ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is about the use in architecture of designs from Ancient Egypt: so called 'Egyptianizing' architecture. It also considers the triggers that have led to the adoption of ancient Egyptian elements into different, relatively recent circumstances. Both the pyramid and the obelisk are less obviously meaningful by their shapes than might first be imagined. Pyramids, in particular, never cease to be present in cemeteries, appearing in a wide range of sizes and materials. Manifestations of Egyptomania have spread to an extraordinary number of cemeteries throughout the world. Only sometimes do the reasons seem self-evidently clear: the individual who is buried or commemorated in the cemetery may have had very strong links with Egypt during his/her lifetime. Other Egyptianizing funerary forms that are frequently found include chapels and mastabas, which resemble a pylon with a door and perhaps windows, but without any non-Egyptian decoration.
