page_title: List of Egyptian inventions and discoveries
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: List of Egyptian inventions and discoveries / Ancient Egypt / Arts and Architecture / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Mammisi, Isis Temple, Philae Island, Egypt Français&#160;: Facade est du mammisi, temple d'Isis, île de Philaé, Égypte
context_page_description: Egyptian inventions and discoveries are objects, processes or techniques which owe their existence either partially or entirely to an Egyptian person. Often, things which are discovered for the first time, are also called "inventions", and in many cases, there is no clear line between the two. Below is a list of such inventions.
context_section_description: Mastaba – Was a predecessor to the Egyptian pyramid. Kings of the Early Dynastic Period were buried there.
  Column – In ancient Egyptian architecture as early as 2600 BC, the architect Imhotep made use of stone columns whose surface was carved to reflect the organic form of bundled reeds, like papyrus, lotus and palm. In later Egyptian architecture faceted cylinders were also common. Their form is thought to derive from archaic reed-built shrines. Carved from stone, the columns were highly decorated with carved and painted hieroglyphs, texts, ritual imagery and natural motifs. Egyptian columns are famously present in the Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak (circa 1224 BC), where 134 columns are lined up in sixteen rows, with some columns reaching heights of 24 metres.
  Hypostyle Architecture
  Capital – The two earliest Egyptian capitals of importance are those based on the lotus and papyrus plants.
  Pylon – Pylons were often decorated with scenes emphasizing a king's authority since it was the public face of a cult building. On the first pylon of the temple of Isis at Philae, the pharaoh is shown slaying his enemies while Isis, Horus and Hathor look on.  Other examples of pylons can be seen in Karnak, Luxor, and Edfu.
  Obelisk – The earliest temple obelisk still in its original position is the 68-foot (20.7 m) 120-metric-ton (130-short-ton) red granite Obelisk of Senusret I of the XIIth Dynasty at Al-Matariyyah in modern Heliopolis.
  Gardens – Gardens appeared in Egypt during the Old Kingdom. There were many types of gardens in Ancient Egypt such as: pleasure gardens, Palace gardens, Temple gardens and Funerary gardens.
  Cavetto – Ancient Egyptian architecture made special use of large cavetto mouldings as a cornice, with only a short fillet (plain vertical face) above, and a torus moulding (convex semi-circle) below.  This cavetto cornice is sometimes also known as an "Egyptian cornice", "hollow and roll" or "gorge cornice", and has been suggested to be a reminiscence in stone architecture of the primitive use of bound bunches of reeds as supports for buildings, the weight of the roof bending their tops out.
caption: Columns with Hathoric capitals
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