Ancient Egyptian architectural design: A study of the harmonic system (University of California publications Near Eastern Studies Volume 4)

For the student of Egyptology, or for that matter, anyone interested in the technical/creative source of the wondrous ancient Egyptian works of high architecture, this book is an essential read. It establishes a convincing argument for the existence of precise mathematical underpinnings for the design and construction of ancient Egyptian temples. A method analogous to an arithmetic progression, only using higher mathematical functions, is proposed to explain the idea of the seemingly progressive, organic expansion of Karnak.While it is helpful to have some elementary knowledge of algebra and geometry to follow some of the detailed explanations, it is not an essential requirement. What emerges from the premise of this book is the firm conclusion that the ancient Egyptian people produced these marvelous structures from their own technologically unique and elaborately creative genius. At times mathematical attribution becomes confusing, in that an ancient Egyptian arithmetic progression is referred to as the "Fibonacci series." Obviously, Karnak was completed several thousand years before the birth of Leonardo Fibonacci (c. 1170 AD). Consequently, the knowledge of how to use the series in architecture is strictly an Egyptian discovery. The ultimate intent of the book is to explain in meticulous detail the Egyptian mastery of architectural proportion, massive architectural scale, visual harmony and multi-generational stages of "growth by accretion." Knowledge of how these ancient structures acquired their form as products of mathematical formulae, as well as the sequence of their additive creation, is skillfully presented. At work in the construction of these monumental structures, is the use of phi, the "golden mean" and the 3-4-5 triangle. Complete with ample illustrations and scale prints of the most famous of the ancient Egyptian temples and funerary sites, the "harmonic system" is thoroughly explained to the reader.