Ancient Egypt: House and Garden

Ancient Egyptian accommodation: House and garden Printout For best results save the whole page (pictures included) onto your hard disk, open the page with Word 97 or higher, edit if necessary and print. <a href="../../ifwindow.htm" target="_blank">Search</a> (Opening a new window)		House and Garden The houses According to Diodorus Siculus' somewhat speculative report the first Egyptian dwellings were constructed of reeds, a building technique not completely abandoned by the first century BCE: Traces thereof remain among the herdsmen of Egypt who, to these days, do not have habitations but they are made of reeds, which they consider to be sufficient. Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library After a German translation by Julius Friedrich Wurm, Chapter 46 He explained the fact that Egyptian housing was made of perishable materials in his Historical Library as follows: The inhabitants think little of life on earth; while they put greatest value on the continued existence in glorious memory after death. They call the dwellings of the living 'hostels' given that we dwell in them for a short time only. The tombs of the dead they call 'eternal homes' as they assume their eternal continuation in the underworld. This is the reason they invest little effort in the building of houses; but are eager to furnish their tombs with unsurpassable equipment. Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library After a German translation by Julius Friedrich Wurm, Chapter 51 Since 3800 BCE rectangular houses of about 100 to 125 m² have been built with sun dried bricks. Mud, dredged from the bottom of the Nile and chaff were well mixed, shaped with wooden forms and the soft bricks were dried in the sun becoming nearly as hard as rock. In the hot, almost rainless climate of Egypt adobe (from djeb(et), coptic tob - brick) houses were the most energy and labour efficient buildings. The mansions of the powerful were palatial, even if they were built of the same materials as the dwellings of the commoners. Metjen, a third dynasty official, received from his king among other gifts ...... a house 200 cubits ^[9] long and 200 cubits wide, built and equipped; fine trees were set out, a very large lake was made therein, figs and vines were set out. J. H. Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt Part I, § 173 Foundations were generally non existent. Virgin soil above groundwater level was baked rock hard by the sun and needed just some levelling. In order to build on top of collapsed dwellings, the clay rubble was well watered and let to set and harden. The wall width was about 40 cm for one storey and up to 1.25m for multi-storey buildings. Beams were let into the walls to reinforce them. Ground storey walls were sometimes built of stone, limestone if there were quarries near-by, granite or anything else, if there were decaying temples or other buildings in the neighbourhood that could be dismantled. (Even kings were not above this kind of scavenging. Ramses II had the granite linings of Senusret's temple at Kahun removed.) House with small windows close to the ceiling From the papyrus of Nakht In substantial houses the rooms were arranged around an inner courtyard or on either side of a corridor. The crenellated wall facing the street often had only one opening, the door, though windows might be let into the upper storey walls. Windows were small and covered with shutters or mats in order to keep out the flies, dust, and heat. ^[1]^[11]. Gateways were generally made of stone, even in poorer households. The wooden doors and leaves of double doors could be barred from the inside ^[6]. Keys have been found dating from 1550 BCE onwards, but not the bars they locked. Excavations indicate that a typical worker's house had two to four rooms on the ground floor, an enclosed yard, which acted as a kitchen, and two cellars for storage. Niches in the walls held religious objects. Terracotta soul-house with stair Middle Kingdom Source: BMFA 1908 The flat roof served as additional living space and for storage ^[3]. It was reached by an open stair case. The town houses of the common people were usually two to three stories high. The ground floor was often reserved for businesses, while the upper floors provided living space for the family. Many people slept on the roof during the summer to keep cool. Cooking was also often done on the roof. Finer houses had reception rooms and private quarters, while some even had bathrooms and toilets. Toilet seats were made of limestone ^[2]. Others used toilet stools] Households disposed of their sewage in pits, in the river or in the streets ^[10]. Herodotus claimed that they ease themselves in their houses and they eat without in the streets, alleging as reason for this that it is right to do secretly the things that are unseemly though necessary, but those which are not unseemly, in public Herodotus, Histories II 5th century BCE The floors in houses were made of packed earth, which wouldn't do for a bathroom. There, a slab of stone was placed in a corner. Often the adobe walls near-by were coated with stone as well. The water could run off into a bowl which was either emptied by hand, or had holes at its bottom, thus draining slowly into the ground.