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Ancient Egypt Pyramids
There are about 110 pyramids currently known in Egypt, many in a state of great disrepair and almost unrecognisable. Some were built as burial places for ancient Egypt kings and queens. A pyramid also may have represented a stairway for the king to ascend to the heavens. Another possibility is that it was symbolic of the primeval mound on which the sun god / creator was born. How the Egyptians managed the complex organisation of labour and the physical movement of large stone blocks is still a matter for debate. Ancient Egypt Pyramids construction may have involved ramps being erected around the pyramid. Blocks of stone would have been pulled up on sledges and the ramps dismantled later. It is believed that most of the labour for the construction of the pyramids would have come from farmers who were available during the inundation season when the Nile River flooded and farmland was underwater. It would also have been an ideal time for the transportation by boat of large stone blocks from their quarries to the pyramid sites. The earliest ancient Egypt pyramid was the Step Pyramid of king Djoser of the Old Kingdom's 3rd Dynasty over 4,600 years ago. The pyramid was the largest structure ever erected at Saqqara, the necropolis that overlooked the ancient capital of Memphis. Its construction was initially in the form of a low mastaba tomb upon which extra levels were gradually added to give it a step-like appearance. Underneath Djoser's pyramid was a complex system of corridors with a burial chamber lined with Aswan pink granite about 28 metres underground. The entrance was sealed with a three-tonne granite plug. The pyramid's outside would have been cased with fine limestone, but this was removed long ago. Nearby were the Mortuary Temple, a Great Court and various other structures. The first true pyramid was developed for King Sneferu during the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. It is referred to as the Red Pyramid, because of its colour, or the North Pyramid because of its position at Dashur south of Cairo. It was about 105 metres high with its sides measuring 220 metres. The largest ancient Egypt pyramid ever built was the Great Pyramid at Giza southwest of modern Cairo. Built for king Khufu, this pyramid was completed around 2550 BC. It is estimated that the pyramid contains approximately 2,300,000 blocks of stone with an average weight of 2.5 tonnes each and some up to 15 tonnes. Its sides measure 230 metres in length. The structure would have towered about 146.6 metres high, but it is now a little shorter owing to the outer casing having been removed to build many of Cairo's buildings during the Middle Ages. The interior design was changed during the pyramid's construction and the burial chamber was relocated. One of its most spectacular features is the enormous sloping Grand Gallery. At the Gallery's top is a low corridor which leads into the King's Chamber, the walls of which are made of polished granite. A large granite sarcophagus is open and no burial goods have ever been found. To the east of the pyramid, some of the smooth basalt paving of the mortuary temple remains and the causeway which led to the river temple is now buried with the valley temple being under modern buildings. Small pyramids for queens are adjacent to the Great Pyramid, as are boat pits. In 1954, a large cedar boat was uncovered in one of the pits and then reassembled. It is now on display next to the pyramid. A second boat remains in pieces in another covered pit. The boats may have been provided for the deceased king to travel through the underworld. The Giza Plateau also is home to two other large pyramids for the subsequent kings, Chephren and Menkaura. As with the Great Pyramid, both of these pyramids have valley temples and mortuary temples connected by causeways. However, next to Chephren's valley temple is the famous 73-metre long Sphinx and its associated temple. Despite controversy over its age, most Egyptologists believe that the Sphinx was carved from a rocky outcrop at the same time as Chephren's pyramid. The resources for building enormous pyramids during the rest of the Old Kingdom could not be mustered and the pyramids were both smaller and less well built. The 5th Dynasty pyramid of Unas at Saqqara is famous for its Pyramid Texts - the first funerary texts carved into the walls of any pyramid. The pyramid is located just south of the walled enclosure of the pyramid of Djoser. During the Middle Kingdom, kings again built themselves pyramids, but being largely of mud-brick, they have not survived very well. Elaborate interior designs failed to stop ancient tomb robbers from breaking in and stealing the burial goods. The time of large pyramids had passed, although small pyramids were used in some New Kingdom private burials as superstructures for funerary chapels. Restored examples exist at Deir el-Medina, the village