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.David Diringer, The Book before Printing: Ancient, Medieval and Oriental, Dover Publications, New York 1982, p. 172. The establishment of the Library of Alexandria limited the supply of papyrus for others. According to the Roman historian Pliny the Elder (Natural History records, xiii.21), 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.Georges Ifrah, The Universal History of Numbers. Page 162 (cf., "As we have seen, Sumer used a sexagesimal base; whereas the system of Ancient Egypt was strictly decimal.")Robert E Krebs, Groundbreaking scientific experiments, inventions, and discoveries of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Page 127. Thomas Little Heath, Manual of Greek Mathematics. Page 11. Egyptian writing is also considered the oldest in the world along with Sumerian writing."The world's earliest known writing systems emerged at more or less the same time, around 3300 bc, in Egypt and Mesopotamia (today's Iraq).""Although it was once thought that the idea of writing came to Egypt from Mesopotamia, recent discoveries indicate that writing arose first in Egypt.""and examples of writing in Egypt have been found that very well may pre-date the earliest writing from Mesopotamia."
The city of Alexandria retained preeminence for its records and scrolls with its library. With the ascension of Ptolemy VIII Physcon, however, all foreign scholars were expelled from the city and the head librarian was forced to flee to Cyprus; due to this, the library lost its prestige and began a period of decline. Part of the library was damaged by fire during the siege of Alexandria, and while by some accounts it was destroyed completely by 642 CE,Abd-el-latif (1203): "the library which 'Amr ibn al-'As burnt with the permission of 'Umar."Europe: A History, p 139. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. the library had disappeared from contemporary accounts by the third century CE and many of its scrolls and scholarship had likely been distributed to the other libraries springing up throughout Alexandria and across the eastern Mediterranean.
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".A. Lucas and J. Harris, "Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries" (New York: Courier Corporation, 2012), 48. 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.A. Lucas and J. Harris, "Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries" (New York: Courier Corporation, 2012), 64. 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.A. Lucas and J. Harris, "Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries" (New York: Courier Corporation, 2012). 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.
Vaults Adobe 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.Abdou A. O. D. El-Derby, Ahmed Elyamani, Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry (MAA), 2023-07-28, The Adobe Barrel Vaulted Structure in Ancient Egypt: A study of two case studies for conservation purposes (abstract and PDF)
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 (between 285 and 247 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 (c.26th century BC), 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 (c. 2580 BC) 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 Egypteeescience utoledo.edu : Cairo Rocks include columns, door lintels, sills, jambs, and wall and floor veneer.
The ancient Egyptians had some of the first monumental stone buildings (such as in Saqqara), 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 HuntArce/Nc Archives 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
Obelisks 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 (died c. 2333 BC) 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 (68 feet high)". 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.