The approach was based on trial and error, or prototyping. This is exemplified by the Bent Pyramid at DAHSHUR, clearly experimental, with two different slope gradients for the sides at the lower and upper levels. This experience gave them the confidence to take on the Giza project" (Miroslav, 1997).
Parthenon
"The Parthenon is a temple in the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their protector. Its construction began in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC, although decorations of the Parthenon continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. The Greek Ministry of Culture is currently carrying out a programme of selective restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially ruined structure" (Venieri, 2007).
The Parthenon is basically an octostyle Doric temple. Most of the aspects of the Parthenon are inspired by the Ionic architectural designs and the chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenon that was originally sculpted by Phidias. The interior stone work was also depictive of the Ionic design as it had a variety of colors and designs (Tarbell, 2004). Phidias dedicated the temple in 436 B.C. To Athena. The construction of the temple though had not been completed till 432 B.C. And did not finish till the early waves of the Peloponnesian War. "By the year 438, the sculptural decoration of the Doric metopes on the frieze above the exterior colonnade, and of the Ionic frieze around the upper portion of the walls of the cella, had been completed. The richness of the Parthenon's frieze and metope decoration is in agreement with the function of the temple as a treasury. In the opisthodomus (the back room of the cella) were stored the monetary contributions of the Delian League, of which Athens was the leading member" (Tarbell, 2004).
There were a total of ninety-two metopes that had been sculpted in the higher relief of the structure which was a design reserved only for the treasuries at the time as that was a place dedicated for the gods. These metopes have lasted for a long time i.e. since the 446 B.C. And were primarily designed and sculpted by the creative designer initially i.e. Kalamis. The Ionic influence is very visible even in this design especially in the exterior walls design. "The bas-relief frieze was carved in situ; it is dated in 442 BCE-438 BCE. One interpretation is that it depicts an idealized version of the Panathenaic procession from the Dipylon Gate in the Kerameikos to the Acropolis. In this procession held every year, with a special procession taking place every four years, Athenians and foreigners were participating to honor the goddess Athena, offering sacrifices and a new peplos (dress woven by selected noble Athenian girls called ergastines)" (Barringer, 2008).
Caesar's Rhine Bridge
Caesar's Rhine Bridge is the first of the twin bridges that is built for the purpose of crossing the Rhine River. These bridges were built by Julius Caesar and his huge army during the years 53 B.C. And 55 B.C. while they were engaged in the Gallic War. The use of the army for the construction of these bridges was clearly visible in the construction as the bridges did not only prove to be strategically the correct move but the bridge also showed quite a clear military engineering inclination as well (Nebel, 2010). The strategy behind the construction of these bridges was to enable Caesar and his armies the ability to travel across large areas of land and be able to travel anywhere they wanted. The amazing aspect here was that the use of the local army, that comprised of more than 40,000 soldiers, allowed Caesar ti get the first bridge finished and ready for use in just 10 days (Nebel, 2010).
"The actual construction of Caesar's first bridge took place most likely between Andernach and Neuwied, downstream of Koblenz on the Rhine River. Book 4 (Liber IV) of his commentaries gives technical details of this wooden beam bridge. Double timber pilings were rammed into the bottom of the river by winching up a large stone and releasing it, thereby driving the beam into the riverbed. The most upstream and downstream pilings were slanted and secured by a beam, and multiple segments of these then linked...
In other words, at every seven courses of stone, a layer of reed matting was laid and weep-holes and drainage shafts were placed, thus preserving the ziggurat from water damage. Eventually the building fell into disrepair. Later, King Nabonidus restored the Ur ziggurat, along with other temples. Stiebing believes this was because he revered his mother's gods (285). Nabonidus claims in the clay cuneiform tablets found in the tower to
Staircase ramps which are comprised of steep and narrow steps that lead up one face of the pyramid were more in use at that time with evidence found at the Sinki, Meidum, Giza, Abu Ghurob, and Lisht pyramids respectively (Heizer). A third ramp variation was the spiral ramp, found in use during the nineteenth dynasty and was, as its name suggests, comprised of a ramp covering all faces of the
One exception to this is Pausanias, a Greek writer. He recorded the quarrying done in Greece but he lived in the second century a.D. For other details, the information related to their architecture is limited to the writings of Vitruvius, an architect in Rome, also a military engineer and a writer who lived during the rule of Augustus (Masrgary, 1957; Derry and Williams, 1961). The Greek construction inherits its glory
It consists a series of successively smaller platforms which lifted to a height of about 64 feet, and was constructed with a solid core of mud-brick covered by a thick skin of burnt-brick to guard it from the forces of nature (Burney). The Ziggurat's corners are oriented to the compass points, with walls sloping slightly inwards (Molleson and Hodgson) . The Ziggurat of Ur was a component of a temple
shelter has evolved in relationship to basic individual (shelter, security, comfort, social interaction, ritual) and context environmental constraints, character site, building materials, construction technologies, social relationships). In the essay, we will consider the relationship between the buildings as physical objects of a material culture. In terms of the plan/layout, exterior form, interior spaces, structure and materials and as lived in sites, we must realize that architecture serves the particular
They were constructed or rather carved as a tribute to Pharaoh Ramses II and his queen Nefertari. The Temple of Edfu (237-57 BC) also shows the expertise and the cultural depth of the Egyptian culture. This temple on the West bank of the Nile in the city of Edfu is the second biggest temple in Egypt after Karnack. The religious foundations of the culture are clearly evident in aspects
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