The Pyramids Of Egypt Essay, Research Paper
In my report, I will discuss how the pyramids were built, what
purpose they served, the three pyramids at Giza, some messages
found on the stones that were used to build pyramids, and what a mastabas is.
Pyramids are tombs built for Egypt’s pharaohs. Pyramids are
large structures with four sides that are the shape of a triangle, that meet at the top to
form a point. The
ancient Egyptians used the pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and temples for their gods.
The pyramids
have one or two little temples attached to them, which holds their relatives and servants. A
few pyramids
still stand today, and are great attractions for tourists.
The pyramids were built by taking blocks of granite to the workshop, measuring
the blocks down
to size, shaping the blocks, and placing the blocks into the body of the pyramid. The core
of the structure
is now completed. Then, you place the limestone blocks on the top of the structure (they
started putting
the blocks on top and then worked their way down). They left two empty rooms to place
the pharaoh and
his belongings in. They sealed the pyramids so well, it took four hundred years for two
robbers to figure
out how to get in.
The pyramids were built by free citizens, drafted for public work, not by slaves of
any sort.
The pyramids were built by four thousand expert stone sculptors all year round.
An extra work
group of about ninety-five thousand men worked on the pyramids during the four month
period of the
inundation (the time of enforced idleness for farmers, since
the field were covered with the Nile water flood ).
The pyramids were built between the year 1600 B.C. and the
year 2700.
Many scholars believe that the reason why the pyramids were built in a triangular
form is
because it has a religious meaning to the Egyptians. The slanting side might have reminded
the Egyptians
of the slanting rays of the sun, that the pharaoh’s soul could climb to the sky and join the
gods.
In the pyramids they buried the pharaoh’s body. There was a chamber for the body.
There was
also a chamber for treasures of gold and other priceless items for the pharaoh’s afterlife.
Sometimes a boat
is placed inside so the pharaoh would have a way to transport himself into his afterlife.
In Pharaoh Cheopses pyramid, therewas his mummy, caskets full of jewels,
furniture inlaid with
ivory and gold, silver and alabaster bowls and vessels, chests filled with clothing and
precious ornaments,
and jars filled full of food and wine. You must think that the pyramids must have been
large to hold all of
that, and as a matter of fact the base of the pyramid covers enough area to hold ten
football fields.
The three pyramids at Giza stand on the west bank of the Nile River,outside of
Cairo. They are
the largest and best preserved pyramids. The largest of the three was for Pharaoh Khufu
(Cheops). The
next to largest was for Pharaoh Khafre. The smallest (yet not small at all) was for Pharaoh
Menkaure.
The first known pharaoh to have a pyramid was Pharaoh Zoser,in
the year 2650 B.C. Imhotep built it for him.
If you ever see something that looks like a pyramid, except it’s smaller than one,
and has a flat
top, don’t mistake it for a pyramid, it’s a mastabas. In the mastabas the king’s relatives and
servants are
buried.
Some blocks had marks on them to show where they belonged. Others had
messages like ” this
side up “, ” vigorous gang”, or even ” how drunk the king is “.
In conclusion, the pyramids were built by free, drafted, citizens. Pyramids were
used to bury the
pharaohs. The messages on the stones were decoded. The three pyramids at the Giza were
the largest, and
a mastabas is not a pyramid.
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