of the workmen who constructed the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Pyramids were also built south of Egypt in ancient Nubia (the northern part of today's Sudan), where there are actually more than in Egypt. Although being influenced by the ancient Egypt pyramids, the pyramids in Nubia had their own style and were built on a smaller scale and with steeper sides. In the case of the Nubian pyramids, the tombs of owners were usually underground with the pyramid built on top. The last pyramid was built in Nubia in the 4th century AD. The number of pyramid structures in Egypt today is reported by most sources as being between 81 and 112, with a majority favouring the higher number. In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius made a list of pyramids, in which he counted 67, but more have been identified and discovered since his time. The imprecise nature of the count is related to the fact that as many smaller pyramids are in a poor state of preservation and appear as little more than mounds of rubble, they are only now being properly identified and studied by archaeologists. Most are grouped in a number of pyramid fields, the most important of which are listed geographically as below. Abu RawashAbu Rawash is the site of Egypt's most northerly pyramid (other than the ruins of Lepsius pyramid number one) the mostly ruined Pyramid of Djedefre, son and successor of Khufu. Originally it was thought that this pyramid had never been completed, but the current archaeological consensus is that not only was it completed, but that it was originally about the same size as the Pyramid of Menkaure, which would have made it among the half-dozen or so largest pyramids in Egypt. Its location adjacent to a major crossroads made it an easy source of stone. Quarrying which began in Roman times has left little apart from a few courses of stone superimposed upon the natural hillock that formed part of the pyramid's core. A small adjacent satellite pyramid is in a better state of preservation. Giza Pyramid ComplexGiza is the location of the Pyramid of Khufu (also known as the "Great Pyramid" and the "Pyramid of Cheops"); the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Kephren); the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinus), along with a number of smaller satellite edifices known as "Queen's pyramids"; and the Great Sphinx. Of the three, only Khafre's pyramid retains part of its original polished limestone casing, near its apex. This pyramid appears larger than the adjacent Khufu pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction. It is, in fact, smaller in both height and volume. The Giza Necropolis has been a popular tourist destination since antiquity, and was popularized in Hellenistic times when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Today it is the only one of those wonders still in existence. AbusirThere are a total of seven pyramids at this site, which served as the main royal necropolis during the Fifth Dynasty. The quality of construction of the Abusir pyramids is inferior to those of the Fourth Dynasty perhaps signaling a decrease in royal power or a less vibrant economy. They are smaller than their predecessors, and are built of low-quality local limestone. The three major pyramids are those of Nyuserre (which is also the most intact), Neferirkare Kakai and Sahure. The site is also home to the incomplete Pyramid of Neferefre. All of the major pyramids at Abusir were built as step pyramids, although the largest of them, the Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai is believed to have originally been built as a step pyramid some 70 metres in height and then later transformed into a "true" pyramid by having its steps filled in with loose masonry. Zawyet el-AryanThis site, halfway between Giza and Abu Sir, is the location for two unfinished Old Kingdom pyramids. The northern structure's owner is believed to be the Pharaoh Nebka, whilst the southern structure is attributed to the Third Dynasty Pharaoh Khaba, also known as Hudjefa, successor to Sekhemkhet. Khaba's four-year tenure as pharaoh more than likely explains the similar premature truncation of his step pyramid. Today it is approximately twenty meters in height; had it been completed it is likely to have exceeded 40. SaqqaraMajor pyramids located here include the Step Pyramid of Djozer, generally identified as the world's oldest substantial monumental structure to be built of finished stone. The Pyramid of Merykare, the Pyramid of Userkaf and the Pyramid of Teti. Also at Saqqara is the Pyramid of Unas, which retains a pyramid causeway that is one of the best-preserved in Egypt. This pyramid was also the subject of one of the earliest known restoration attempts, conducted by a son of Ramesses II. Saqqara is also the location of the incomplete step pyramid of Djozer's successor Sekhemkhet, known as the Buried Pyramid. Archaeologists believe that had this pyramid been