. A history of art in ancient Egypt . 113 and tend towards disintegration. They are not stable in them-selves, and in order to give them stability they must be kept inplace by surrounding them with opposing forces which willeffectually prevent their setting up any movement in the structureof which they form a part. This function is fulfilled by the wallin Egyptian architecture, which is consequently very thick, but theradiating arch never arrived at such a development-in Egypt as tolead to the adoption of any contrivance specially charged with themaintenance of vaults in a state of proper rigi
. A history of art in ancient Egypt . 113 and tend towards disintegration. They are not stable in them-selves, and in order to give them stability they must be kept inplace by surrounding them with opposing forces which willeffectually prevent their setting up any movement in the structureof which they form a part. This function is fulfilled by the wallin Egyptian architecture, which is consequently very thick, but theradiating arch never arrived at such a development-in Egypt as tolead to the adoption of any contrivance specially charged with themaintenance of vaults in a state of proper rigidity. The Egyptiansnot only employed the semicircular arch ; they made use, in a fewinstances, of the pointed form, and many of their undergroundbuildings have roofs cut out of the rock in the form of a segmentalvault. The fact that- these sepulchral chambers affected the aspectof vaulted halls, can only be explained by the supposition that asimilar construction was common in the dwellings of the living.^ i^ 5- -Compact The methods employed in what we may call compact constructionpermit the use, in considerable quantities, of moulded clay mixedwith chopped straw. This material was used in buildings whichwere homogeneous; it was poured into a mould formed by planks,which was raised as the work progressedand the mixture dried. But the materialhad little strength, and was far inferior tothose modern concretes which have thedensity and durability of the hardest Egyptians do not seem to have beenacquainted with concrete proper, and un-burnt bricks did not differ essentially frompise. Such bricks, when placed one upon another after being imperfectly dried, combined, under theinfluence of the weather and their own weight, into one homo-geneous mass so that the separate courses became undistinguish-able. This latter fact has been frequently noticed in Assyria, by ^ Another explanation has been given of the employment of the vault in subter-ranean work. Marietta
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