It has been already remarked that, with scarcely an exception, all the pyramids are on the west side of the Nile, all the obelisks on the east; with regard to the former class of monument, this probably arose from a law of their existence, the western side of the Nile being in all ages preferred for sepulture, but with regard to the latter it seems to be accidental. Memphis doubtless possessed many monuments of this class, and there is reason to believe that the western temples of Thebes were also similarly adorned. They are, however, monuments easily broken; and, from their form, so singularly useful for many building purposes, that it is not to be wondered at if many of them have disappeared during the centuries that have elapsed since the greater number of them were erected.
Domestic Architecture.
Except one small royal pavilion at Medeenet Habû, no structure now remains in Egypt that can fairly be classed as a specimen of the domestic architecture of the ancient Egyptians; but at the same time we possess, in paintings and sculptures, so many illustrations of their domestic habits, so many plans, elevations, and views, and even models of their dwellings of every class, that we have no difficulty in forming a correct judgment not only of the style, but of the details, of their domestic architecture.
Although their houses exhibited nothing of the solidity and monumental character which distinguished their temples and palaces, they seem in their own way to have been scarcely less beautiful. They were of course on a smaller scale, and built of more perishable materials, but they appear to have been as carefully finished, and decorated with equal taste to that displayed in the greater works. We know also, from the tombs that remain to us, that, although the government of Egypt was a despotism of the strictest class, still the wealth of the land was pretty equally diffused among all classes, and that luxury and splendour were by no means confined either to the royal family or within the precincts of the palace. There is thus every reason to believe that the cities which have passed away were worthy of the temples that adorned them, and that the streets were as splendid and as tasteful as the public buildings themselves, and displayed, though in a more ephemeral form, the same wealth and power which still astonish us in the great monuments that remain.
Mr. Maspero, in his work on Egyptian archæology, translated by Miss Amelia B. Edwards[[59]] devotes a chapter to the description of the existing remains of private dwellings and military architecture. The examples of the former are of comparatively small buildings, and were invariably built in crude or unburnt brick; in the neighbourhood of Memphis Mr. Maspero found walls still standing, from 30 to 40 ft. in height. The plans which are delineated on the walls of the tombs of the 18th dynasty enable us to judge of the extent and magnificence of the more important examples. These as a rule would seem to have features which are evidently derived from temple architecture, that is to say, the palaces are preceded by pylons and the courts enclosed and surrounded with porticoes. Of military architecture the oldest fortresses are those at Abydos, El Kab, and Semneh; at Abydos the earliest example consists of a parallelogram of crude brickwork measuring 410 ft. by 223 ft. The walls, which now stand from 24 to 36 ft. high, have lost somewhat of their original height: they are about 6 ft. thick at the top and were not built in uniform layers, but in huge vertical panels easily distinguished by the nature of the brickwork. In one division the course of the bricks is strictly horizontal, in the next it is slightly concave, and forms a very flat reversed arch, of which the extrados rests on the ground. The alternation of these two methods is regularly repeated. The object of this arrangement was possibly to resist earthquake shocks.
34. Pavilion at Medeenet Habû. Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
35. View of Pavilion at Medeenet Habû.
No building can form a greater contrast with the temple behind it than does the little pavilion erected at Medeenet Habû by Rameses, the first king of the 19th dynasty. As will be seen by the annexed plan (Woodcut No. [34]), it is singularly broken and varied in its outline, surrounding a small court in the shape of a cross. It is 3 storeys in height, and, properly speaking, consists of only 3 rooms on each floor, connected together by long winding passages. There is reason, however, to believe that this is only a fragment of the building, and foundations exist which render it probable that the whole was originally a square of the width of the front, and had other chambers, probably only in wood or brick, besides those we now find. This would hardly detract from the playful character of the design, and when coloured, as it originally was, and with its battlements or ornaments complete, it must have formed a composition as pleasing as it is unlike our usual conceptions of Egyptian art.