CHAPTER II.
_RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE_.
In the civil and military architecture of Ancient Egypt brick played the principal part; but in the religious architecture of the nation it occupied a very secondary position.

The Pharaohs were ambitious of building eternal dwellings for their deities, and stone was the only material which seemed sufficiently durable to withstand the ravages of time and man.
I .-- MATERIALS AND PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION.
It is an error to suppose that the Egyptians employed only large blocks for building purposes.

The size of their materials varied very considerably according to the uses for which they were destined.

Architraves, drums of columns, lintel-stones, and door-jambs were sometimes of great size.

The longest architraves known--those, namely, which bridge the nave of the hypostyle hall of Karnak--have a mean length of 30 feet.