THE COLUMNS OF ANCIENT EGYPT

When we think of Egyptian temples, one of the principle architectural elements that comes to mind is the column. In fact, it is difficult to imagine a temple such as Karnak without thinking of its columned halls, and what many visitors will take away with them is visions of pylons, obelisks, statues and columns. Column shafts were often decorated with colorful depictions in painted, carved relief, and remain some of the most interesting architectural elements in Egyptian structures.

Most people who have any familiarity with ancient Egypt will immediately recognize the form of Lotus and Papyrus style columns, but actually not less than about 30 different column forms have been isolated from temples of the various periods. Most of the time, the column shafts were copied in stone of supports made from plants, resembling either a trunk or a bundle of stems of smaller diameter. Also, the shape of the capital, the top of the column, had a plant theme as well, and at the transition of the capital to the shaft, five bands might be found representing the lashing which held together the bundle of stems of which the earliest columns were made. Above the capital, a low abacus usually connected the column to the architraves placed above it. However, there are exceptions to all of this. At least prior to the Graeco-Roman Period, we also find columns with tent pole and the goddess Hathor and other god or goddess motifs.

Actually, the type of column was usually, but not always, dictated by its placement within the temple, and therefore most temples actually employ more than one design. Most of the time, "Bud" style columns were used in the outer temple courts, particularly away from the central axis of the inner temple. "Open" style capitals were most often found in the temples' central areas. However, as time passed into the late antiquities period, there was considerably more variation in these themes. In the Graeco-Roman period, column styles became especially varied, and many Egyptian designs were exported to Greece and Rome, where they underwent further evolutionary changes.

Tent Pole style columns in the Festival Temple of Tuthmosis III at Karnak

In the very earliest of Egyptian history, columns were often made from one large monolithic block. However, in all later periods, columns were usually built up in sectional blocks that were then first shaped and then smoothed from the top down. They were then normally painted, and afterwards, were difficult to tell that they were not cut from a single piece of stone.

Major Types of Columns and/or Capitals

Plant Style Columns

Fluted Column

This early form of column first appears in the Step Pyramid enclosure of Djoser, but the form mostly died out by the New Kingdom. However, their use continued in Nubia. These columns resembled and represented bundled reeds or plant stems, but during later periods, sometimes took the form of a polygonal column shaft.

What is probably most interesting about fluted columns in Egypt is that they very probably represent the first columns made from stone in the world. While the fluted columns may have lost their popularity as an independent style many of the future columns incorporated design elementsfrom them, in effect, simply incorporating a more complex capital .

Palmiform Columns

The Palmiform Columns were also one of the earliest styles of columns in Egyptian temple architecture. Examples of this type of column werefound, for example, in the 5th Dynasty pyramid mortuary complex of Unas. However, after the 5th Dynasty, these types of columns are rare, but continued to occasionally be used. Mostly we find examples during later periods at the Taharga temple in Kawa in Upper Nubia, and in some temples dating to the Graeco-Roman Period. However, they may also be found in the Ramesseum. There, at the inner side of the court, are two rows of ten columns. The four middle columns in each row are Papyriform columns while the others are Palmiform. These columns obviously had a palm tree motif, but did not actually represent the tree itself, but rather eight palm fronds lashed to a pole.

Lotiform Columns

Lotiform columns were perhaps used in non-secular buildings then in the temples. However, this is not to say that they were not also sometimes employed in religious architecture. The simple, lotus bud form of the column enjoyed widespread use in the Old and Middle Kingdom temples. Its use declined during the New Kingdom, but again found popularity during the Graeco-Roman Period. This column usually has ribbed shafts representing the the stems of the Lotus, and capitals in the form of a closed (bud) or open lotus flower. Just as a side note, Lotus plants specifically are not present in the earlier times of Egyptian antiquity. What we so often refer to as "Lotus" was in fact a type of water lily.

