History of Pyramids
Standing at the base of the Great Pyramid, it is hard to imagine that this
monument—which remained the tallest building in the world until early in
this century—was built in just under 30 years. It presides over the plateau
of Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, and is the last survivor of the Seven
Wonders of the World. Five thousand years ago Giza, situated on the Nile's
west bank, became the royal necropolis, or burial place, for Memphis, the
pharaoh's capital city. Giza's three pyramids and the Sphinx were constructed
in the fourth dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom, arguably the first great
civilization on earth. Today, Giza is a suburb of rapidly growing Cairo, the
largest city in Africa and the fifth largest in the world.
About
2,550 B.C., King Khufu, the second pharaoh of the fourth dynasty,
commissioned the building of his tomb at Giza. Some Egyptologists believe it
took 10 years just to build the ramp that leads from the Nile valley floor to
the pyramid, and 20 years to construct the pyramid itself. On average, the over
two million blocks of stone used to build Khufu's pyramid weigh 2.5 tons, and the heaviest blocks, used as the ceiling of Khufu's
burial chamber, weigh in at an estimated nine tons.
How did the ancient Egyptians move the massive stones used to build the
pyramids from quarries both nearby and as far away as 500 miles? This question has
long been debated, but many Egyptologists agree the stones were hauled up ramps
using ropes of papyrus twine. The popular belief is that the gradually sloping
ramps, built out of mud, stone, and wood were used as transportation causeways
for moving the large stones to their positions up and around the four sides of
the pyramids.
Khufu's son, Khafre, who was next in the
royal line, commissioned the building of his own pyramid complex which includes
the Sphinx. Menkaure, who is believed to be Khafre's son, built the third and smallest of the
three pyramids at Giza. Giza, however, is more than just three pyramids and the
Sphinx. Each pyramid has a mortuary temple and a valley temple linked by
long causeways that were roofed and walled. Alongside Khufu and Khafre's
pyramids were large boat-shaped pits and buried boats that were presumably
meant to aid the pharaoh's journey to the afterlife. As yet, no vessels have
been found beside Menkaure's tomb. In addition, cemeteries of royal attendants
and relatives surround the three pyramids. The entire plateau is dotted with
these tombs, called mastabas, which were built
in rectangular bench-like shapes above deep burial shafts.
The Nile was used to transport supplies and building materials to the pyramids.
During the annual flooding of the Nile, a natural harbor was created by the
high waters that came conveniently close to the plateau. These harbors may
have stayed water-filled year round. Some of the limestone came from Tura,
across the river, granite from Aswan, copper from Sinai, and cedar for the
boats from Lebanon. The foundations of the pyramids were laid with limestone
blocks mined by masons using copper chisels. Contrary to popular belief, the
Egyptians built the Giza pyramids up from the bedrock of the plateau, not over
a flat sandy base. Khufu, in fact, was built around a small rock knoll.
Building stones were predominantly limestone and granite, while mudbrick was
used earlier for mastabas. Mudbrick was also used to build later Middle
Kingdom Pyramids.
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