Ancient Egyptian technology
Ancient Egyptian technology describes devices and technologies invented or used in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians invented and used many simple machines, such as the ramp and the lever, to aid construction processes. They used rope trusses to stiffen the beam of ships. Egyptian paper, made from papyrus, and pottery were mass-produced and exported throughout the Mediterranean Basin. The wheel was used for a number of purposes, but chariots only came into use after the Second Intermediate Period. The Egyptians also played an important role in developing Mediterranean maritime technology including ships and lighthouses.
Technology in Dynastic Egypt
Significant advances in ancient Egypt during the dynastic period include astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. Their geometry was a necessary outgrowth of surveying to preserve the layout and ownership of fertile farmland, which was flooded annually by the Nile River. The 3,4,5 right triangle and other rules of thumb served to represent rectilinear structures, and the post and lintel architecture of Egypt. Egypt also was a center of alchemy research for much of the western world.Paper, writing and libraries
The word paper comes from the Greek term for the ancient Egyptian writing material called papyrus, which was formed from beaten strips of papyrus plants. Papyrus was produced in Egypt as early as 3000 BC and was sold to ancient Greece and Rome. Egyptians were the first to use reed pens and Ink which they used to write on papyrus.The first mention of writing on Parchment also comes from the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. The establishment of the Library of Alexandria limited the supply of papyrus for others. According to the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, as a result of this, parchment was invented under the patronage of Eumenes II of Pergamon to build his rival library at Pergamon. However, this is a myth; parchment had been in use in Anatolia and elsewhere long before the rise of Pergamon.
Egyptian hieroglyphs, a phonetic writing system, served as the basis for the Phoenician alphabet from which later alphabets, such as Hebrew, Greek, and Latin were derived. With this ability, writing and record-keeping, the Egyptians developed one of the – if not the – first decimal system.
Egyptian writing is also considered the oldest in the world along with Sumerian writing.
The city of Alexandria retained preeminence for its records and scrolls with its library. This ancient library was damaged by fire when it fell under Roman rule, and was destroyed completely by 642 CE. With it, a vast supply of antique literature, history, and knowledge was lost.
Structures and construction
Materials and tools
Some of the older materials used in the construction of Egyptian housing included reeds and clay. According to Lucas and Harris, "reeds were plastered with clay in order to keep out of heat and cold more effectually". Windcatchers were also used in Egyptian houses for cooling and ventilation. Tools that were used included "limestone, chiseled stones, wooden mallets, and stone hammers", but also some more sophisticated hand tools. Wide range of lithic tools was used in Predynastic and Dynastic Egypt throughout the whole Egyptian Bronze Age.Ancient Egyptian metal tool kit is well described and it consisted of metal blades of chisels, adzes, axes, saws and drills, used for the work on various types of wood and stones. Also, the ancient Egyptians were apparently using core drills in stonework at least as long ago as the Fourth Dynasty, probably made of copper or arsenical copper and used in conjunction with a harder abrasive substance.
The earliest alloy used for the production of tools was arsenical bronze/copper, of which e.g. the tools used at Old Kingdom Giza were manufactured. This alloy is harder than the "pure copper", presumed to be used by ancient Egyptians in earlier, now outdated works. In the New Kingdom, the predominant practical alloy was tin bronze.
There has been some dispute among archaeologists over whether the abrasive was quartz sand or a harder mineral such as corundum, emery or diamond, and whether it was loose or embedded in the metal. Lime mortar was used to plaster the Giza pyramids in addition to various limes incorporated into temples and homes.