completed it would have been larger than Djozer's. South of the main pyramid field at Saqqara is a second collection of later, smaller pyramids, including those of Pepi I, Isesi, Merenre, Ibi, Pepi II and Shepseskaf. Most of these are in a poor state of preservation. DahshurThis area is arguably the most important pyramid field in Egypt outside Giza and Saqqara, although until 1996 the site was inaccessible due to its location within a military base, and hence was virtually unknown outside archaeological circles. The southern Pyramid of Sneferu, commonly known as the Bent Pyramid is believed to be the first (or by some accounts, second) attempt at creating a pyramid with smooth sides. In this it was only a partial but nonetheless visually arresting — success; it remains the only Egyptian pyramid to retain a significant proportion of its original limestone casing, and serves as the best example of the luminous appearance common to all pyramids in their original state. The northern, or Red Pyramid built at the same location by Sneferu was later successfully completed as the world's first true smooth-sided pyramid. Despite its relative obscurity, the Red Pyramid is actually the third largest pyramid in Egypt, after the pyramids of Khufu and Khafra at Giza. Also at Dahshur is the pyramid known as the Black Pyramid of Amenemhet III. MazghunaThe pyramids at Mazghuna known as the Northern and Southern Mazghuna Pyramids, may belong to Sobekneferu (Queen Nefrusebek), the last pharaoh of Egypt's 12th Dynasty and Amenemhet IV, respectively, but no inscriptions bearing their names have been found and their ownership is far from certain. Mazghuna is a little known pyramid field about 5 kilometers (three or so miles) south of Dahshur. If these pyramids do belong to Sobeknefru and Amenemhet IV, they are evidence of the decline at the end of the 12th Dynasty of Egypt's Middle kingdom. LishtTwo major pyramids are known to have been built at Lisht, those of Amenemhat I and his son, Senusret I. The latter is surrounded by the ruins of ten smaller subsidiary pyramids. One of these subsidiary pyramids is known to be that of Amenemhat's cousin, Khaba II. The site which is in the vicinity of the oasis of Fayyum, midway between Dahshur and Meidum, and about 100 kilometres south of Cairo, is believed to be in the vicinity of the ancient city of Itjtawy (the precise location of which remains unknown), which served as the capital of Egypt during the 12th Dynasty. MeidumSneferu's Pyramid at Meidum; the central core structure remains, surrounded by a mountain of rubble from the collapsed outer casing. The pyramid at Meidum is one of three constructed during the reign of Sneferu, and is believed by some to have been started by that pharaoh's father and predecessor, Huni. However, this is not very likely, as his name does not appear on the site. Some archaeologists also suggest that the Meidum pyramid may have been the first unsuccessful attempt at the construction of a "true" or smooth-sided pyramid. The pyramid suffered a catastrophic collapse in antiquity, and today only the central parts of its stepped inner core remain standing, giving it an odd tower-like appearance that is unique among Egyptian pyramids. The hill that the pyramid sits atop is not a natural landscape feature, it is the small mountain of debris created when the lower courses and outer casing of the pyramid gave way. HawaraAmenemhet III was the last powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and the pyramid he built at Hawarra, near Faiyum, is believed to post-date the so-called "Black Pyramid" built by the same ruler at Dahshur. It is the Hawarra pyramid that is believed to have been Amenemhet's final resting place. el-LahunThe pyramid of Senusret II at el-Lahun is the southernmost royal-tomb pyramid structure in Egypt. Its builders reduced the amount of work necessary to construct it by ingeniously using as its foundation and core a 12-meter-high natural limestone hill. Egyptian Pyramids External LinksNOVA Online / Pyramids: The Inside Story Overview of Pyramid Construction The Pyramids of Egypt The Pyramids of IIIrd & IVth Dynasties Archaeological Developments At Giza, Egypt You want to know the truth behind the Pyramids? Great Pyramid is a rational The Pyramids of Egypt & Mars The Pyramid of Khufu Egypt Construction of the Egyptian Pyramids The Great Pyramid : Reflections in Time By John Tatler Why Ask Why the Pyramids Were Built? Pyramid of Khafre : Chepren National Geographic: Egypt Pyramid A Secret Tunnel Being Excavated in the Great Pyramid? |
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The Egyptian Pyramids - The Step Pyramid is the first known monumental structure made of stone anywhere in the world. The Step Pyramid Complex of Djoser (also spelled Zozer) was built during the Third Dynasty (ca. 2800 B.C.) ) for King Djoser and its construction was overseen by his vizier Imhotep. |
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