Pyramids

1. Pyramids Marc Santos 8-73

2. Facts • The pyramids of Egypt are one of the largest structures ever built • It is one of the potent and enduring symbols of the Ancient Egyptian civilization • Most pyramids were built during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods • The pyramids were created during the pharaonic rule, and it was during this time that the most famous pyramids were built near Giza • Later on in time, it was hard to find slaves to create the pyramids, which made the pyramids smaller, and less well-built • Long after pyramids were built in Egypt, a sudden burst of pyramids were created in what’s now called Sudan • The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound, which the Egyptians believed the Earth was created • The shape is also said to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective limestone, in order to give them a nice appearance when it was seen in a distance • Pyramids were also often named in ways that referred to solar luminescence, for example the name of the Bent Pyramid of Dahshur was the Southern Shining Pyramid and that of Senwosret at el-Lahun was Senwosret is Shining • But it is also generally believed that pyramids were burial monuments, or also known as a type of “resurrection machine” • The Egyptians believed that the dark area of the night sky around the stars would revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens • All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile River, which as the site of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology • Scientists and researchers say that there is about 81-112 pyramids in Egypt today • In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius made a list of pyramids, where he’d counted 67, but since then much more have been found • It is hard to find out exactly how many pyramids there are because smaller pyramids are hard to find because of the shifting sands

3. Step Pyramid of Djoser • Was built in 2630 B.C in Saqqara, and is 204 feet high • Pharaoh Djoser’s step pyramid was began as a flat-roofed mastaba • By the end of his 19 year reign in 2611 B.C it rised to six stepped layers and stood 204 feet high • It was the largest building of its time • Stone was used to resemble wood, reeds or other softer materials made the tomb much stronger than its mud-brick forebears • The step pyramid was enclosed by a 30 foot wall and included courtyards, temples, and chapels covering almost 40 acres, the size of a large town in the 3rd millennium b.c • Like Many other tombs, its burial chambers were underground hidden in a maze of tunnels, to make it hard for grave robbers to get in • The only thing left of this great artefact is king Djoser’s left mummified foot

4. Maidum Pyramid • It was built in circa 2600 B.C, in Maidum, and was 306 feet high • It was most likely influenced by the pyramid of Djoser • Snefru, the first king of the 4th dynasty, built a seven-level stepped pyramid 35 miles south of Saqqara • By the time the workers got to the 4th or 5th level, Snefru decided he’d wanted it to have eight steps instead of seven • This was the first Egyptian pyramid with an aboveground burial chamber, which was located just above the first level • This tomb was said to make the chamber closer to the sun god • The pyramid was temporarily abandoned 15 years into Snefru’s reign • Before Snefru’s death, the t lowest steps were filled in to form the smooth edges of a classic pyramid • To this day, only the top three highest steps are visible, where the others have been buried in the shifting sands

5. Bent Pyramid • This pyramid was built in circa 2600 B.C in Dahshur and was 344 feet high • This was the first attempt at building a smooth-sided pyramid • It was very flawed, and it had very steep sides • A lack of stability may have influenced the architects to aim for a new angle halfway through construction • It was again built by Snefru after he had moved his court to Dahshur • This pyramid had two burial chambers, each one with a different entrance • Because of this odd shaped pyramid, Snefru had another pyramid made, and sent some workers back to Maidum to finish his first pyramid

6. Red Pyramid • This pyramid was built in circa 2600 B.C, in Dahshur and stands 341 feet tall • Soon after the bent pyramid had been made, Snefru again had another pyramid built nearby, the Red or the North Pyramid • This was Snefru’s third try at a classic, smooth-sided pyramid • It was known as a charm, and was an elegant precursor to the Great Pyramids at Giza • This Red Pyramid had one burial chamber that was found through two smaller chambers, where Snefru may have been buried • It is said that Snefru’s son Pharaoh Khufu finished the construction of the pyramid soon after his fathers death • It is also said that Snefru may have been buried in Mastaba 17, a tomb near the Maidum Pyramid • Archaeologists then had found a red granite sarcophagus, which still had human remains, but the remains were lost while being shipped to be studied more closely