Buildings
Temples
Many Egyptian temples are not standing today. Some are in ruin from wear and tear, while others have been lost entirely. The Egyptian structures are among the largest constructions ever conceived and built by humans. They constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of ancient Egyptian civilization. Temples and tombs built by a pharaoh famous for her projects, Hatshepsut, were massive and included many colossal statues of her. Pharaoh Tutankamun's rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings was full of jewelry and antiques. In some late myths, Ptah was identified as the primordial mound and had called creation into being, he was considered the deity of craftsmen, and in particular, of stone-based crafts. Imhotep, who was included in the Egyptian pantheon, was the first documented engineer.File:Egyptian vignettes luxor.jpg|thumb|Ramesseum, Luxor, C13 BC, warehouse with parabolic barrel vaults of adobe
Vaults
vaults were a type of structures spanning from the end of the first dynasty tomb of Qa'a, about 2900 BC, to Coptic times. The first such vaults were built underground, in the construction of tombs, but most of them were built overground, instead of roofs for lack of timber. Some adobe vaults were supported on columns and architraves, such as in the throne hall of Ramesses's III palace from 1200 BC at Madinet Habu. The barrel vaults of the store rooms of the Ramesseum in Luxor have parabolic cross sections, demonstrating an understanding of statics.Lighthouse
In Hellenistic Egypt, lighthouse technology was developed, the most famous example being the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Alexandria was a port for the ships that traded the goods manufactured in Egypt or imported into Egypt. A giant cantilevered hoist lifted cargo to and from ships. The lighthouse itself was designed by Sostratus of Cnidus and built in the 3rd century BC on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt, which has since become a peninsula. This lighthouse was renowned in its time and knowledge of it was never lost.Monuments
The Nile valley has been the site of one of the most influential civilizations in the world with its architectural monuments, which include the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx.The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids—huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the largest constructions by humans. Pyramids functioned as tombs for pharaohs. In ancient Egypt, a pyramid was referred to as mer, literally "place of ascendance." The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. The base is over in area. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one of the seven to survive into modern times. The ancient Egyptians capped the peaks of their pyramids with gold plated pyramidions and covered their faces with polished white limestone, although many of the stones used for the finishing purpose have fallen or been removed for use on other structures over the millennia.
The Red Pyramid, named for the light crimson hue of its exposed granite surfaces, is the third largest of Egyptian pyramids. Menkaure's Pyramid, likely dating to the same era, was constructed of limestone and granite blocks. The Great Pyramid of Giza contains a sarcophagus fashioned of red Aswan granite. The mostly ruined Black Pyramid dating from the reign of Amenemhat III once had a polished granite pyramidion or capstone, now on display in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Other uses in ancient Egypt include columns, door lintels, sills, jambs, and wall and floor veneer.
The ancient Egyptians had some of the first monumental stone buildings, which are largely built of local limestones. How the Egyptians worked the solid granite is still a matter of debate. Tool marks described by the Egyptologist Anna Serotta indicate the use of flint tools on finer work with harder stones, e.g. when producing the hieroglyphic inscriptions. Archaeologist Patrick Hunt has postulated that the Egyptians used emery shown to have higher hardness on the Mohs scale. Regarding construction, of the various methods possibly used by builders, the lever moved and uplifted obelisks weighing more than 100 tons.
Obelisks and pillars
s were a prominent part of the ancient Egyptian architecture, placed in pairs at the entrances of various monuments and important buildings such as temples. Earliest known obelisk fragment is that of King Teti from the Old Kingdom, found at Heliopolis. In 1902, Encyclopædia Britannica wrote: "The earliest temple obelisk still in position is that of Senusret I of the XIIth Dynasty at Heliopolis ". The word obelisk is of Greek rather than Egyptian origin because Herodotus, the great traveler, was the first writer to describe the objects. Twenty-nine ancient Egyptian obelisks are known to have survived, plus the Unfinished obelisk being built by Hatshepsut to celebrate her sixteenth year as pharaoh. It broke while being carved out of the quarry and was abandoned when another one was begun to replace it. The broken one was found at Aswan and provides some of the only insight into the methods of how they were hewn.The obelisk symbolized the sky deity Ra and during the brief religious reformation of Akhenaten was said to be a petrified ray of the Aten, the sun disk. It is hypothesized by New York University Egyptologist Patricia Blackwell Gary and Astronomy senior editor Richard Talcott that the shapes of the ancient Egyptian pyramid and obelisk were derived from natural phenomena associated with the sun. It was also thought that the deity existed within the structure. The Egyptians also used pillars extensively.
Ramps have been reported as being widely used in Ancient Egypt. A ramp is an inclined plane, or a plane surface set at an angle against a horizontal surface. The inclined plane permits one to overcome a large resistance by applying a relatively small force through a longer distance than the load is to be raised. In civil engineering the slope is often referred to as a grade or gradient. An inclined plane is one of the commonly-recognized simple machines.