ashlar masonry
carefully cut and regularly shaped blocks of stone used in construction, fitted together without mortar.
atlantid
a male figure that functions as a supporting column.
axial plan
the horizontal arrangement of the parts of a building or of the buildings and streets of a city or town, or a drawing or diagram showing such an arrangement. In this plan, the parts of a building are organized longitudinally, or along a given axis; in a c
ben-ben
a pyramidal stone; a fetish of the Egyptian god Re.
block statue
in ancient Egyptian sculpture, a cubic stone image with simplified body parts.
canon
a rule, for example, of proportion. The ancient Greeks considered beauty to be a matter of "correct" proportion and sought a ____ of proportion, for the human figure and for buildings.
capital
the uppermost member of a column, serving as a transition from the shaft to the lintel. In classical architecture, the form of the capital varies with the order.
caryatid
a female figure that functions as a supporting column.
clerestory
the fenestrated part of a building that rises above the roofs of the other parts. The oldest known ______ are Egyptian. In Roman basilicas and medieval churches, ______ are the windows that form the nave's uppermost level below the timber ceiling or the v
colonnade
a series or row of columns, usually spanned by lintels.
column
a vertical, weight-carrying architectural member, circular in cross-section and consisting of a base (sometimes omitted), a shaft, and a capital.
course
in masonry construction, a horizontal row of stone blocks.
engaged column
a half-round column attached to a wall.
fluting
vertical channeling, roughly semicircular in cross-section and used principally on columns and pilasters.
hieroglyphic
a system of writing using symbols or pictures.
hypostyle hall
a hall with a roof supported by columns.
ka
in ancient Egypt, the immortal human life force.
mastaba
Arabic, "bench." An ancient Egyptian rectangular brick or stone structure with sloping sides erected over a subterranean tomb chamber connected with the outside by a shaft.
mortuary temple
in Egyptian architecture, a temple erected for the worship of a deceased pharaoh.
mummification
a technique used by ancient Egyptians to preserve human bodies so that they may serve as the eternal home of the immortal ka.
necropolis
Greek, "city of the dead." A large burial area or cemetery.
nemes
in ancient Egypt, the linen headdress worn by the pharaoh, with the uraeus cobra of kingship on the front.
palette
a thin board with a thumb hole at one end on which an artist lays and mixes colors; any surface so used. Also, the colors or kinds of colors characteristically used by an artist. In ancient Egypt, a slate slab used for preparing makeup.
papyrus
a plant native to Egypt and adjacent lands used to make paperlike writing material; also, the material or any writing on it.
pharaoh
an ancient Egyptian king.
pylon
the wide entrance gateway of an Egyptian temple, characterized by its sloping walls.
serdab
a small concealed chamber in an Egyptian mastaba for the statue of the deceased.
sphinx
a mythical Egyptian beast with the body of a lion and the head of a human.
sunken relief
in sculpture, figures projecting from a background of which they are part. In this type, the artist cuts the design into the surface so that the highest projecting parts of the image are no higher than the surface itself.
uraeus
an Egyptian cobra; one of the emblems of pharaonic kingship.
valley temple
the temple closest to the Nile River associated with each of the Great Pyramids at Gizeh in ancient Egypt.