The Egyptian pyramids are one of the greatest attractions in the world of ancient Egyptian architecture. They, according to archaeologists, are the tombs of pharaohs, members of their families and court nobles. This version is generally accepted and its confirmation is considered to be the presence of mummies inside. But is it? What secrets do these buildings keep? Who built them and how? For what? What's inside? You will find answers to your questions in this article.
Pyramids in Egypt: why were they built?
During the period of the Old Kingdom (c. 2707 - 2150 BC, III-VI dynasties), structures began to be created for burials, symbolizing the sacred mountain - the desire of humanity to reach heaven.
Pink Pyramid in Dahshur. Author: Hajor, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Scholars suggest that the Egyptians' belief in the ascension of the spirit to the gods was the principal purpose of their construction. In their opinion, even today, these structures represent man's dream of achieving Higher Consciousness. There are other opinions on this matter, which are given below.
Some occult researchers of the secrets of the Egyptian pyramids spent the night in the inner chambers. They wrote books about their mystical experiences. “Secrets of the Pyramids (The Secret of Orion)” by R. Bauval, E. Gilbert offers a version about the stellar orientation of the buildings. The American prophet and medium Edgar Cayce spoke about the significance of the pyramids for the lost civilization of Atlantis. Information is available on the Internet.
Egyptian pyramids: about the secret of construction
Several theories try to explain the technology of their construction, but no one knows exactly how and why these famous architectural monuments were built. There are only versions and assumptions.
One of the greatest mysteries: how did people move such massive stone blocks using primitive tools? The Egyptians left thousands of illustrations depicting daily life in the Old Kingdom. It is curious that none of them show their construction.
Drawing from a fresco of Djehutihotep II depicting the colossus' method of movement. Perhaps they also moved massive blocks for construction. Author: Link Link Link to source Link
But maybe these images are simply not for the eyes of modern man? Maybe, looking at the drawings, we are not able to see their method of creating grandiose structures, because it is fundamentally different from modern ideas? Here's what information you can find about this on the Internet.
- The usual explanation is the manual labor of thousands of slaves who cut out pieces of rock, dragged them and installed them.
- It is believed that some monuments consist of cast sections, similar to modern concrete buildings.
- There is a version of using certain sound vibrations to move multi-ton blocks. The version is even confirmed by experiments and some photographs of frescoes.
But there is an architect who created a project according to which the Cheops pyramid can be built today. Read about this in the article Construction of the Cheops Pyramid on the Architecture channel.
Director Florence Tran's film Unraveling the Mystery of the Cheops Pyramid features this interesting version by Jean-Pierre Houdin (Jean-Pierre). His father, a former civil engineer, came up with the idea of building using an internal ramp.
The evidence presented is quite convincing. See a detailed study conducted by a Frenchman. Maybe he solved the mystery of the construction of the Egyptian pyramids?
Interior
In an abstract or report about the Cheops pyramid, you can talk about its internal structure. The structure is complex, there are many corridors and ventilation shafts. The inside of the tomb is quite unusual, there are several interesting places in it:
All pyramids have an entrance on the north side . But today it is blocked by a stone block, and tourists pass through a door located much lower. For their convenience, steps were made and lighting was installed.
At the intersection of two passages, corridors appear leading down and up. The descendant is led to the burial pit. But in the tomb of Cheops it was not completed and abandoned; the body of the pharaoh was not there. Although, according to the stories of Herodotus, it should be located on an island surrounded by an underground canal.
An ascending corridor leads to a gallery divided into 2 parts. Several corridors also branch off from it. One way you can get into the Queen's Chamber, and the other way - into the funeral room of the pharaoh. It is finished with black granite. In the Chamber there is a sarcophagus without a lid, but even here the body of Cheops was not found.
The walls of each room have ventilation holes . There are copper doors at their ends. They indicate the piety of the Egyptians. The pharaoh's subordinates believed that his soul in the pyramid would leave his body and enter the afterlife through these doors.
The ceilings in the rooms are almost destroyed, the worn slabs look gray. And above the burial chambers, the builders made several cavities, separating them with monolithic slabs. This made it possible to distribute the pressure of the weight on the blocks under which the pharaoh's room is located.
Who was the architect of the first pyramid?
The earliest known pyramidal structures are found at Saqqara, northwest of Memphis. The oldest of them is the Pyramid of Djoser, built approximately in the period 2630 - 2611. BC. during the third dynasty, the first adviser to the king, architect and builder, high priest of Ra in Heliopolis, poet and thinker Imhotep. He is considered the founder of this architectural form, proposing to build three more smaller mastabas above the main one. His tomb has not yet been identified. Therefore, there is no mummy of Imhotep.
The oldest pyramid of Djoser, arch. Imhotep. Author: Berthold Werner - Own work, CC BY 3.0, Link
Where are the most famous Egyptian pyramids located?
One of the Seven Classic Wonders of the World are the three pyramids of Giza, surrounded by mastabas and guarded by a temple containing the Great Sphinx. Their location on the map:
This is the only surviving miracle, unlike the other six:
- Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (in Bodrum, Türkiye),
- statues of Zeus in Olympia (Greece),
- Colossus of Rhodes,
- Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (Türkiye),
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon and
- Lighthouse in Alexandria.
