Out of Ruins: Contextualizing an Ancient Egyptian Spectacle of Architectural Reuse

Abstract

Architectural reuse was common in ancient Egypt. Modern interpretations of this practice, particularly in royal contexts, usually ascribe it either a practical or ideological function, only rarely considering it possible that different motivations were involved. This type of approach is particularly true for the reuse of Old Kingdom blocks by the Middle Kingdom king Amenemhat I in his pyramid at Lisht, a case often classified as solely utilitarian. However, an approach that prioritizes not only the ancient Egyptian worldview and royal ideology, but also how this case of reuse fits into cross-cultural considerations of monumentality, demonstrates the necessity to look at this practice more holistically. This study focuses in particular on the possibility that the transportation of reused materials by Amenemhat I was a spectacle of construction used to showcase the king's legitimacy and authority at the start of a new dynasty.

Is the Concept of Zero Waste Possible to Implement in Construction?

“…However, architecture worldwide knows much older examples of the Buildings 2024, 14, 428 2 of 20 spectacular reuse of building materials. This was happening as early as in ancient Egypt (20th-18th c. BC) [3,4], late antique and early medieval Hispanic architecture (5th-10th c. CE) [5], medieval churches (11th-12th c. CE) [6][7][8], and English Tudor buildings (15th-17th c. CE) [9]. Countries that are aware of this problem, mostly located in Europe, have already established effective waste-management facilities.…”