ancient egyptian landscape

8/4/2019 Ancient Egyptian Landscape

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ancient-egyptian-landscape 1/20



The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt asbeing divided into two types of land, the'black land' and the 'red land'.

The 'black land' was the fertile land on thebanks of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians usedthis land for growing their crops. This was theonly land in ancient Egypt that could befarmed because a layer of rich, black silt wasdeposited there every year after the Nile

flooded.

Geography

The 'red land' was the barren desertthat protected Egypt on two sides.These deserts separated ancient

Egypt from neighbouring countriesand invading armies. They alsoprovided the ancient Egyptians with asource for precious metals and semi-precious stones.



One really hears very little about gardens,

and yet, they were an essential element tothe ancient Egyptian people Those who

could afford to do so laid out gardens in

front of both their houses and tomb chapels.

The gods were even thought to enjoy

gardens and so most every temple was

surrounded by lush greenery. Gardens seemto have been particularly important during

the New Kingdom. It should also be noted

that certain types of gardens had religious

symbolism.

Popular trees included the sycamore fig, pomegranate, nut trees and jujube. However,

willows, acacia and tamarisk were also found. In all, there were about eighteen varieties

of trees grown by the Egyptians. Flowers were also abundant, and included daisies,

cornflowers, mandrakes, roses, irises, myrtle, jasmine, mignonettes, convolvulus, celosia,

narcissus, ivy, lychnis, sweet marjoram, henna, bay laurel, small yellow chrysanthemums

and poppies. Of course, there were also papyrus, lotus and grapes.

The gardens & ponds of

ancient Egypt



Gardens were not simply for

pleasant environs to the

Ancient Egyptians. There

were many symbolisms

associated with trees,including to specific gods

such as Osiris, Nut, Isis and

Hathor. They also had

creation overtones, as well

as funerary. The Papyrus

and Lotus plants were

symbolic of the two regions

of Lower and Upper Egypt

(respectively). Of course,

gardens also provided food

including vegetables and

wine, and in the final

analysis, we might know

much less about ancient

Egypt if it were not for the

papyrus paper used through

most of Egyptian history.

A garden in the tomb of Kenamun



There is much more

evidence concerning

gardens that surround

tomb chapels andmortuary temples.

The Egyptologist,

Breasted, thought that

these trees could have

been planted on the

terraces of Deir el-

Baharibut it is possible that

they could have also

been planted near the

Temple of Amun at

Karnak. We also know

that there existed such

a garden about the

later mortuary temple

of Ramesses II at

Abydos

Fragrant trees were perhaps an essential element of the pharaoh's

funerary garden. Ramesses III describes the lake and garden in his

mortuary temple at Medinet Habu

The temples of the various gods were provided with gardens indecorative layouts, as a source for flowers, vegetables and even

wine and olive oil, thus providing necessary ingredients for various

rituals. In fact, texts are very definite as to this specific purpose.

Wine and shedeh-liquor were presented together with vegetables

and flowers as a daily offering to the gods, while olive oil was used

"to light the flame" in the sanctuary.

Plan of Kenamun’s garden.



The royal and private tomb chapels usually had some kind of landing portal near the water's

edge. Funerary gardens of small size are known to have been grown in the courtyard of certain

Theban private tombs, probably imitating the larger gardens of pharaohs Mentuhotep,

Tuthmosis III and Queen Hatshepsut.

Houses, palaces, temples

and chapels, whether

funerary or private, when in

the paintings of the tombs

nearly always have a garden

connected to the building.

We even very often find awhole layout of an elaborate

nature detailed, and thus an

adequate picture of the

various types of gardens

during the New Kingdom

can be reconstructed fromthis pictorial evidence. Until

the end of the Middle

Kingdom, gardens had to be

watered from jars carried at

the end of a pole slung on

the shoulders of watercarriers.

Irrigation with shaduf devise,from tomb

in Thebes.



In the harem of Pharaoh Ay, a large court surrounding the structure is planted with a

row of trees in mud copings, and on the farthermost side a kiosk on columns supports

a vine (tomb of Neferhotep).

Even in ancient Egypt, the

value of land was almost

prohibitive in the citiesand we have today no real

evidence of any gardens in

these locations.

