ARCE New England: Mundane Mudbrick? An Exploration of Meaning and Symbolism

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Lecture Information: 

In studies of ancient Egyptian architecture, stone is almost exclusively associated with the divine and eternal. While perhaps a consequence of its usage in overwhelmingly royal and divine buildings, stone is not the only material featured in such constructions. Mudbrick also composed temples, palaces, and pyramids, but its meaning as a building material has not been carefully considered. The Egyptological truism that it was simply “mundane” and inferior to stone limits our understanding of the material and how it functioned in architecture. This talk will explore the symbolism of mudbrick in ancient Egypt, including its ties to cosmological creation, birth, and death.