Papyriform Columns

There are several variations in this type of column. Some have circular shafts representing a single plant, while others have ribbed shafts that represent a plant with multiple stems. The capitals could be closed (buds) or open in a wide, bell-shaped form. During the New Kingdom, the shafts of most papyriform columns taper upwards from bases decorated with triangular patterns representing stylized stem sheaths. The earliest examples we know of the circular shaft style columns can be found in Djoser's Step Pyramid enclosure at Saqqara. However, these are not free standing columns, but incorporated into other structures. Though the circular shaft form of the column seems to have been used throughout Egyptian history, they saw widespread use during the New Kingdom, along with both open and closed capital styles.

We first find the multi-stemmed form of this column employed during the 5th Dynasty, but it was also frequently used during the New Kingdom.18th Dynasty columns are particularly fine, with considerable artistic detail. They became more stylized by the 19th Dynasty.

Coniform Columns

This column style apparently quickly died out after their use in Djoser's Step Pyramid enclosure wall. It has not been found in later temples. The style is characterized by a fluted shaft surmounted by a capital representing the branches of a conifer tree.

Tent Pole Columns

Though we probably know of other applications of this style from documentation, apparently the only surviving, known examples are found in the Festival Temple of Tuthmosis III at Karnak. It is possible that very early examples of the style were also constructed of brick. There is little doubt that this type of column made of stone was rare. The column is basically a representation in stone of the wooden "poles" used to support light structures such as tents, and sometimes shrines, kiosks or ships cabins. Why this tent pole design was used is perhaps somewhat of a mystery, though they certainly reflect back on the earliest of Egypt's structures and their wood counterparts. It is sometimes believed that the specific columns in Tuthmosis III temple were modeled after actual wooden poles of his military tent.

Campaniform Columns

Considerable variety existed in this style of columns. They sometimes took the shape of a floral column or pillar. Some had circular, ribbed, or square shafts (pillars). They all had some form of flower shaped capital. Two of the best known of these are located in the Hall of Annals of Tuthmosis III at Karnak. At this temple, the structures take the shape of a pillar. They include two styles of columns, with one representing the heraldic plant of Lower (northern) Egypt, the Papyrus, and the other type representing the symbolic plant of Upper (southern) Egypt, the Lotus. They are positioned symbolically on the northern and southern sides of the hall. Such placement was not unusual, and we see many examples of columns positioned in the north and south of courtyards with northern and southern motifs. These specific types of columns are rare, but their more stylized forms appeared most frequently in the Graeco-Roman Period.

Composite Columns

These columns were common during the Graeco-Roman Period. Composite Columns were probably an evolutionary extension of the campaniform columns with capitals decorations including floral designs of any number of real, or even imagined plants. Their variation could be endless, and they became so utterly stylized that the original floral motifs could hardly be recognized. In fact, this type of column continued to evolve in Greece and Rome, becoming very different than the Egyptian variety.

No Plant Style Columns

While natural plant columns were the most common in Egypt, other column and pillar types could represent deities or their attributes. Examples of these include:

Hathoric Columns

This type of column never appeared prior to the Middle Kingdom, and probably originated in that period. They are usually instantly recognizable by their capital in the shape of the cow-headed goddess, Hathor. They often had a simple, round shaft. All considered, they were fairly common, and examples may be found in the Temple of Nefertari at Abu Simbel and within the hypostyle hall of the Ptolemaic (Greek) temple at Dendera. The Dendera columns are probably the best known, where all twenty-four columns have the head of this goddess on all four sides. We also know of several other temples with Hathor columns, including the temple of Nekhebet at el Kab. Sistrum columns are also associated with Hathor, but represent in the capitals and shafts the handles and rattles of the sistrum.

Osiride Pillars

All examples of this type of pillar are engaged, meaning that they are part of another architectural element. They appear to also have originated in the Middle Kingdom, and and take the form of a statue of the god Osiris on the pillar's front surface.

