Architecture and mathematics in ancient Egypt / Corinna Rossi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rossi, Corinna.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Architecture, Ancient--Egypt.

Architecture, Ancient.

Egypt.

Architecture--Mathematics--Egypt.

Architecture.

Architecture--Mathematics.

Pyramids--Egypt.

Pyramids.

Physical Description:

xxii, 280 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Summary:

In this fascinating new study, architect and Egyptologist Corinna Rossi analyses the relationship between mathematics and architecture in ancient Egypt by exploring the use of numbers and geometrical figures in ancient architectural projects and buildings. While previous architectural studies have searched for abstract 'universal rules' to explain the history of Egyptian architecture, Rossi attempts to reconcile the different approaches of archaeologists, architects and historians of mathematics into a single coherent picture. Using a study of a specific group of monuments, the pyramids, and placing them in cultural and historical context, Rossi argues that theory and practice of construction must be considered as a continuum, not as two separated fields, in order to allow the original planning process of a building to re-emerge. Highly illustrated with plans, diagrams and figures, this book is essential reading for all scholars of ancient Egypt and the architecture of ancient cultures.

Contents:

Part I Proportions in ancient Egyptian architecture

Introduction to Part I: Harmony and proportions in architecture 2

1 In search of 'the rule' for ancient Egyptian architecture 7

Triangles and other figures 7

Three triangles for ancient Egypt 7

Viollet-le-Duc, Babin and the primeval pyramid 11

Choisy and the introduction of the Golden Section 16

The Golden Section 23

The origin and definitions of the Golden Section 23

The Golden Section and ancient Egyptian art and architecture 28

The theory of Alexander Badawy 32

2 Mathematics and architecture in ancient Egypt 57

Ancient Egyptian mathematics 57

The mathematical sources and their language 57

On [phis], [pi] and other anachronisms 60

Intention, coincidence or tendency? 68

Triangles and architecture 68

Psychological experiments and involuntary trends 78

Cases from ancient Egypt 80

Conclusion to Part I: Ancient mathematics and practical operations 87

Part II Ancient Egyptian sources: construction and representation of space

Introduction to Part II: Tradition and variations in ancient Egyptian art and architecture 92

3 Documents on the planning and building process 96

Architectural drawings 96

Representations of buildings and working drawings 96

Drawings with written dimensions: the problem of the scale 101

Full-size geometrical sketches of architectural details 113

The use of square grids and the idea of a module 122

Architectural models 128

Votive objects 128

Working models 135

Projects and works in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasty royal tombs 139

Documents on the works 139

Recording the progress: from the project to the survey 142

4 Foundation rituals 148

Foundation ceremonies 148

The ritual sequence 148

Cords and geometry 154

Building Texts 161

The dimensions of the primeval temples 161

The dimensions of the temples at Edfu and Dendera 166

Conclusion to Part II: From the plan to the building 174

Part III The geometry of pyramids

Introduction to Part III: Combining the knowledge 178

5 Symbolic shape and constructional problems 180

The form 180

Pyramidal form and solar cult 180

Benben and benbenet 182

As high as possible 184

The technique 185

Seked, side-length, diagonals and corners 185

Methods for obtaining the slope 188

Dimensions and proportions 196

6 The proportions of pyramids 200

Analysing true pyramids 200

Numerological theories 200

Lauer's simple ratios 202

A list of true pyramids 204

Available data 204

Pyramidia as alternative sources 205

7 Pyramids and triangles 212

Geometrical models 212

Approximation and seked 212

Equilateral and b = h triangles 214

Seked 5 1/2 palms, generally called 14/11 triangle 215

Pythagorean triplets 216

The evolution of the form 221

Old Kingdom pyramids 221

Middle Kingdom pyramids 228

New Kingdom and Late Period pyramids 231

Conclusion to Part III: Interpreting the slope of pyramids 236.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-270) and index.

ISBN:

0521829542

OCLC:

51900453

Online:

Publisher description