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Pyramids
The pyramids were built thousands of years ago. They were built to honor their Pharaohs, Gods and Goddesses. These days, they are one of the greatest tourist attractions.
2,201 Questions
Shortly after coming to the throne the Pharaoh would command his overseer of public works and architects to prepare a burial place in keeping with his status as a god-king. The chosen site was usually one on the edge of the cultivated land in an already established pyramid field. The royal survey team set to work marking out the site. Great care was taken in orientating the site to the four points of the compass and in levelling the site to provide a foundation for the pyramid. When the slaves had cleared away the sand and rubble highly skilled masons were called in to level the foundations. This was done by cutting a grid of channels and filling them with water. The rock was then cut back to the water level to make it perfectly flat. Finally the water was drained away and the channels filled with rubble.
Some of them were free men doing particular tasks such as masons, tool makers, carpenters, scribes and supervisors. Many of course were unskilled slave labourers. The slaves could expect to be fed and watered but little else. They are all naked, too low in status to wear clothes.
Through the Pharaoh's reign, the construction site teemed with workers of all kinds toiling in the hot sun to complete the monument before the king's death. Day after day, year after year, the quarries rang with the sound of hammer and chisel on stone. After they had cut deep enough to define a block, they packed the riven rock with pieces of porous wood. A slave boy pours water on the wood in the hole. The wood expands so fast that the block splits out with a crack. After the stone blocks are extracted from the quarry face they are lowered onto sledges. A mark is made on the stone by a scribe. This aided them to place the blocks in the pyramid just as they came out of the quarry ensuring a better fit than random blocks without further finishing.
From dawn to dusk, slave gangs drag the sledges loaded with stones each weighing about two tons to staging areas at the base of the pyramid. Most of the stone blocks proceed up the ramp without future handling. Only a fraction of the stone blocks needed to be cut to precise dimensions by the masons. The slaves begin hauling the loaded sledges slowly up the clay and rubble ramp. Whether it was a single long or spiralling ramp depends on the size of pyramid. The noise on the ramp was one of chanting slaves, the rumble of heavy sledges and the swish of the overseer's lash. Years of experience ensured that the overseer never missed his mark, as its thong wrapped around the naked body of a slave. Boys pour water under the runners of the sledges to reduce friction to ease their passage up the ramp.
When the sledges reached the working level teams of slaves called setters shifted the blocks from the sledges into their designated positions using simple levers, brute force and experience gained from years of hard labour. Once the stones had been delivered the hauling gang would make their weary way down the ramp carrying their sledge, in order to make the same back breaking journey up as they would several times a day.
Other slaves are employed in maintaining and extending the ramps as the pyramid grew. These ramps are made of rubble, bound together with desert tafla (a type of clay) and laid with planks to ease the passage of the sledges. Rows of slaves are seen breaking up waste material from the quarries, mixing them with the desert tafla clay and loading the finished mixture into baskets. Individual baskets are loaded onto the shoulders of slaves for delivery to the ramp builders on the pyramid.
Granite came from Aswan located 400 miles to the south. Granite was used for the lining of the burial chamber and the internal passage leading to it or in some instances the lower courses of the pyramid. These blocks were the largest in size used on the structure, for example, some of the granite stones used on the Great Pyramid at Giza weighs up to 70 tons. Copper chisels used for quarrying limestone could not be used, a harder material was required. Balls of dolerite, a hard, black igneous rock, were used in the quarries of Aswan to extract the hard granite. This is a place of great heat, dust and noise a hellish place to be sent to work. These dolerite "pounders" were used to pulverize the stone around the edge of the granite block that needed to be extracted. Teams of slaves pound away for weeks in order to expose enough stone for the block to be extracted from the quarry. At the bottom, they ram wooden pegs into slots they have cut, and fill the slots with water. The pegs will expand and split the rock with a resounding crack much more impressive than anything heard with the softer limestone. Long lines of slaves, their bare bodies covered in the dust of the quarry and gleaming with sweat, drag the loaded sledges along a causeway to the river. Here the great stones hewn with so much effort and suffering will be loaded onto barges and floated down the river.
At any one time as many as 30,000 workers may have been involved on this massive project. Some of them were professional craftsmen most however were slaves.
The blocks that were used to construct the pyramids were made of?
