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Egyption Pyramids

Egyption Pyramids Egypt is located in Africa and known for the geographical site the Nile River. One of the most amazing geographical facts of Egypt is that in some areas people have never seen rain. The Nile River controls everything in Egypt and it is said that the Nile River is a predictable river. When it does flood it floods in a predictable manner and in predictable area. The Nile River carries Silt for crops. It is also been worshiped because of the water which helps the Egyptians live. The ancient Egyptians are known to have been a very peaceful society. The Pre-Dynastic civilization had pottery, tools and started the writing in hieroglyphic. They used gold for decoration. It is not really known where they got the idea of writing but it is thought that the Mesopotamian had an influence. The Archaic civilization is known for the unification. Egypt unified under one king. This meant that the King Narmer ruled all of the Nile River. These kings were called Pharaohs. In Egyptian pharaoh means great house. Each Pharaoh was seen as a God. The Egyptians had many Gods and they competed against each other. The focus in their religion was their after life. This is why people were mummified. Only the rich were mummified and it is believed that the reason for this is because mummifying a body was very expensive. These people were buried with everything they believed they were going to need in the after life. Some examples were food, gold, tools and miniature dolls symbolizing the servants. The richer the person the more things that were buried. In order to discuss Egypt it is needed to discuss the different time periods: the Old Kingdom, Intermediate One, Middle Kingdom, Intermediate Two, and the New Kingdom. In the Old Kingdom there was a very important Pharaoh. He had absolute power. This was a peaceful time. During this time the pharaohs started marrying sisters in order to keep the bloodline royal. The royal blood was very important to the Egyptians. The problem at this time was that the crop started failing but it is not known why. During the first Intermediate time the bureaucracy broke down and the anarchy started strong. Following the first Intermediate was the Middle Kingdom. At this time the pharaohs were not as dominate as before. Society started becoming more important. They focussed on school that taught about morality, the good and the bad. This time was known as the classical Egypt. Then the Second Intermediate started. This was more of a chaotic time. Egypt was invaded by the warlike Mesopotamian called Hypksos and took Egypt. They brought chariots and horses. It was not long when the Egyptians caught on and threw them out. The Egyptians never returned to their peaceful selves. The last kingdom was the New Kingdom. During this kingdom the Pharaohs took over strongly one more time but not as the peaceful Pharaohs. They tried to build an empire. One of the purposes that the Egyptian pyramids served was as funerary monuments built for the pharaohs and their closest relatives. Most date from the Old Kingdom (c.2686-2181 BC) and are found on the west bank of the Nile river in a region approximately sixty miles long and situated south of the delta between Hawara and Abu Ruwaysh. Pyramids developed from a low, rectangular stone structure erected over a tomb called the Mustaba. Most of the pyramids of Ancient Egypt were built to protect the tombs of rulers or other important persons. In the 26th century BC, as Egyptian civilization was reaching its height, three kings: Khufu, his son Khafre, and his grandson Menkure. They ordered the construction of three huge pyramids that would serve as their tombs. The first of these, the Great Pyramid, is the largest ever built. It stands with the other two pyramids and the Great Sphinx in a cluster near the town of Giza. The ancient Greeks named the pyramids one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and today they, or at least Giza, are the oldest structures in the existence, having been started 4,617 years ago. The pyramids were built with the begrudging help of great armies of slaves (David, 1986). According to common perception, the Egyptian pyramids were built, with begrudge help of great armies of slaves (David, 1986). As just mentioned, these were ordered by the ancient pharaohs of Egypt as tombs for preserving their royal bodies. Pyramids were meant to be monuments to the pharaoh’s greatness, filled with great treasures for the afterlife. To construct these massive shrines for themselves, the pharaohs copied the Great Pyramid of Giza. But the Great Pyramid itself contains no pharaoh’s body, no treasure chamber, and not treasures. (Evans, 