of stone), that was inscribed withthe king’s name. Similar but smaller tombs designed forArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 7