Sculpture or carving in which figures project from the background as opposed to sunken relief where the background protrudes.
Buttress:
A support of stone or brick built against a wall.
Caliphate:
Formerly the central ruling office of Islam, it eventually referred to dynasties formed from leaders whose family was considered to be in rightful succession to the prophet Muhammad.
Cataract:
Usually a large waterfall or cascade. Unnavigable rapids encountered along the Nile at six points north of Khartoum, Sudan. The ancient Egyptians numbered them in the order they encountered them, therefore the northernmost cataract is the first.
Corbelled:
Timbers used to support a weight ie. the vaulted ceilings of pyramid chambers.
Cosmogonical:
Relating to theories concerning the creation of the universe.
Dowser:
One who searches for underground minerals or water using a Y-shaped divining rod.
Duat:
The afterworld where ancient Egyptians believed the souls of the dead traveled to.
Equinox:
When the sun is positioned over the equator (twice a year), and day and night are of equal length.
Hieroglyphs:
Characters used for hieroglyphics, a form of writing developed by ancient Egyptians. The characters take the form of symbolic pictures and were believed to hold near-magic powers.
Hittites:
The most ancient Indo-European culture, they invaded Central Asia Minor from north of the Black Sea with the Luwians c. 2000BC. A kingdom was established in Anatolia, with its capital at Hattush, after severe fighting with the local proto-Hatti peoples.
Hyksos:
A group of peoples, probably composed of Churrit and Semitic tribes, displaced by advances of the Indo-European peoples c. 2000BC.
Hypotenuse:
The side opposite the right angle of a triangle.
Lapis Lazuli:
A blue mineral containing sodium aluminum silicate and sulfur, used as a semi-precious gemstone. Also used to make a bright blue pigment.
Masonic:
An international fraternity for mutual help and fellowship that has complicated secret rituals.
Mastaba:
A form of ancient Egyptian tomb containing compartments for the afterlife, covered with a flat-topped and inward sloping, protective superstructure. Named after low benches that stood outside Egyptian houses.
Oedipus:
Legendary king of Thebes who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother.
Quoin:
Stones forming the external angle of a building.
Rosicrucian:
A society, said to have been founded in 1484 by Christian Rosenkreuz, dedicated to the study of metaphysical and mystical lore.
Sarcophagus:
A stone coffin decorated by carving or inscriptions.
Satrap:
A ruler of a province of the ancient Persian Empire. Darius I divided the empire he ruled over into 20 satrapies, each administered by a provincial governor (satrap). Satraps owed allegiance to the king, but their considerable autonomous power promoted disloyalty and rebellion.
Sea Peoples:
Various groups of sea-borne invaders that probably included Greeks, Sardinians and Tyrrhenians. They conquered the Hittite Empire c. 1,200BC and attacked Egypt on several occasions from Palestine and the sea.
Sedentary Farming Culture:
The lifestyle of a settled village depends on cultivated fields for its food. This is the opposite from a nomadic lifestyle where people build temporary shelter wherever the animal herds they depend on for food migrate.
Sidereal Year:
A year longer than the solar year by 20 minutes 23 seconds because of the earlier occurrence of the equinoxes.
Solstice:
When the sun is furthest north and south of the equator at the tropics. The summer solstice occurs on June 21 when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer. This is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. The winter solstice occurs on December 22 when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. This is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.
Stela:
An upright slab, often of stone, carved with an inscription and sculpture ie. a gravestone.
Theosophist:
A society that attempts to achieve a knowledge of God through direct intuition, special individual relations, or spiritual ecstasy.
Van Allen Belt:
Two belts of intense radiation surrounding the earth at heights of several hundred feet.
Vizier:
The head of the pharaoh's government administration, occupying a position similar to the American Chief of State, but responsible for the management of the whole country.
Wafdists:
A nationalist Egyptian political party that demanded freedom from British rule. When nominal independence was won from Britain they demanded full autonomy and control over the Sudan and Suez Canal.