^[2] Copper pipe drains have been found in an Old Kingdom temple ^[5], but never in a private house. In one mortuary temple at Abusir copper outlets and a lead stopper were found.^[2]. The technology existed, but was too expensive for the common people. Water was drawn from wells, either private or public at least since the New Kingdom. At Pi Ramses a number of public wells have been uncovered, the largest with a diameter of five metres, and a spiral staircase leading to the water. But unless its level was very low, the water was raised with a shadouf into a pond. Water taken from the Nile, or even worse, from a stagnant canal, caused many health problems, from diarrhoeas to bilharziasis, but at least it was generally plentiful. But beyond the flood plain, in the desert areas, the water supply was difficult and the control over it critical. At the Dakhla oasis Nesubast claimed possession of a spring Behold, a [flowing] spring, lying here toward the east [named] 'Rising-of-Re,' which this [cistern] of Re sees, before which thou art; it is a citizen's cistern belonging to Tewhenut, whose mother is Henutenter, my mother. The Dakhla Stela, Dynasty XXII James Henry Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt Part IV § 727 The legal procedure went on for fourteen years. In a warm country like Egypt the need for heating is small and there were no big fireplaces. Still, nights could grow chilly, but a store of firewood could make one's home cosier: He who does not gather wood in summer will not be warm in winter. The Instruction of Ankhsheshonq M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol.3, p.167
Royal couple in a garden XVIII dynasty		The gardens May I walk every day on the banks of the water, may my soul rest on the branches of the trees which I planted, may I refresh myself under the shadow of my sycamore. Egyptian tomb inscription, ca. 1400 BCE Gardens were very popular in Egypt. From an enclosed yard with a few fruit trees to botanical and zoological gardens with exotic trees, ponds, often stocked with fish, and caged animals and birds, gardens are depicted in many tombs. At least in tomb depictions these gardens were very formal ^[7]^[8] with rectangular ponds and trees and vines planted in straight rows. Trees and shrubs were grown for shade and for their fruit: date and other palm trees, sycamore fig, pomegranate, nut trees and jujube. But willows, acacia and tamarisk also found favour, about eighteen kinds of trees were grown by the Egyptians. Flowers such as daisies, cornflowers, mandrakes, roses, irises, myrtle, jasmine, mignonettes, convolvulus, celosia, narcissus, ivy, lychnis, sweet marjoram, henna, bay laurel, small yellow chrysanthemums, and poppies grew among the trees, papyrus and lotus in the pond. Grapes and other vines were often planted. Nature with its trees, plants, flowers was often mentioned and used metaphorically in love poems of the New Kingdom. The mouth of the beloved was likened to a lotus bud, and her breasts to mandragore fruit. Gardens were perfect, ordered and secluded corners of nature, romantic, sensuous places, where lovers could meet. I am the most beautiful tree in the garden And for all times, I shall remain. The beloved and her brother Stroll under my branches, Intoxicated from wines and spirits Steeped in oil and fragrant essences. Turin Papyrus
		The estates of noblemen This is the floor plan of a nobleman's compound at Akhetaten (El Amarna) with adjacent garden and yards. The estate was to a large extent self sufficient, run by a steward but supervised by the main wife. The whole estate, including silos and stables, was surrounded by a wall, the entrance guarded by a lodge keeper. The garden was separated from the agricultural yards by a wall. The servants lived in quarters separated from the main house by a yard. Workshops, stables, storage rooms and kitchen were near by. The master's family lived in the main house, where the women had their own quarters. These are generally referred to as harem, but one should not think that women were segregated as they were to be in the Muslim harems. Nobleman's house and garden Source: James Henry Breasted, Survey of the Ancient World 1919, p.69 Building the estate as close to the river as possible on ground sufficiently elevated not to be inundated during the Nile flooding made for easy transportation of people and agricultural produce.
