The civilization of the Ancient Egyptians (which lasted from about 3100 BC until it was finally absorbed into the Roman Empire in 30 BC ) is famous for its temples and tombs . Egyptians temples were often huge and geometric , like the Temple of Amon-Re . They were usually decorated with hieroglyps (sacred characters used fir picture writing) and painted reliefs depiciting used for , Pharaohs (kings) , and queens . Tombs were particularly important to the Egyptians , who believed that the dead were resurrected in the after-life . The tombs were often decorated – as , for example , the surround of the false door opposite- in order to give comfort to the dead . The best-known ancient Egyptian tombs are the pyramids , which were designed to symbolize the rays of the Sun . Many of the architectural forms used by the ancient Egyptians were later adopted by other civilizations ; for example , columns and capitals were later used by the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans .
