Climate and Material
Locality has always been a determining factor, particularly in architecture where the material available is of necessity utilised, and in most cases is the one best suited to the climatic conditions; for instance, where wood abounds we find it successfully employed.
Climate is also largely responsible for architectural form. In the North, owing to heavy snows, the roofs are high-pitched. The early Egyptian buildings were of mud and wattle, the readiest material to hand, and form ample protection from the sun in a practically rainless district. It is interesting to note that the character of these structures was imparted to their later work in stone. This was used in the most important buildings, and was readily obtainable from the Nubian quarries and transported down the Nile on rafts.