The architectural designs of the ancient Egyptian period are very popular. The best illustrations of the architectural designs are the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Great Sphinx of Giza or even Egyptian designs on pieces of pottery and stone. During this period, sun-baked mud brick and stone were used as building materials.

Since the Old Kingdom period, the stone was used for building only tombs and temples and bricks for royal palaces and fortresses. The architecture on the Royal tombs was given importance since the early period. The architecture of the Old and Middle Kingdom is very unique. Places of worship were given attention. There was a separate architectural design for religion and funeral purposes.

Egyptian Designs for Military Architecture

The military architecture also formed a part of the ancient Egyptian architecture. The military architecture prospered in the Ayyubite’s era. Fortresses and towers of the Middle Kingdom are examples of this form of architecture. Buildings for charity developed as a new form of architecture. Other examples of architecture are the Karnak temple complex and the Luxor temple.

Tombs

Another interesting aspect of ancient Egyptian designs was the tombs. The mummified bodies of the deceased were kept in the tombs. The first tomb to be used was a simple hole in the ground. This hole was large enough to keep the deceased in it along with some goods. This type of tomb was used by lower classes.

Mastaba tombs were simple tombs originally used for guarding the burial of Kings. The body would be buried in large caskets and a narrow shaft was built which led to the place of burial. A false door was a crucial part of the decoration of this tomb. The false door had inscriptions and pictures of things associated with the deceased during his life.

Another type of tomb was the Six step pyramid built in 2700 BC. It became a pyramid in its true sense around 2500 BC. As the name suggests, it has six steps that lead to the top and the pyramid has four flat, triangular sides without steps. Valley of Kings was another type of tomb. The famous tomb of Tutankhamun lies here.

Houses were made of mud brick. Early houses were constructed by mixing mud and straw which was dried. The structure of the house depended upon the capacity of its maker. Some People used stone as the building material to construct their homes. Houses made from stone proved to be long-lasting as compared to the mud-bricks.

Homes

The rich or the nobles lived in villas. The villas were big houses consisting of at-least 25-30 rooms. There was a family room, guest room, store room, bathrooms, etc in each of the villas. The houses had a front and a back door about four feet off the ground. The house of the peasants and poor people was smaller than the villa.

The homes of the rich had tiled floors and painted walls. All the houses had flat roofs. Furniture did not form a part of the house as it does today. The rich people had beds and mattresses, while the poor used straw mattresses or rug to sleep on. The Egyptian people used reed baskets to store their things.

All the ancient Egyptian houses had windows which were constructed at a height so that sunlight does not enter through them. The windows were rectangular in shape and were covered with linen. The houses were coated with a white wash. This helped reduce the temperature of the house.

Lamps made from pottery or stone bowls consisting of palm-nut oil were used for lighting. The wick was made of flax or even papyrus. The Egyptians had decorated lamp stands shaped like columns. Bathrooms and toilets were a common feature in all the houses.