		Picture sources: [ ] Bathroom: www.plumbingworld.com [ ] Well: Borchardt, Ludwig; Ricke, Herbert Die Wohnhäuser In Tell El-Amarna [ ] Royal couple: Minneapolis College of Art and Design, accessed at http://www.mcad.edu/AICT/html/ancient/EN/EN013.html [ ] Garden model: Scientific American Footnotes [5] Thirteen hundred feet of copper piping, the earliest-known plumbing, was installed in this building (James Henry Breasted, Survey of the Ancient World 1919, p.39) [9] A cubit was about half a metre [10] In his petition to the authorities the Greek Herakleides describes how on the 5th May 218 BCE an Egyptian woman Herakleides called Psenobastis poured urine over him while he was riding through the village of Psya in the Fayum. In the ensuing quarrel the woman tore his clothes and spat him in the face. Herakleides may have been living in Egypt, but his outlook and knowledge was that of a Greek. He did not even know enough Egyptian to be aware of the fact that Psenobastis was a man's name. Source: Unijournal, Zeitschrift der Universität Trier, Zentrum für Altertumswissenschaften, Jahrgang 29/2003 [11] In the words of the fictitious Ankhsheshonq: "A window with a large opening gives more heat than coolness" (M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol.3, p.175)

	Bibliography for this and related pages James Henry Breasted A History of the Early World, Ginn and Company, Boston, 1916 James Henry Breasted, Survey of the Ancient World 1919, Ginn and Company, Boston James Henry Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt, 1906 Lionel Casson Ancient Egypt, Time-Life Books 1975 T.G.H.James Pharaos Volk, Artemis Verlag Zürich und München 1988 Gustave Lefebvre. Le Tombeau de Petosiris, Le Caire: L'institut Français d'archéologie orientale, 1924. 3 volumes A.Lucas, J.Harris Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries, 1962 Gaston Maspero L'Archéologie Egyptienne, ed. A.Quantin, Paris, 1887 Pierre Montet Les scènes de la vie privée dans les tombeaux égyptiens de l'ancien empire Librairie Istra, Strasbourg, 1925 Pierre Montet Haiey yom-yom bemitzrayim (La vie quotidienne en Egypte), Am Hassefer Publishers Ltd. Tel Aviv 1963 W. M. Flinders Petrie Naukratis, London, 1886 W. M. Flinders Petrie Kahun, Gurob, and Hawara, London, 1890 W. M. Flinders Petrie Illahun, Kahun and Gurob, London, 1891 Diodor von Sicilien, Historische Bibliothek, translated by Julius Friedrich Wurm, Verlag der J. B. Metzler'schen Buchhandlung Für Oesterreich, 1827 Encyclopaedia Britannica Scientific American Vom Ackerbau zum Zahnrad, rororo Taschenbuch Ausgabe 1969
		The townhouse of Djehutinefer
		A worker's house at Deir el Medine

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		[1] Limestone model of a town house , British Museum
		[2] The History of Plumbing - Egypt
		[3] Side view of the terracotta model, British Museum
		[6] Wooden bolts, 18th dynasty (Petrie Museum)
		[7] Tomb of Amenemhab: Formal garden (Thierry Benderitter: Four tombs of military officers)
		[8] Tomb of Nebamen: Formal garden (Thierry Benderitter: Four tombs of military officers)
		Images de synthese de la villa du vizir Nakht à el Amarna
		Model of a predynastic house, British Museum
		Painted limestone model of a house, British Museum
		Terracotta model of a house, British Museum
		Ancient Egyptian garden design
		Wells at Tell Abqa'in
		Relief of house interior (Luxor Museum)
		Ground plans of three private houses at Amarna (Petrie Museum website)
		Amarna: Wall paintings from different places in the city (Petrie Museum website)
		Wohngebäude (in German)
	Feedback: Please report broken links, mistakes - factual or otherwise, etc. to me. Thanks. Keywords: house, houses, housing, habitation, habitations, accommodation, apartment, flat, estate, estates, garden, gardens

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