DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0045
EARLY EGYPT AND THE OLD KINGDOM 2.1
offerings of food and drink were kept in store-chambers, and also
the rich ceremonial vessels (Pl. 7BJ for use in the daily rites;
(c) the covered causeway leading over the cliffs; and (d') the
valley-temple, or vestibule of the causeway, down in the valley.
Let us look more closely at the valley-temple (Pl. 3 b). It is
TEMPLE
Fig. 14. Plan of a Pyramid Complex.
built on the lintel system, that is, the upright supports are
bridged over with horizontal beams, just as a child would build
a house with rectangular blocks. Here the supports are huge red
granite pillars, each a monolith, finely proportioned, skillfully cut
and polished, and entirely devoid of decoration. The lintels are
of the same material and finish. Alabaster slabs cover the floor,
while seated statues are ranged alongside, the only embellish-
ment. This interior, protected from the hot sun by the great
blocks, must have been cool and dim. It is lighted by a few
rays filtering in from above, slantwise. This is because the
pillars of the central aisle are higher than the side walls, and the
roof over the central part, therefore, at a higher level than
over the sides. In the vertical
space left between these two
levels are slits in the stone,
through which the light comes,
forming an embryonic clerestory
(Fig. 2.5), a structural feature
that became so characteristic of
Fig. 15. Valley-Temple of Khafre.
Section showing the clerestory.
(After Hoelscher)
early Christian churches. With
its plain, simple dignity, it is a remarkably impressive room,
harmonizing with the simple massive tomb to which it led.
In the limestone cliffs over which the covered causeway led was
a rocky projection which prevented the architect from building
the passage at right angles with the pyramids. Perhaps unsightly
too, this cliff had proved to be nothing but an obstacle, until it
offerings of food and drink were kept in store-chambers, and also
the rich ceremonial vessels (Pl. 7BJ for use in the daily rites;
(c) the covered causeway leading over the cliffs; and (d') the
valley-temple, or vestibule of the causeway, down in the valley.
Let us look more closely at the valley-temple (Pl. 3 b). It is
TEMPLE
Fig. 14. Plan of a Pyramid Complex.
built on the lintel system, that is, the upright supports are
bridged over with horizontal beams, just as a child would build
a house with rectangular blocks. Here the supports are huge red
granite pillars, each a monolith, finely proportioned, skillfully cut
and polished, and entirely devoid of decoration. The lintels are
of the same material and finish. Alabaster slabs cover the floor,
while seated statues are ranged alongside, the only embellish-
ment. This interior, protected from the hot sun by the great
blocks, must have been cool and dim. It is lighted by a few
rays filtering in from above, slantwise. This is because the
pillars of the central aisle are higher than the side walls, and the
roof over the central part, therefore, at a higher level than
over the sides. In the vertical
space left between these two
levels are slits in the stone,
through which the light comes,
forming an embryonic clerestory
(Fig. 2.5), a structural feature
that became so characteristic of
Fig. 15. Valley-Temple of Khafre.
Section showing the clerestory.
(After Hoelscher)
early Christian churches. With
its plain, simple dignity, it is a remarkably impressive room,
harmonizing with the simple massive tomb to which it led.
In the limestone cliffs over which the covered causeway led was
a rocky projection which prevented the architect from building
the passage at right angles with the pyramids. Perhaps unsightly
too, this cliff had proved to be nothing but an obstacle, until it