1979) Who, then, designed it and built it? What was its purpose? We cannot say for sure but we can consider a few basic facts about the Great Pyramid. Thirty time larger then the Empire State Building; the Pyramid’s features are so large they can be seen from the Moon. Its base covers 13.6 acres (equal to about seven midtown Manhattan City blocks, each side being greater than five acres in area. A highway lane eight feet wide and four inches thick could be built from San Francisco to New York and put inside the Great Pyramid. Only a solid Stone Mountain could endure the Pyramid’s immense weight. And indeed, a flat solid granite mountain happens to be located just beneath the surface of the ground directly under the Pyramid. It is built to face true North. The Pyramid is located at the exact center of the Earth’s landmass. That is, its East West axis corresponds to the longest land parallel across the Earth, passing through Africa, Asia, and America. Similarly, the longest land meridian on Earth, through Asia, Africa, Europe and Antarctica, also passes right the Pyramid. Since the Earth has enough land area to provide 3 billion possible building sites for the Pyramid, the odds of it’s having been built where it is 1 in 3 billion (Seiss, 1981). Like 20th century bridges designs, the Pyramid’s cornerstones have balls and sockets built into them. Several football fields long, the Pyramid is subject to expansion and contraction movements from heat and cold, as well as earthquakes, settling, and other such phenomena. After 4,600 years it’s structure would have been significantly damaged without such construction (Siess, 1981). While the bulk of the Pyramid’s core was constructed of 4,000-40,000 pound blocks of soft limestone, the outer layer of the Pyramid was made of a beautiful bright, protective layer of polished stone. These outer “casing stones” are missing today because about 600 years ago they were stolen by Arabs, (this accounts for the very worn appearance of the Pyramids today, since the inner limestone blocks are not immune to attack by the elements-wind, rain, and sandstorm.) This protective covering was made up of 100-inch-thick, 20-ton block of hard, white limestone, similar to marble but superior in hardness and in durability against the elements. The Great Pyramid did not always look as “rough” as it does today. Originally it was encased with a layer of tight-fitting, highly polished 20-ton stone slabs (Seiss, 1981) The casing stones, 144,000 in all, were so brilliant that they could literally be seen from the mountains of Israel hundreds of miles away. On bright mornings and late afternoons, sunlight reflected by the vast mirrored surface of 5-1/4 acres distinguished the Pyramid as the only single structure that has ever been visible from the moon (Seiss, 1981). The people of the area had viewed the Pyramid and its polished stones with awe for centuries. But when a 13th century earthquake loosened some of the casing stones, the Arabs recognized a great quarry of precut stones that could casing stones were used to rebuild the new city of El Kaherah plus Cairo mosques and palaces, including the Mosque of Sultan Hasan. Amazingly, the outside surface stones are cut with in 1/100th of an inch perfectly straight and at nearly perfect right angles for all six sides. And they were placed together with an intentional gap between them of 0.02 inch (Seiss, 1981). Modern technology cannot place such 20-ton stones with greater accuracy than those in the Pyramid. Even more amazing is that the 0.02-inch gap was designed to allow space for glue to seal and hold the stones together. A white cement that connected the casing stones and made them watertight is still intact and stronger than the blocks that it joins (Seiss, 1981). Clearly, whoever built the Pyramid had access to information beyond that which we currently know any humans possessed at the time. King Kofu’s pyramid rests on a base that covers 13 acres, and each side of the base is about 756 feet long. The Great Pyramid once rose to a height of 481 feet, but the top has been stripped. Originally 471 feet high. Khafre’s pyramid was only 10 feet lower than his father’s tomb. Menkure’s pyramid, much smaller, rose 218 feet. Three small pyramids built for Khufu’s queen stand near his pyramid. Also nearby are several temples and rectangular tombs built for other relatives and courtiers (Fahkry, 1969). Another of the reasons the Egyptian ruler ordered the pyramids to be built is because they feared their remains would be disturbed by grave robbers. They chose a site on the West Side of the Nile River because they believed that the home of the dead was toward the setting of the sun. The burial chambers were placed under the exact