Lotiform Columns	Hathor Columns at Dendera
A Closed (bud) Style Capital	An example of Open Capital engaged Columns
Osiride Pillars, normally identifiable by the crossed arms

BY JIMMY DUNN

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every thing about Mummification

every thing about Mummification

Mummification

the ancient Egyptians believed in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. This belief was rooted in what they observed each day. The sun fell into the western horizon each evening and was reborn the next morning in the east. New life sprouted from grains planted in the earth, and the moon waxed and waned. As long as order was maintained, everything was highly dependable and life after death could be achieved provided certain conditions were met. For example, the body had to be preserved through mummification and given a properly furnished tomb with everything needed for life in the afterworld.

Mummification, the preservation of the body, was described in the ancient Pyramid Texts. With the death of Osiris, god of the dead, the cosmos fell into chaos and the tears of the gods turned into materials used to mummify his body. These materials included honey, resins and incense.
Before mummification evolved, the corpse was placed in a sleeping fetal position and put into a pit, along with personal items such as clay pots and jewellery. The pit was covered with sand, which absorbed all the water from the body, thus preserving it. Burial pits were eventually lined with mud bricks and roofed over, and the deceased were wrapped in animal skins or interred in pottery, basket ware or wooden coffins. With these "improvements", decay was hastened because the body no longer came in contact with the hot sand. To solve this problem, the internal organs of the deceased were removed and drying agents were used to mummify the body.

Canopic jars. One of Horus's four sons was represented on the lid of each jar. The human-headed Imsety looked after the liver; Hapy, a baboon, guarded the lungs; Duamutef, a jackal, protected the stomach; and Qebehsenuef, a falcon, cared for the intestines. Royal Ontario Museum

The practice of mummification began in Egypt in 2400 B.C. and continued into the Graeco-Roman Period. During the Old Kingdom, it was believed that only pharaohs could attain immortality. Around 2000 B.C., attitudes changed, however: everyone could live in the afterworld as long as the body was mummified and the proper elements were placed in the tomb. But since mummification was expensive, only the wealthy were able to take advantage of it. Although mummification was not a strict requirement for resurrection in the next world, it was certainly regarded as a highly desirable means of attaining it. The prayers in the Book of the Dead were intended to help the deceased make a successful transition to the afterlife.
The art of mummification was perfected in the Third Intermediate Period (1070-712 B.C.). Around 450 B.C. (Late Period), the Greek historian Herodotus documented the process:
"As much of the brain as it is possible is extracted through the nostrils with an iron hook, and what the hook cannot reach is dissolved with drugs. Next, the flank is slit open . . . and the entire contents of the abdomen removed. The cavity is then thoroughly cleansed and washed out . . . Then it is filled with pure crushed myrrh, cassia, and all other aromatic substances, except frankincense. [The incision] is sewn up, and then the body is placed in natron, covered entirely for 70 days, never longer. When this period . . . is ended, the body is washed and then wrapped from the head to the feet in linen which has been cut into strips and smeared on the underside with gum which is commonly used by the Egyptians in the place of glue."
Bob Brier, Egyptian Mummies
Natron, a disinfectant and desiccating agent, was the main ingredient used in the mummification process. A compound of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate (salt and baking soda), natron essentially dried out the corpse. Obtained from dried-up river beds, it was packed around and inside the body in linen bags, and left for 35 to 40 days to draw moisture out of the tissues. By removing the organs and packing the internal cavity with dry natron, the body tissues were preserved. The body was filled with Nile mud, sawdust, lichen and cloth scraps to make it more flexible. Small cooking onions or linen pads were sometimes used to replace the eyes. Beginning in the third dynasty, the internal organs (lungs, stomach, liver and intestines) were removed, washed with palm wine and spices, and stored in four separate canopic jars made of limestone, calcite or clay. Prior to this, the abdominal contents were removed, wrapped and buried in the floor of the tomb. However, the heart was left in the body because it was considered the centre of intelligence.