Pyramids at Giza. View from above. Posted by Theklan - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Surrounding objects
The huge Pyramid of Cheops, a brief description of which is surrounded by numerous secrets and riddles, is located near other famous architectural monuments. It is impossible to visit one of the wonders of the world and not take a look at the nearby objects:
Near the tomb, 7 recesses were discovered in which the remains of Egyptian boats were preserved. One of them is the “Solar Boat”, intended for the pharaoh. It is built from cedar wood without fasteners. It was on it that Cheops was supposed to go to the Kingdom of the Dead. On one side of the tomb they opened a museum dedicated to this boat.
To the east of the tomb there are 3 pyramids of the queens of Egypt . They are located in a southerly direction in descending order: each successive one is 50 cm higher than the previous one. All of them have been preserved in satisfactory condition, historians have been able to examine them outside and inside.
Every child knows about sphinxes. This is a stone sculpture that can be found in Egypt. One of them is located near the Pharaoh's pyramid. Externally, the sculpture resembles a lion, but it has a human face. Usually it was a portrait of the ruler of Egypt. The Great Sphinx is located in Giza. According to Wikipedia, this is one of the largest monolithic statues in the world.
The Pyramid of Cheops
Dimensions
Initially, its height was 146.6 m (approximately a 50-story skyscraper), and the side of the base was 230.3 m. Until 1880, until the Cologne Cathedral was built, this structure was considered the tallest. Today's mark is 138 meters. Click on the arrows on the panoramic photo below and explore the surrounding area. The Great Pyramid of Cheops, the largest of the three, is estimated to contain 2.5 million stone blocks with an average weight of 6 million 250 thousand tons (6,250,000 t). In the royal chamber there are granite blocks weighing up to 80 tons. Its entire surface was lined with white polished limestone brought from the hills in Tours, on the opposite side of the Nile. This highly valuable material was removed in the 16th century and used to decorate mosques in Cairo.
How many years did it take to build the Cheops pyramid?
Since the time of Herodotus (5th century BC), it is believed that the construction of one pyramid lasted twenty years. In his writings, he mentioned that the Egyptian guides spoke of using 100,000 slaves over ten years to build the monumental structure. Another 10 years were spent constructing an underground passage connecting the tomb with the temple. The total result is that one pyramid took 20 years to build.
Reconstruction of the 18th century. construction of the Egyptian pyramids according to Herodotus. Author: Antoine-Yves Goguet - "L'origine des lois, des arts et des sciences", 1820, Public domain, Link
By the way, in the video “The Secret of the Egyptian Pyramids”, which is posted above, the author confirms the possibility of a 20-year construction period.
What's at the top of the Cheops pyramid?
Usually, when construction was completed, the last part was made, the so-called top stone. It was considered the most important and was often made of valuable stone or even gold. Pyramid of Cheops - without a pointed top. Whether it was always like this or whether the top stone was stolen, no one knows. But there is information where visitors from the time of Christ report the absence of a tip.
At the top there is a large flat area measuring 9X9 m (in other sources 2X2). Another fact: on the back of the dollar bill you can see an image of a pyramid with a flat top. This is an image of the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States. Are these facts related? If you know, please write in the comments.
Many explorers and tourists have climbed to the top. The last “pyramid climber” of 2021, 18-year-old German tourist Andrei Ciesielski, managed to see Egypt from the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza. He committed an illegal lift and was arrested by the police. Please note: after several accidents, climbing to the peaks is only possible with special permission.
How is the pyramid structured inside?
The entrance to the Great Pyramid of Cheops is on the north side at an altitude of about 15 m above the ground. After a short descending entrance tunnel, there is an upward passage leading to a large gallery and finally to the above-ground burial vaults, which makes it unique.
The structure of the Cheops pyramid inside Author: Yucatan - own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Other pyramid interiors only have a tunnel system leading to underground chambers. Treasures from the buildings have been removed and are available for viewing in world-famous museums such as the British Museum (britishmuseum.org), the Egyptian Museum of Berlin (egyptian-museum-berlin.com) and the Italian Museum of Turin (museoegizio.it).
However, nearby there is the Solar Boat Museum, which displays a boat that was recovered from the ground at the foot of the pyramid structure. To learn more about the oldest ship in the world, listen to the video.
Afterlife of Ancient Egypt
One of the central moments in the life of the ancient Egyptians was religion, which shaped the entire culture as a whole. Particular attention was paid to the afterlife, perceived as a clear continuation of earthly life. That is why preparation for life after death began long before death and was set as one of the main life tasks.
According to ancient Egyptian belief, man had several souls. The soul of Ka acted as a double of the Egyptian, whom he was to meet in the afterlife. The soul of Ba contacted the person himself and left his body after death.
Religious life of the Egyptians and the god Anubis
At first, it was believed that only the pharaoh had the right to life after death, but he could bestow this “immortality” on his entourage, who were usually buried next to the tomb of the ruler. Ordinary people were not destined to enter the world of the dead, the only exceptions being slaves and servants, whom the pharaoh “took” with him, and who were depicted on the walls of the great tomb.
But for a comfortable life after death, the deceased had to be provided with everything necessary: food, household utensils, servants, slaves and much more necessary for the average pharaoh. They also tried to preserve the person’s body so that Ba’s soul could later connect with him again. Therefore, in matters of body preservation, embalming and the creation of complex pyramid tombs were born.
