icon'/> Did You Know?: Egyptian Pyramids

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Egyptian Pyramids

Pyramids (Egypt), large structures with four triangular sides that meet in a point at the top, directly over the center of the pyramid’s square base. Ancient peoples in several parts of the world built pyramids, but the Egyptians constructed the biggest and most famous pyramids, with which this article deals. For information on the pyramids of Mesopotamia, see Ziggurat. For information on the pyramids of the Americas, see Pyramids (The Americas).

The ancient Egyptians built more than 90 royal pyramids, from about 2630 bc until about 1530 bc. During that time, the pyramid form evolved from a series of stepped terraces that resembled the layers of a wedding cake to the better-known, sloped pyramidal shape. The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid at Şaqqārah, was constructed during the reign of King Djoser (2630 bc-2611 bc). The largest pyramid is the one built for King Khufu, at the site of modern Giza. Khufu’s pyramid, known as the Great Pyramid, is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World that still survives.

3 comments:

Sthomas said...

Nice post. These Ancient Egyptian Pyramids are really beautiful but why Egyptians build such a huge pyramid? I don't think just to keep dead bodies they need such a giant pyramid. Can anyone tell me the answer?

Unknown said...

Is it really a coincidence that the height of the Pyramid of Cheops
multiplied by 1,000 million corresponds approximately to the
distance between the earth and sun? That is to say, 93 million miles.
Is it a coincidence that a meridian running through the pyramid
divides continents and oceans into two exactly equal halves? Is it
coincidence that the area of the base of the pyramid divided by twice
its height gives the celebrated figure (Pi) = 3.14159, discovered by
Ludolf? Is it coincidence that calculations of the weight of the earth
were found and is it also coincidence that the rocky ground on which
the structure stands is carefully and accurately levelled?
For the pyramid not
only divides continents and oceans into two equal halves, but also
lies at the centre of gravity of the continents.with what technical
resources was the rocky terrain levelled at all? How did the masterbuilders
drive the tunnels downwards? And how did they illuminate
them? Neither here nor in the rock-cut tombs in the Valley of Kings
were torches or anything similar used. There are no blackened
ceilings or walls or even the slightest evidence that traces of
blackening have been removed. How and with what were the stone
blocks cut out of the quarries? With sharp edges and smooth sides?
How were they transported and joined together to the thousandth of
an inch?
We know next to nothing about the how, why and when of the
building of the pyramid. An artificial mountain, some 490 ft high and
weighing 31,200,000 tons, stands there as evidence of an incredible
achievement and this monument is supposed to be nothing more
than the burial place of an extravagant king! Anyone who can believe
that explanation is welcome to it ....

Unknown said...

If the industrious workers had achieved the extraordinary daily piece
rate of ten blocks piled on top of each other, they would have
assembled the two and a half million stone blocks into the
magnificent stone pyramid in about 250,000 days = 664 years. Yes,
and don't forget that the whole thing came into being at the whim of an eccentric king who never lived to see the completion of the edifice
he had inspired.
Of course one must not even suggest that this theory, so seriously
advanced, is ridiculous. Yet who is so ingenuous as to believe that the
pyramid was nothing but the tomb of a king. From now on who will
consider the transmission of mathematical and astronomical signs as
pure chance?
Today the Great Pyramid is undisputedly attributed to the Pharaoh
Khufu as inspirer and builder. Why? Because all the inscriptions and
tablets refer to Khufu. It seems obvious to me that the Pyramid
cannot have been erected during a single lifetime. But what if Khufu
forged the inscriptions and tablets that are supposed to proclaim his
fame.? That was quite a popular procedure in antiquity, as many
buildings bear witness. Whenever a dictatorial ruler wanted the fame
for himself alone, he gave orders for this process to be carried out. If
that was the case, then the pyramid existed long before Khufu left his
visiting card.