Materials used in mummification: linen sawdust lichen beeswax resin natron onion Nile mud linen pads frankincense	Mummification tools: Brain hooks (replicas based on examples from the Rijksmuseum, Leiden) Oil jar (Royal Ontario Museum 948.1.17) Funnel (replica) Embalmer's knife (Smithsonian Institution 221.389)

The corpse was then washed, wrapped in linen (as many as 35 layers) and soaked in resins and oils. This gave the skin a blackened appearance resembling pitch. The term "mummification" comes from the Arabic word mummiya, which mean bitumen, a pitch substance that was first used in the preservation process during the Late Period. The family of the deceased supplied the burial linen, which was made from old bed sheets or used clothing.
In the Middle Kingdom, it became standard practice to place a mask over the face of the deceased. The majority of these were made of cartonnage (papyrus or linen coated with gesso, a type of plaster), but wood and, in the case of royal mummies, silver and gold, were also used. The most famous mask is Tutankhamun's.

	Mummy mask Wood covered with painted gesso 500-300 B.C. Canadian Museum of Civilization XXIV-C-63
	Mummy mask Moulded and painted linen Royal Ontario Museum 910.15.3

The ancient embalmers used very few tools, and once their work was completed, they sometimes left them in or near the tomb. The basic tool kit included a knife to make the abdominal incision, hooked bronze rods to extract brain matter, a wooden adze-like tool to remove internal organs, and a funnel to pour resins into the cranial cavity through the nose.

The Egyptians mummified animals as well as humans -- everything from bulls and hawks to ichneumons and snakes. Some have been found in large quantities, while others are rare. Many species were raised in the temples to be sacrificed to the gods. Autopsies on cats show that most had had their necks broken when they were about two years old. Cats were highly valued members of the ancient Egyptian household. They destroyed the rats and mice that would otherwise infest granaries, and assisted in hunting birds and fishing. In the nineteenth century, vast quantities of cat mummies were sent to England to be used as fertilizer.
This practice reached its height during the eleventh and twelfth centuries B.C. in Thebes, where the present-day cities of Luxor and Karnak are located. The purpose of mummification was to keep the body intact so it could be transported to a spiritual afterlife.

11 أغسطس, 2011

the mummification process

mummification process
An important man has died and his body needs to be prepared for burial.
The process of mummification has two stages. First, the embalming of the body. Then, the wrapping and burial of the body


Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the desert. However, they realised that bodies placed in coffins decayed when they were not exposed to the hot, dry sand of the desert.Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so they would remain lifelike. The process included embalming the bodies and wrapping them in strips of linen. Today we call this process mummification


Story

Learn about how bodies were mummified


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Embalming the body
First, his body is taken to the tent known as 'ibu' or the 'place of purification'. There the embalmers wash his body with good-smelling palm wine and rinse it with water from the Nile
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One of the embalmer's men makes a cut in the left side of the body and removes many of the internal organs. It is important to remove these because they are the first part of the body to decompose.
The liver, lungs, stomach and intestines are washed and packed in natron which will dry them out. The heart is not taken out of the body because it is the centre of intelligence and feeling and the man will need it in the afterlife.
A long hook is used to smash the brain and pull it out through the nose.



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The body is now covered and stuffed with natron which will dry it out. All of the fluids, and rags from the embalming process will be saved and buried along with the body.

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After forty days the body is washed again with water from the Nile. Then it is covered with oils to help the skin stay elastic.

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The dehydrated internal organs are wrapped in linen and returned to the body. The body is stuffed with dry materials such as sawdust, leaves and linen so that it looks lifelike.

Finally the body is covered again with good-smelling oils. It is now ready to be wrapped in linen.
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In the past, when the internal organs were removed from a body they were placed in hollow canopic jars.
Over many years the embalming practices changed and embalmers began returning internal organs to bodies after the organs had been dried in natron. However, solid wood or stone canopic jars were still buried with the mummy to symbolically protect the internal organs.

	Imsety the human-headed god looks after the liver.
Hapy the baboon-headed god looks after the lungs
	Duamutef the jackal-headed god looks after the stomach
Qebehsenuef the falcon-headed god looks after the intestines.

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