Pyramids of Giza
The Pyramids of Giza are erected on a rocky plateau on
the west bank of the Nile River near Al-Jzah (Giza) in
northern Egypt. These pyramids are included among
the Seven Wonders of the World.
The ancient ruins of the Memphis
area, including the Pyramids of Giza,
aqqrah, Dahshr, Ab Ruwaysh, and
Ab r, were collectively designated a
UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
Sneferus Pyramids
The fourth-dynasty king, in the Old Kingdom, Sneferu 2686
2667 BC, was the first to create the pyramid shape that we all
recognize and associate with Egyptian architecture. He built
three pyramids in allbut the first two were glorious failures.
The Old Kingdom was during 2686 B.C. to 2181 B.C.
His first, the pyramid at Medum, began as a step pyramid and
was then modified to form the first true pyramid. But it was
unstable and the limestone blocks began to slip. Soon, work on
it was abandoned.
King Sneferu then moved to
Dahshur and built a second
pyramid, which we now know
as the Bent Pyramid
because its upper part rises at
a shallower angle of incline
than the lower part. But the
corners were built on unstable
ground and the walls of the
burial chambers inside began
to crack and shift inward.
Eventually, the bent pyramid
was never used.
Instead, Sneferu began a third pyramid. This one is called the red
pyramid because of the red limestone blocks used in its
construction. It became the worlds first successful true pyramid.
With the red pyramid, Sneferu set the standard for all true
pyramids to come. This was the model followed by his son,
Khufu.
He included aboveground burial chambers, a mortuary
temple, and a causeway leading down to a valley temple.
The Giza pyramids were erected on a rocky plateau on the west
bank of the Nile in northern Egypt and were connected, by
covered causeways, to mortuary temples in the valley below
the plateau.
These temples had landing stages which were linked to the Nile
by a canal.
Khufus Pyramid
The largest of the three
pyramids at Giza, known
as the Great Pyramid, is
truly an astonishing
work of engineering. It
was built over a twenty
year period.
One hundred thousand people worked on the great structure
for three months of each.
The sides are oriented to the four cardinal points of the
compass and the length of each side at the base is 755 feet
(230.4 m).
It was constructed using around 2,300,000 limestone
blocks, each weighing an average of 2.5 tons. Some blocks
weigh as much as 16 tons.
For centuries, the Great Pyramid was encased in smooth
limestone, but this was plundered in our era to build Cairo.
Its ancient original
height is 146.5 meters
(481 ft), but today its
only at 138.8 meters
(455 ft).
The base is 230.4
meters (756 ft) and a
slope of 5150'40.
Khafres Pyramid
Khufus son, Khafre (also known as Chephren).
Its ancient original height is 143.5 m or 471 ft, its
contemporary height on the other hand is 136.4 meters (448
ft).
The base is 215.28 meters (706 ft) and the slope is at 5310'.
Khafres pyramid retains some of its original limestone
casing at the apex, and so it is possible to imagine how the
pyramids might have appeared in antiquity. Khafre also built
the Great Sphinx, which is 66 feet high (20 m) and 240 feet
long (73 m) and is part of Khafres pyramid complex.
It represents Ra-Harakhte, the sun god, as he rises in the east at
dawn but the face of the Sphinx is a portrait of Khafre himself,
and is contemporary with his pyramid.
Unfortunately, the great sphinx has deteriorated over the
millennia and was extensively renovated in ancient times. More
recently it was mutilated by the Sultan Mohammed an-Nasir in
AD 1300; and lost its nose in 1798, when Napoleons soldiers
used it for target practice.
Menkauras Pyramid
Khafres son, Menkaura built the third pyramid at the
Giza necropolis (the cemetery).
With an original height of 228 feet (70 m), and today,
its only at 65 meters (213 ft).
The base is 102.2 by 104.6 meters (335 ft 343 ft)
with a slope of 5120'25.
It is less than half the height of the pyramid built by his
grandfather, Khufu.
The lower layers consist of red granite from Aswan and the upper
courses were originally made of gleaming white limestone.
Although pyramid-building in stone continued until the end of
the Old Kingdom, the pyramids of Giza were never surpassed
in their size and the technical excellence of their construction.
The New Kingdom ancient Egyptians marvelled at their
predecessors monuments, which were then; well over a
thousand year old.
There were pyramids built during the Middle Kingdom but these
consisted of a mud brick core with a stone skin and are now
mere piles of rubble.
There are over 100 recorded pyramids in Egypt
most of which belong to minor royalty or have no
known owners.
They required an enormous investment in
resources and stood out in the landscape as easy
prey to the robbers.
The last royal pyramid was built by the first king
of the 18th dynasty Ahmose 1550-1525 BC but,
after that, the Egyptians ceased building these
majestic burial structures for all time.
Others pyramid included are those from Saqqara,
Meidum, Dahshur, Abu Roash, Zawiyet el-Aryan, Abusir,
Mazghuna, Lisht, Hawara, and in Lahun.
Sneferus
Pyramids
Khufus
Pyramid
Pyramids
of Giza
Menkaur
as
Pyramid
Khafres
Pyramid
