How the Egyptians managed the complex organization of work and the physical movement of large stone blocks is still under debate.Pyramid construction may have involved the ramps being erected around the pyramid. Blocks of stone would have been pulled on sleds and ramps dismantled later. It is believed that most of the work for the construction of the pyramids would have come from farmers who were on hand during the flood season, when the Nile River flooded and farmland was underwater. In addition, it would be the ideal time for the shipping of large blocks of stone from their quarries to the pyramid sites.
The first pyramid was the Pyramid of King Djoser of the Old Kingdom's Third Dynasty over 4,600 years ago. The pyramid (right) was the largest structure ever built 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 added gradually to give it a look similar steps.
Under the pyramid of Djoser was a complex system of corridors with a burial chamber lined with Aswan pink granite about 28 feet below ground. The entrance was closed by a cap of three tonnes of granite. The pyramid outside were covered with limestone, but this was removed long ago. Nearby were the mortuary temple, a Great Court and various other facilities.
The first true pyramid (right) has been developed for King Sneferu during the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom. E 'referred to as the Red Pyramid, because of his color, or the Pyramid of the North because of its position in Dashur south of Cairo. E 'was about 105 meters high with its sides measuring 220 meters.The largest pyramid ever built was the Great Pyramid of Giza in the southwest of modern Cairo (see Giza and the Pyramids). Built for King Cheops, this pyramid was completed around 2550 BC.
It is estimated that the pyramid contains around 2,300,000 blocks of stone with an average weight of 2.5 tonnes each and some up to 15 tons. Its side measures 230 meters long. The structure would have towered about 146.6 meters high, but now is a bit 'shorter due to the outer casing having been removed to construct many buildings in Cairo during the Middle Ages. The interior design has been changed during the pyramid construction and the burial chamber was relocated.
One of its most spectacular is the huge slope Grand Gallery. At the top of the gallery is a corridor that leads into the lower chamber of the King, whose walls are made of polished granite. A large granite sarcophagus is open and no burial has never been found.
To the east of the pyramid, some of the smooth basalt paving of the mortuary temple remains and the causeway leading to the temple of the river is now buried and the Valley of the Temples to be under modern buildings. small pyramids of queens are adjacent to the Great Pyramid, as well as boat sinks.
In 1954, a large cedar boat (pictured at left) was discovered in the pits and then reassembled. You are now on display next to the pyramid. A second boat remains in pieces in another grave blanket. The boats may have been provided for the deceased king to travel through the underworld.
The Giza Plateau is also home to two other large pyramids for the kings that followed, Khafre and Menkaure. As with the Great Pyramid, both of these pyramids have valley of the temples and mortuary temples connected by causeways. However, near the Valley of the Temples of Khafre is the famous 73-meter-long Sphinx and its temple members.
Despite the controversy about his age, most Egyptologists believe the Sphinx was carved from a rocky outcrop at the same time as the pyramid of Khafre.
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 constructed. 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 south of the walls of the pyramid of Djoser.
During the Middle Kingdom, the kings built pyramids themselves again, but being largely of mud bricks, have not survived very well.Develop internal projects failed to stop ancient tomb robbers breaking in and stealing the goods of burial.
The time of the great pyramids had passed, although small pyramids have been used in some New Kingdom private burials as superstructures for funerary chapels. Restored examples exist in Deir el-Medina, the village of the workers who built 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 influenced by the Egyptian 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 the owners were usually underground with the pyramid built on top. The last pyramid was built in Nubia in the 4th century AD.
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