River
2/8/02
Pyramids
Did you know that many people think that aliens helped the Egyptians build their pyramids? The advanced Egyptian civilization believed in the afterlife, so they built pyramids for religious reasons. Their construction and function were amazing when we look back at them.
The construction of the pyramids had many steps. First they cleared the site with shovels. Secondly, they leveled the base by flooding it with water from the Nile River. Then, they placed the first stones so that they lined up with the cardinal directions. Next, the pharaoh got his best friend and architect to design the inside of his pyramid. The peasants and farmers set out on building the pyramid, while other men were working on making the true and false passageways to trick the grave robbers. When the building was complete, they put a gold plated capstone on. Finally, they cleared off all the dirt, and polished the pyramid.
The pyramids were built mainly out of granite and limestone blocks. These rocks may have weighed 4,000 to 6,000 pounds. Along with granite and limestone, they used gold and very little silver.
The pyramids were made with many tools. The farmers and peasants used the lever, inclined plane, wedge, pulley, bow drill, mallet, and chisel. They also used counter weight to lift the really heavy blocks. With those tools they cut and placed about 2 million stones by the time the pyramids were finished.
All around the pyramids were extra buildings that made them more extravagant. There were mastabals, tombs for fairly important people surrounding most of the pyramid. There was a mortuary temple, a place where the offerings were left. From that there was a causeway, a long walkway leading to the Valley Temple. The Valley Temple was a place where the pharaoh's funeral began.
Most of the pyramids were built near each other. Egyptians built all of their pyramids on the west bank of the Nile River. They did this because the sun set in the west so they believed that death started there. They also put them close to the Nile so it would make building them easier. The largest and most important pyramids were built in Giza, Memphis, Medurn, and Dahshur.
The pyramids had many functions. The pyramids were made to represent the pharaoh in the afterlife, a life after death. They would also represent the pharaoh's way of life because it would hold all his personal things. The pyramids also might have some stories of his life written in hieroglyphs on the walls.
In conclusion the pyramids were truly remarkable. They were some of the greatest wonders of the ancient world. They were made without any modern tools, and in my opinion "the best structures that were ever made".
Click on the italic words below
to see pictures of the pyramids.
Special thanks to these sources: google.com, Pyramid by David Maraulay, The Ancient World by Perintis Hall, Science in Ancient Egypt by Genaline Woods, Culturefocus.com.