7. Great Pyramid • This pyramid was built in circa 2550 B.C in Giza, and stands 481 feet tall • Khufu, who was the son of Snefru and the 2nd ruler of the 4th dynasty moved the royal necropolis to Giza • It is said that Khufu also known as Cheops enslaved his people to build his pyramid • It is the largest pyramid ever built and has at least 2.3 million stone blocks, weighing at an average of at least 2.5-15 tons each • It was estimated that the workers would have to move and place a block every 2 and a half minutes • This Pyramid has three burial chambers, the first underground, carved into a bedrock • The second was found aboveground, and was called the queen’s chamber, by early explorers • We now know that it wasn’t to house one of his wives, but maybe to place a statue of himself • The third was the king’s chamber, which had held a red granite sarcophagus placed almost exactly at the center of the pyramid • The king’s chamber is accessed by the 26 foot high Grand Gallery which was sealed off from thieves by sliding granite blocking systems • The Great Pyramid was in the center of many great things, which had several small pyramids, five boat pits, a mortuary temple, a causeway, a valley temple, and many flat-roofed tombs for officials and some members of the royal family

8. Pyramid of Khafre • This pyramid was built in circa 2520 B.C, in Giza, and stands 471 feet tall • Though this pyramid is smaller than his father Khufu’s pyramid, Khafre made up for it by building at a higher elevation and surrounding his pyramid with a more elaborate complex • Within the burial chamber, explorers had discovered a small pit cut in the floor which may have been designed to hold the first canopic chest in a pyramid • Canopic chests held jars in the shapes of protective spirits • These jars held preserved liver, lungs, stomach, and the intestines of the deceased • The brain was discarded but the heart was left in the body • Outside the pyramid, all the typical elements of a pharaonic mortuary temple are seen in one place, for the first time: the entrance hall, colonnaded courtyard, niches for royal statuary, storage chambers, and an interior sanctuary • Later pyramids would be smaller, with greater emphasis on these mortuary temples • Khafre’s necropolis also created different statues, one of them, the Sphinx, carved from bedrock in front of Khafre’s pyramid • The Sphinx shows a pharaoh as a human-headed lion, wearing the headdress of the pharaohs • This great statue is the embodiment of Khafre, the 3rd ruler of the 4th dynasty

9. Pyramid of Menkaure • This pyramid was built in circa 2490 B.C in Giza, and is 213 feet tall • This pyramid was the last of the three Great Pyramids but was small in size • Menkaure’s mortuary temple was much more elaborate than the one at Khufu’s pyramid • The 6th ruler of the 4th dynasty Menkaure, built himself a pyramid one tenth the size of Khafre’s • Unlike other Great Pyramids whose walls were made of limestone, Menkaure’s was sheathed in granite on the bottom levels and in the burial chamber they used costlier, which was much more difficult to work with • When Menkaure died unexpectedly, work on the pyramid was abandoned • Late Menkaure’s heir, Shepseskaf may have later finished the complex using mud brick

10. Pyramid of Pepi II • This pyramid was built in circa 2250 B.C in Saqqara, and is 172 feet tall • After Pharaoh Menkaure had died, pyramids were built on a much smaller scale and often made of inferior materials • They had moved the pyramids from Giza back to Saqqara, where the first pyramid was made and Abusir • This had continued on under the last of the great ancient Egyptian pyramid builders • At six years old, Pepi II became the 2nd ruler of the 6th dynasty • By the end of his 94-64 year reign, the kingdom was plagued by foreign and domestic conflicts, as well as famine and no rest due to droughts • Though Pepi II had such a long reign, his pyramid was very short • This pyramid was probably completed in the 30th year of his reign, or 60 years before he had died • Inside the pyramid, Pepi II’s burial chamber protects a black granite sarcophagus under a ceiling painted with stars • There are also pyramid texts carved into the walls • People have said that they have carved writing into the walls, to be another effort to perpetuate the glory of Egypt

11. Who Built the Pyramids? • The pyramids were built by the Horde which were buried in structures known as mastabas • The first Egyptian Pyramid is attributed to the architect Imhotep, who planned what Egyptologists believe to be a tomb for the pharaoh Djozer • Imhotep may has been the first to think of stacking mastabas on top of each other which would stack up to a number of steps, that would decrease in size as you got higher • The first pyramid of Djozer was created so the soul of the deceased pharaoh could ascend into the heavens

12. Resources • http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/maidum.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_pyramids • http://egyptphoto.ncf.ca/pyramid%20of%20pepi%20II%20temple.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Menkaures_Pyramid_Giza_Egypt.jpg • http://www.euratlas.com/Atlas/egypt_nile/dashur_red_pyramid.html