The blocks used to construct the pyramids were made of limestone and granite. These blocks were quarried and transported to the construction site where they were carefully stacked to form the pyramids.
What king hired an architect to build a step pyramid?
King Djoser hired the architect Imhotep to build the Step Pyramid at Saqqara in Egypt. This pyramid is considered to be the first monumental stone building in history and marked a significant advancement in pyramid construction techniques.
Are Egyptian pyramids made of sand?
No, Egyptian pyramids are not made of sand. They are primarily made of limestone blocks, with granite used for some of the inner chambers and casing stones. Sand may have been used in the construction process for leveling the base and as a construction material for mortar.
How did they move the rocks and stones to the pyramid?
Workers likely used wooden sleds, ropes, and levers to move the heavy blocks of stones and rocks to the pyramid construction site. They may have also used ramps and manpower to drag the blocks into place.
Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia. Its history occurred in a series of stable Kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods. Ancient Egypt reached its pinnacle during the New Kingdom, after which it entered a period of slow decline. Egypt was conquered by a succession of foreign powers in this late period, and the rule of the pharaohs officially ended in 31 BC when the early Roman Empire conquered Egypt and made it a province.
The success of ancient Egyptian civilization stemmed partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River Valley. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which fueled social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to defeat foreign enemies and assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs.
The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that facilitated the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, the first known ships, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty. Egypt left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travellers and writers for centuries. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy, for Egypt and the world.
Ancient China
The Xia Dynasty of China (from ca. 2,100 BCE to 1,600 BCE) is the first dynasty to be described in ancient historical records such as Records of the Grand Historian and Bamboo Annals.
Although there is disagreement regarding the actual existence of the dynasty, there is some archaeological evidence pointing to its possible existence. The historian Sima Qian (145 BCE-90 BCE), who wrote the Shiji or Records of the Grand Historian and the so-called Bamboo Annals date the founding of the Xia Dynasty to 4,200 years ago, but this date has not been corroborated. Most archaeologists now connect the Xia to excavations at Erlitou in central Henan province, where a bronze smelter from around 2000 BCE was unearthed. Early markings from this period found on pottery and shells are thought to be ancestors of modern Chinese characters. With few clear records matching the Shang oracle bones or the Zhou bronze vessel writings, the Xia era remains poorly understood.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world.
In its centuries of existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to an oligarchic republic to an increasingly autocratic empire. It came to dominate South-Western Europe, South-Eastern Europe/Balkans and the Mediterranean region through conquest and assimilation.
Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the western part of the empire, including Italy, Hispania, Gaul, Britannia and Africa broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century AD.
The Eastern Roman Empire, which was governed from Constantinople, comprising Greece, the Balkans, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt, survived this crisis. Despite the later loss of Syria and Egypt to the Arab Islamic Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire would live on for another millennium, until its last remains were finally annexed by the emerging Turkish Ottoman Empire. This eastern, Christian, medieval stage of the Empire is usually referred to as the Byzantine Empire by historians.
Roman civilization is often grouped into "classical antiquity" with ancient Greece, a civilization that inspired much of the culture of ancient Rome. Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development of law, war, art, literature, architecture, technology, religion, and language in the Western world, and its history continues to have a major influence on the world today.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries, at first under Athenian leadership successfully repelling the military threat of Persian invasion. The Athenian Golden Age ends with the defeat of Athens at the hands of Sparta in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC.
Classical Greek culture had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe, for which reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western civilization.
How many days did it take to make Egyptian pyramids?
The construction of the Egyptian pyramids varied in duration, depending on the size and complexity of the pyramid. Larger pyramids such as the Great Pyramid of Giza could take around 20 years to build, while smaller pyramids could be completed in a few years.
Which pyramid was built first Kufu or Khafre?
The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Kufu) was built first, during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. It is the largest of the three pyramids at the Giza pyramid complex. The Pyramid of Khafre was built next, with Khufu's son, Pharaoh Khafre, as its builder.
What is one fact about pyramids?
Pyramids were constructed by ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians, Mayans, and Aztecs for various purposes such as tombs for Pharaohs and temples for religious practices. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest and most well-known pyramid in the world.
Pyramids were designed primarily as?
