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The Role of Environmental Factors in the Early Development of Egyptian Stone Architecture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 July 2020

Jun Yi Wong Open the ORCID record for Jun Yi Wong [Opens in a new window]
Jun Yi Wong*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, 4 Bancroft Avenue, TorontoONM5S 1C1, Canada Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Much detail regarding the early development of stone architecture in Egypt remains unclear. Prevailing studies tend to focus on the contribution of religious and socio-economic factors, but the role of environmental elements should not be understated. For much of the First Dynasty, innovation in stone architecture was driven by developments in the private realm, a result of favourable geology in Lower Egypt. Meanwhile, multiple strands of evidence suggest that Egypt experienced wetter climatic conditions during the Early Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom. This would have had major implications on both the production of mudbrick and the short-term durability of mudbrick structures. It is argued that these environmental factors played a key role in facilitating and accelerating the rise of stone architecture in Egypt.

Type
Research Article
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 53 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research

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