Researchers believe that today there are only about 80 pyramids left from ancient Egypt. The pyramids were built as tombs for the Pharaohs and their queens. During their time on earth, it was believed that the Pharaohs were the link between the people and gods and when the Pharaohs died, they became gods. Since they expected to become gods in the afterlife, the Pharaohs had massive pyramid tombs built for them and filled them with all the things they would need in the afterlife. The Ancient Egyptians believed that when the King or Pharaoh died, part of his spirit remained with his body.
Ancient Egyptians were very concerned with the afterlife. By mummifying a dead person’s body the Ancient Egyptians thought that the person’s soul from their boy would go to live on in the afterlife. To properly care for the Pharaoh’s spirit, his mummified body, and everything he would need in the afterlife was buried with him. These things included gold, food, furniture and other offerings. In addition to the riches buried with the Pharaoh, his relatives, officials and priests were also buried near him to help him in the afterlife.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, which can be found in the Giza of Egypt with is in the northern part of Egypt near Cairo, the capital of Egypt is the largest pyramid in Egypt. Not only is it the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that still exists, it was built as a tomb for the Egyptian King Khufu. It is also called the “Pyramid of Khufu”. At one time the Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest structure in the world at an impressive 481 feet and 203 steps to the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The bottom base of the pyramid is the size of almost 10 football fields.
Each of the four sides of the pyramid is a triangle that is exactly at a 51 degree angle and it is 6. 5 million tons. It was originally thought that slaves or prisoners built the pyramids, but we now know the builders were actually skilled Egyptian workers and peasants who were given tax breaks and lived in ‘pyramid cities’ nearby where they were given shelter, food and clothing. The workers were well organized and the leaders would have had very good math skills. The Pharaohs usually began having their pyramids built as soon as they took the throne.
The Pharaoh would set up a crew with supervisors and many workers once it was decided that his pyramid would be built. The construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza was started in 2540 B. C. and it took 23 years to finish. The pyramid has nearly 2. 3 million blocks of stone and each block weighs about 7 tons. If you took all the blocks from this pyramid, you could build 30 Empire State Buildings. To finish the Great Pyramid of Giza in 23 years, workers would have had to set one block every 2 ? minutes and work 7 days a week.
By comparison, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris took almost two hundred years to complete. The insides of the pyramids were often made of local limestone. Finer quality limestone was used for the outside of the pyramid, which gave it a white shiny look that could be seen from miles away. The top cap of the pyramid was usually granite or another hard stone and could be plated with gold or silver, making it very reflective in the bright sun. The ancient Egyptians probably chose this unique form for their pharaohs’ tombs because of their religion.
They worshiped as many as 2000 gods. They believed that each god had different responsibilities and needed to be worshiped so that life could be kept in balance. The Egyptian sun god, Ra, was considered the father of all pharaohs. It was believed that he sat upon a pyramid-shaped mound of earth which had emerged from the sea. The pyramid’s shape is thought to have symbolized the sun’s rays. The pyramids were usually placed on the western side of the Nile River because the pharaoh’s soul was meant to join with the sun disc when it was coming down.
The two deciding factors when choosing a building site for a pyramid were its orientation to the western horizon where the sun set and how close it was to Memphis, the central city of ancient Egypt. It was incredibly hard work and took a many workers to build the Great Pyramid of Giza. Just to pound out the stone 60 to 70 men were needed. To get the stones to the pyramid, the men had to cut slot in the stone then ram pegs in the holes and put water in them. That was the only way they could split the stones with the limited tools they had.
They had to lubricate an area to slide the stones to the pyramid by either the men or oxen pulling dragging them. When the stones got to the pyramid site, then the men had to build ramps to be able to get all the stones to the top. The ramps were “wrap-around” style. They couldn’t be straight because you needed wrap around for the upper layers of the great pyramid. They were made of mud brick and had pieces of plaster mixed in to make them harder. Another creation from Ancient Egypt that is also on the Giza Plateau is the Great Sphinx of Giza.
The Great Sphinx of Giza, is a giant limestone figure with he body of a lion and the head of a man wearing a pharaoh’s headdress. It is the national symbol of Egypt. It is 241 feet long, 63 feet wide, and 66. 34 feet high. The head alone is 14 feet wide and 30 feet long. The Great Sphinx of Giza looks like it is staring at the sunrise. The Great Sphinx of Giza is the oldest statue in the ancient world. It is at least 4500 years old. The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the world’s most famous monuments. It is believed that the Great Sphinx of Giza was built for Khafre, a pharaoh of Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty who lived from 2603-2578 B. C. Khafre was the son of Khufu.
After the Great Pyramid of Giza, Khafre’s pyramid is the second tallest. Since it is smaller, it was built on higher ground to make it appear bigger and was other statues like the Sphinx were built too to make up for its smaller size. Many believe the head of the Sphinx is Khafre’s face. I have always been fascinated with Ancient Egypt and how a society who lived more than 4500 years ago could be so progressive. The fact that people today still debate how these unbelievable structures were created is proof of how advanced Ancient Egyptians were and the dedication and commitment they had to honoring their Pharaohs.