Occasionally, a few trees

were planted along the

sides of the house (Tjoy),usually date palms

alternating with another

species, which can also be

grown in brickwork

containers

House Gardens



In the country where the land was much less expensive, the houses and palaces were set in a

large garden surrounded by a wall. Numerous depictions in tombs show what might be

considered to be the standard type of garden.

layout is symmetrical about an axis

perpendicular to the river and running

from the entrance along an alleywayflanked with two pergolas and leading to

the small temple with three shrines. Each

half of this garden, on either side of the

alley, is divided transversely into three

areas. The front section, which has a

rectangular pond parallel to the river haswater plants, and there is also date palms

and sycamores. A second section in the

middle area is enclosed within a wall and

planted with light green trees that are

perhaps a rare species. Finally, a rear

section is the largest area and again has a

rectangular pond bordered on one side bydate palms and on the other by sycamores.

Near this rear section is a small open kiosk

of the type we find at Amarna. On either

long side of the whole garden an enclosed

path is planted with trees of alternating

species, while tall trees form an effective

screen at the back of the estate.

Temple of Amenhotep II and the attached house of its

attendant Sennufer at Thebes as depicted in his Sennufer'stomb (Garden plan)



A formal layout is also followed in the large palace gardens. Usually the approach is

symmetrical, usually with a pond on either side of the axis, bordered with rows of

trees. At Amarna, where the ground is not arable, trees were planted in pits filled with

humus and bordered with a round coping. At the rear of the various groups of

buildings a large area is laid out as an independent garden around a square pound with

sloping sides. In one of the pond's corners, a stairway descends to its bottom.

A deeper basin opening in the bottom is probably filled with infiltration water.

Interestingly, the distribution of the trees seems particularly informal and may have

been another aspect of the Amarna trend toward freedom and naturalism in art.

Trees and bushes from the tomb of Sennedjem at Deir el-Medina



Sacred GardensGardens on processional approaches to pylons, or in front of the temple quay

along the river, are also represented in tombs. In the temple of Hatshepsut at

Deir el- Bahari, a garden with four ponds, papyrus, flowers and vegetables isrepresented schematically. There were exotic trees that were brought from the

new countries subdued during the New Kingdom and planted in the gardens of

Amun. Such rare species are represented at Deir el-Bahari, Medinet Habu and

Karnak, but the representations of these "botanical gardens", though fascinating

due to their innumerable exotic species, do not offer any clue regarding theirlayout. Private chapels were erected by rich people in their gardens at Amarna

or on the bank of a river or canal, and formed an important element in the

layout, being situated at the crossing of two axes or at the end of the main axis.

Often the chapel stands at the rear of the enclosed garden on a higher terrace,

with a rectangular pond flanked by two rows of sycamore trees, or what seems

to be two rows of tall jars surrounded by climbing growth. The formal layout of

the Persian garden, where an artificial pond mirrored the glittering splendor of a

rich facade beyond it, had already been carried out to perfection in Egypt, at

least as early as the New Kingdom.



Funerary GardensMost of the depictions of funerary gardens are schematic in nature.

They are usually reduced to a T-shaped basin shown in plan on abackground of a few date palms. Here, the origin of the peculiar

plan of the basin may be investigated. It is certain that the dead

end of a canal, when shaped as a transverse rectangular basin,

would facilitate the mooring and circulation of boats. On the other

hand, the offering table for the presentation of funerary offerings

often assumed the shape of a T-slab, in the middle of which is a

deep basin. Whether there is any real relation between the funerary

T-shaped pond and the offering table is uncertain. What is certain,

however, is that even in the beginning of the New Kingdom, the T-

shaped plan had a symbolic implication. There were two T-shaped

ponds flanking the central alley at the bottom of the lower stairwayin Hatshepsut's temple.

http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm

http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm



Scene from the Book of the Dead p[apyrus of Nakht showing him and his wife approaching Osiris

and Ma'at in their garden

At Memphis, there are at least two paintings depicting a funerary ceremony where the

mummy is conveyed by boat to a rectangular island in the middle of a rectangular pond. In

one of these, the pond is bordered on three of its outer sides by a double row of funerarystructures in the shape of light awnings containing a stand which alternate with date palms

and trees planted in brickwork containers. A quay protrudes into the water from one small

side of the pond, and in one painting it is accessible by a stairway. In this latter

representation there is a quay that is set at both smaller ends of the island. This could be a

symbolic representation of the Osireion at Abydos.