Pyramids were designed primarily as tombs for pharaohs and other important figures in ancient Egyptian society. They were intended to house the deceased's mummified body and treasures to ensure a successful journey to the afterlife.
What were the reasons they built the Mexican pyramids?
Religion and the exhibition of political prowess are the main reasons why the pyramids were built: most of them were temples dedicated to the Mesoamerican gods, where many types of rituals were celebrated, such as offerings and human sacrifices.
Should you Restore the Pyramids of Egypt?
While it would be really neat to see the Pyramids at Giza coated in shiny limestone once again, such a project would be really expensive. Some people believe that the damage done over time is part of what makes the Pyramids so historic. Whether or not you restore the Pyramids is up to you, although you'd have to ask Egypt if it would be OK before you started working.
No bodies or remains attributed to Khufu (builder of the Great Pyramid) have been conclusively found within the pyramid. In 1954, a sarcophagus was discovered in the Great Pyramid's burial chamber, which Egyptologists believe was intended for Khufu, but it was empty. The pyramids were looted in ancient times, which may explain the absence of bodies.
Are the great pyramids of Egypt the biggest pyramids in the world?
Yes, the Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the largest pyramids in the world in terms of volume and mass. It is not the tallest, but it is the most famous and well-preserved of the ancient Egyptian pyramids.
When were the pyramids completed?
2500 BC The Great Pyramid of Giza , also called Khufu's Pyramid or the Pyramid of Khufu, and Pyramid of Cheops, is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo, Egypt in Africa, and is the only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for Fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) and constructed over a 20 year period concluding around 2560 BC. The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years
What is the shrine called that guards the pyramids?
The Great Sphinx of Giza is the shrine that guards the pyramids in Egypt. It is a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human, believed to represent ancient Egyptian pharaohs.
When were the great pyramids in Egypt discovered and by whom?
They have always been known by the Egyptians. But you probably mean discovered by the western world. The Greek writer Herodotus mentions them in his writings when he visited Egypt around 450 BC.
Mummies are typically found buried in tombs, such as in Ancient Egypt where they were placed in elaborate burial chambers with various artifacts and goods for the afterlife. Different cultures and civilizations throughout history have also practiced mummification and burial in various ways, often in special crypts or designated burial sites.
Where is the step pyramid of djoser located?
The Step Pyramid of Djoser is located in Saqqara, Egypt. It is part of the Saqqara necropolis, a large burial ground that served as a royal cemetery for the ancient city of Memphis.
Where is the step pyramid located?
The Step Pyramid is located in Saqqara, near Cairo, Egypt. It is part of the Saqqara necropolis and is considered one of the oldest stone structures in the world, constructed during the Third Dynasty for Pharaoh Djoser.
Why did the mayans build pyramids?
The priests advised the Mayas on how to please the gods. The people believed whatever the priests spoke was the will of the gods and the people willingly obeyed. The priests said the gods wanted many pyramids and temples. The people obeyed and built stone pyramids to honor the gods. The Mayas also believed they had to sacrifice humans to honor and keep peace with the gods. In this way, the priests had much control over the people.
What do the steps in the pyramids mean?
A step pyramid is built using flat platforms receding from the ground to achieve the same shape as a regular pyramid. In some cultures, the steps were meant to signify the steps it took to reach the gods. They were sometimes referred to as "Hills of Heaven."
How are the Egyptian pyramids protected?
The Egyptian pyramids are protected through a combination of security measures, such as fences, guards, surveillance cameras, and restricted entry points. The Egyptian government also enforces strict preservation laws and regulations to protect these ancient structures from damage and vandalism. Additionally, ongoing conservation efforts are in place to ensure the long-term preservation of the pyramids.
Pyramids are considered mysterious due to their massive size, precise engineering, and the advanced technology required to construct them. The exact methods by which ancient civilizations moved and placed such large stone blocks, as well as the purpose of pyramids in various cultures, are still the subject of debate and speculation among historians and archaeologists.
Stepped pyramid and sham building of the funerary complex of djoser?
The stepped pyramid is a type of structure in ancient Egyptian architecture, characterized by stacked tiers that decrease in size as they rise. The funerary complex of Djoser, designed by architect Imhotep, is considered the earliest example of a stepped pyramid, located in Saqqara. The sham buildings within the complex served a symbolic or decorative function, representing structures the pharaoh would need in the afterlife.
