Archaeological Study of Heritage Building from the First Quarter of the Twentieth Century in Egypt

Abstract

This study aims to discuss a heritage building from the first quarter of the Twentieth Century, where the residential buildings are one of the fundamentals of urban cities’ construction and their proliferation is important for the continuity of city construction. Residential buildings are one of the remarkable features of stability and city center to the extent that they have become a criterion for reflecting the stages of the growth of the city. There is a commonly known proverb that states that the man who has a child, plants a tree and builds a house leaves a legacy for the next generations. By the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20thcenturies, architecture has witnessed a breakthrough in terms of the styles of establishing houses in Egypt. This was a consequence of Muhammad Ali's dynasty's influence by European architecture styles and its artistic standards. 'Alawiyya dynasty adapted new building styles which were distinct from those prevailing in Egypt in previous eras. Muhammad Ali's dynasty's persistent desire- to turn Egypt into a piece of Europe especially Cairo and Alexandria- has given its establishments a special and distinct style. The European influences - which were symbols of progress, urbanization and civilization - were not limited to Cairo as the capital of Egypt but they were transferred to other Egyptian cities, through the rise of trade traffic let alone the development of transportation which contributed to their spread then. In addition, the foreign architects and engineers circulated their foreign architectural concepts and ideas in the north and south of Egypt as well as in capital cities. Taking Al-Fashn city as an example, we could say that it has included a lot of residential buildings that were established in the first half of the 20th century A.D. One of the buildings that would be discussed in this study is Abd Al-Azim Abu El-Nil's house which representedthe domestic style of the residential buildings in provinces, where it has preserved the domestic architectural traditions and is influenced by the European methods and styles in terms of the architectural and ornamental elements. The study will adopt the descriptive approach and analytical methodology for presenting this significant residential building through architectural along with artistic study and publishing for the first time.