The location of the funerary garden has been the subject of controversy but it can be

safely assumed that some kind of small garden was occasionally laid out in front of the

tomb itself and that more often a larger garden was laid out below on the riverbank, and

probably also near the portal of the tomb complex

Mumphite tomb



In what is known as the North

Palace, possibly a reserve for

animal species and botanical

garden, the main element in the

plan is an extensive water court

surrounded by trees. The rear

central group of buildings is the

formal apartment, with a private

suite bordered on the north by asunken garden surrounded on

three sides by a columned portico

and contiguous cells. Here again,

the location of the garden is to

the north of the living quarters,

and there is a corner staircaseleading up to the roof of the

portico, where a pergola must

have afforded an enjoyable view

of the precincts. The animals

were kept in separate courts and

rooms.

The Remains of Gardens

A depection of garden & pond that contains fish



However, in no other temple

did a garden gain such

importance as in the Maru-Aten

at Amarna. The extensive

grounds of that peculiarcomplex, long mistaken for a

"pleasure resort", are really a

concrete representation of the

potentiality of the sun disk Aten

as a Creator. The layout of the

eastern group of the buildings is

on an exact north-south axis

while the east-west axis of the

large lake crosses it inside the

hall of the Maru, or viewing

place of the sun disk.

A garden with a processional alley fronts the group on the south. Here also there is a symbolic

island carrying a hypaethral kiosk, accessible from the Maru by a bridge. A second bridge at

the north end leads to an alley flanked with flower beds to a water court featuring a range of

eleven T-shaped water basins on an interlocking plan. Some scholars believe that the kiosk on

the island was designed for the yearly festival of the viewing of the Aten, while the eleven

basins of the water court would symbolically be connected with the eleven other monthlyfestivals.

The garden at the Marriot Cairo



BABYLON LANDSCAPE

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are the most controversial of all the

Seven Wonders because some archaeologists doubt they ever existed.

Why were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon built? • The most popular account is that King Nebuchadnezzar II (of biblical fame) constructed

this wonder in the 6th century BC to please his wife. Babylon's flat desert-like landscapemade her homesick for the verdant mountains of Media where she was reared. So, the

king built an artificial, terraced hill lushly cultivated with trees and flowering plants.• Others say that a powerful Assyrian

queen built the Hanging Gardens ofBabylon for her own pleasure.

• Others believe it was conceivedmuch earlierby an Assyrian king.

• Yet other expertsgo so far as to think that theHanging Gardens existed in Nineveh, not Babylon.



CONSTRUCTION OF HANGING GARDEN

• Ancient accounts of the Hanging Gardensof Babylon are scarce.

• What remains of what is widelybelieved to be the Hanging

Gardens site is mainly redbrick rubble.

• Substantial water was neededfor irrigation because waterevaporates quickly In Babylon's arid environment.

• Devising a workable watering systemwas more of a challenge than erecting the gardens. The water

had to be diverted from the Euphrates River and raised to thelevel of the holding tank above the Hanging Gardens.



• It is believed that they were builtout of reeds, bitumen, lead, andstone, so that the water would

not seep through

• The Hanging Gardens couldcollapse if water were absorbedby the brick columns and foundation

supporting the gardens.

• The estimated lifespan of the HangingGardens of Babylon was only a centuryOr so, likely due to neglect ,damagecaused by water and clay brick

deterioration.

• Babylon was one of the world's mostimpressive cities with its magnificentpalace, temples, walls and gates.



PLANTS USED

• The gardens had exotic flourishing plants.These plants were cultivated above groundlevel. Nebuchadnezzar imported the plantsfrom foreign lands. The plants may haveincluded “cedar, cypress, myrtle, juniper,almond, date palm, ebony, olive, oak, terebinth,nuts, ash, firs, nightshade, willow,pomegranate, plum, pear, quince, fig, andgrapevine.” The plants were suspended over

the heads of observers on terraces, theydraped over the terraced walls. Arches wereunderneath these terraces. The brilliantlycolored trees and flowers that dangled from the

walls created a lush and magical environment.

http://www.urbanbabylon.com/



• The gardens formed a quadrilateral

shape. There were stairways thatled to the uppermost terracedroofs.

• The plants hung over terraces thatwere supported by stone columns.vaults, which were.

• The fountains below created ahumidity that helped keep the areacool.

• The shade from the trees alsohelped keep the gardens cool.

• The gardens were supported by anintricate structure of stone pillars,brick Walls

http://www.urbanbabylon.com/

ancient egyptian landscape

Documents