centers of the pyramids. Passageways, which were built angling down from the sides and leading to the chambers, were later sealed with heavy stones. The pyramids did not achieve their purpose of protecting the ancient tombs, however. Over the centuries, looters broke into most of them and stole the jewels and other treasures that had been buried in them (Fahkry, 1969). A Greek historian named Herodotus, writing 2,400 years ago, estimated that 100,000 men labored for 20years to complete the Great Pyramid. It is also estimated that 2.3 million stone blocks were used to build the pyramid. It was once thought that the blocks—weighing an average of 2 ½ tons each—were floated on rafts down the Nile from quarries hundreds of miles away. Amore recently developed theory holds that the blocks were cut from limestone quarries that have been found near the pyramids. Yet another theory suggests that the blocks were formed in wooden molds at the site. Many authorities believe that the blocks of stone were moved up a circular ramp constructed around the pyramid as it was built up (Fahkry, 1978) Scholars have also studied the relationship between the position of the pyramids and the apparent motion of the sun and other stars. They suggest that the pyramids’ design may have been influenced by a religion based on sun worship (Edward, 1978). It should be noted that the pyramids of Giza were not the first built in Egypt. Structures of this type appeared during the century preceding Kufu’s reign. After burying their dead in sandpits, the early Egyptians placed a mastaba over the grave to keep the sand from blowing away. This structure is considered the prototype of the true pyramid. Later King Djoser’s architect, Imphotep, designed the step pyramid, which was simply a stack of six matabas, each smaller than the one below. King Snefru, the father of Khufu, built a smooth-sided pyramid. It is called the bent pyramid because its lower half is steeper than its upper half. At least 80 royal pyramids have been found in Egypt, but none rival the three Giza. Many of the lesser pyramids have been reduces to rubble (Edward, 1987). The oldest pyramid known is the Step Pyramid of King Zoser Saqqara (c.2650 BC). It has a larger mastaba as its nucleus and consists of six terraces of diminishing sizes, one built upon the other. At one point, it was surrounded by an elaborate complex of buildings, now partially restored, whose function related to the cult of the dead (Edwards, 1987) The next phase of development is represented by the 93-305 foot high pyramid at Maydum, built at the order of Snefru, founder of the 4th dynasty (c.2613-c.2498 BC). This structure was designed as a step pyramid; later the steps were covered with a smooth tone facing to produce sloping sides. Snefru also built the pyramid at Dahshur. Halfway between its base and apex its inclination was changed, so that it is bent in appearance (Edwards, 1987). A characteristic feature of all classical Egyptian pyramids, including those of Snefru, is a temple complex, comprising a lower or valley temple at a short distance from the pyramid and connected by a cause way with a mortuary temple, situated adjacent to the pyramid. The most elaborate example of the temple complex is found at Giza, where the 4th-dynasty pyramids of Kings Cheops, Chephren, and Mycerinus lie in close proximity to each other. The pyramid of Khufu, erected c.2500 BC, as mentioned priorly is the largest in the world, measuring 756 feet on each side of its base and originally measuring 482 feet high. Beginning in the 10th century AD the entire Giza complex served as a source of building materials for the construction of Cairo, and, as a result all three pyramids were stripped of their original smooth outer facing of limestone. The temples have disappeared, with the exception of the extremely well preserved granite valley temple of Khafre (Edwards, 1987). The last great pyramid of the Old King is that of Pepi II of the 6th dynasty (c.2345-2181 BC). In the following turbulent era (e.g. the First Intermediate Period, c. 2181-2040 BC), almost no pyramids were built. When King Mentuhotep II of the dynasty attained power (c.2060 BC), pyramid construction resumed. During the 11th and 12th dynasties until 1786 BC, Pyramids continued to be built (at Dahshur and al-Faiyum, but later, rock cut tombs were preferred. Bibliography: V. Sources David, A.R., The Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt (1986). Edwards, I.E.S, The Pyramids of Egypt, rev. ed. (1987). Evans, Humphry, The Mystery of the Pyramids (1979). Fakhry, Ahmed, The Pyramids, 2nd ed. (1969). Seiss, Joseph A., The Great Pyramid (1981). Weeks, John, Pyramids (1971).

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