Pyramids were built for religious purposes. The Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to believe in an afterlife. They believed that a second self called the ka lived within every human being. Three pyramids were built at Giza, and many smaller pyramids were constructed around the Nile Valley.
Egyptologists believe the pyramid was built as a tomb for the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu (often Hellenized as "Cheops") and was constructed over a 20-year period. Khufu's vizier, Hemiunu (also called Hemon), is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid.
Facts of Pyramids
Last of the Egyptian Pyramids
The Ahmose pyramid collapsed into rubble as it was made primarily from mud brick, which couldn’t hold up over time like the gigantic limestone blocks used in pyramids
Pyramid Constructors
The Great Pyramids were built by workmen, not slaves, despite the claims of famous Greek historian Herodotus in his writing.
In recent years archaeologists have found evidence of these town’s professional builders and stonemasons and their tools. Worker cemeteries have been excavated close to the Pyramids of Khufu and Khafre and have also been explored in Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.
Assault on Menkaure
During the 12th century Al-Aziz Uthman, the second Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt and son of Saladin made an aborted attempt to demolish the Great Pyramids of Giza.
Al-Aziz employed a massive crew of workmen to bring down Menkaure’s temple but the cost, time, and sheer physical difficulties the pyramid stones and sand presented meant the job was scrapped within a year. The Sultan’s efforts resulted in only a vertical gouge left in the north face of the smallest great pyramid.
The Pyramid texts
200 years after the Pyramid of Menkaure was built came the pyramid of King Unas at Saqarra. On the walls of the burial chamber the “Pyramid texts” were found; magical spells in hieroglyph form meant to help King Unas’ soul leave his body and commence its journey to the afterlife.
The oldest known religious texts in the world, pyramid texts have been hugely influential in learning about pharaohs and the roles and the responsibilities they had in everyday life. The Unas Pyramid texts also provide the first reference to Osiris, the god of the Underworld.
Climbing the Great Pyramids
Tourists and Cairo locals attempt to climb to the top of the Great Pyramid of Khufu more often than you think. Most are arrested or detained on-site before being let go without charge because under Egyptian law climbing the pyramid is prohibited but not illegal. In 2016 a 16-year old German tourist was able to climb the pyramid in just over 8 minutes, while recently a local threw rocks at authorities and damaged the wooden mast at the top used to measure the Great Pyramid’s height.
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