Ancient Egyptian Architecture In 15 Monuments

REVIEW BY JPP This relatively slim volume (with only 109 pages) is full of insightful analysis, tracing the development of architecture throughout the entire span of ancient Egyptian civilisation, from the Predynastic Period to the Graeco-Roman era. The author has selected 15 examples of buildings to illustrate major changesin architectural design, and in each case shows how they reflect the corresponding changes in the country’s political situation. For example, he points out that the per-wer shrines constructed in the Predynastic Period took the form of a predatory animal, so harnessing animal power on behalf of the ruler to whom the shrine belonged. Then, when Egypt became unified