Definitions

Great Pyramid of Giza Who and Why built and Construction Phases

Great Pyramid of Giza

The famous Each type of memory has its own operation, although all of them cooperate to carry out a complete memorization process. This is complex of the three Great Pyramid of Giza is definitely the postcard of all  Egypt . Egypt’s enigmatic pyramids loom above the desert sands in Giza, Cairo . How were these pyramids built? The mystery still remains, but what is known is that Cheops Chephren and Mycerinus signed these phenomenal works that attract tourists every day who are passionate about Ancient Egypt.

The construction of the pyramids represents one of the oldest and most unsolved puzzles in history. Time and again, many scholars and scientists seek answers to the most enigmatic question of all time: ‘how were the pyramids built?’

The Great Pyramids of Giza and the other pyramids erected in Ancient Egypt, which add up to more than 100 Egyptian pyramids, are considered the greatest pieces of human engineering and architecture. 

These monuments still stand strong after more than 4,500 years and are still an unsolved mystery to this day. Some scriptures found and legacies left by the ancient Egyptians can help us understand a little better how the construction of such monuments took place.

These massive limestone or mud brick structures are the oldest known man-made structures on our planet.

Who built the Pyramids in Egypt?

The Pyramids of Giza were built by one of Egypt’s most powerful families – father, son and grandson. We have the Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu), the largest of the three and the first to be built. The Pyramid of Khafre (Khafre), the second largest and the only pyramid of the three that still has the original limestone casing at its tip. The last and smallest of the three is the Pyramid of Menkaure (Menkaure). 

Why did the Egyptians build the pyramids?

These pyramids were built to serve as a tomb for the body of the pharaoh, in addition they represent the rays of the sun raising the pharaoh to join the sun god Ra, in the religion of Ancient Egypt, pharaohs were believed to be divine, personifications of the gods on earth.

Discoveries at the Pyramids of Giza

There many archaeological discoveries were made. A beautiful statue of Menkaure was found at Giza, dating from the 4th dynasty, the statue depicts Mycerinus as a god, in the carving he is wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt. 

Another statue made of alabaster was found, and it shows the king in the usual pharaonic posture. Also found was a statue of Chephren dating from the 4th dynasty, showing the pharaoh on his throne with a representation of the unification of the two lands (Upper and Lower Egypt). Unfortunately, the only statue found of Pharaoh Khufu is only 7.5 cm and is also dated to the 4th dynasty. 

Still at the site were found 30 carved limestone heads dating from the same dynasty, the famous sphinx with the face of a man and the body of a lion and the solar boat of Pharaoh Cheops found in pieces near his pyramid in Giza . The boat has been lovingly restored and can now be visited at the Solar Boat Museum, situated within the Giza Necropolis.

Where are the Pyramids of Giza?

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one that still exists in perfect form, in addition to being the largest of the pyramids in Egypt. It was built by the IV Dynasty Pharaoh Khufu of Ancient Egypt and is located in the Giza Necropolis in the region of Nazlet el Semman in Al Haram.

How were the pyramids in Egypt built?

The construction of the pyramids is still surrounded by many mysteries, assumptions and curiosities. It is difficult and almost impossible to imagine how these great works were created thousands of years ago.  

For the great pyramid of Cheops , for example, around 2,300,000 stone blocks weighing approximately two and a half tons per block were used, although some of them weighing up to sixty tons. It was originally covered with about 27,000 blocks of white, polished limestone, each weighing several tons.

The Egyptians worked for 20 years to complete the great pyramid, which in its original size was 147 meters, currently it is 138.8 meters high. There are several theories that try to explain how the pyramids were built, but so far nothing has been proven.

The 3 Construction Phases of the Egyptian Pyramids

Phase 1: Location Choice

The first step in building a pyramid was to choose a suitable location. This had to be on the west side of the Nile, where the sun went down, considering the ancient Egyptians believed that wherever the sun went down, that was the gateway to the afterlife.

The pyramids also needed to be situated on high ground, away from the danger of flooding at the time of the Nile flood. However, it couldn’t be too far from the bank of the Nile because the river would be Chinese . In addition, it was used to transport blocks of excellent quality limestone for the outer cladding.

The chosen location would be a point on the desert plateau that would prove to be a firm rocky base capable of supporting the great weight of the pyramid without risk of cracking, as some of the largest pyramids weigh around 2.5 tons.

The site chosen for the construction of each pyramid was also considered based on the distance from the pyramid to the residence of the respective king, as the king would need to regularly inspect the development of his burial chamber.

Phase 2: Site Preparation

No plans for the construction of the pyramids have been found, but the construction of the pyramids was not a random affair and the measurements used were accurate to a high degree.

Workers first had to prepare a firm foundation by removing loose sand from the rock. So the stone base had to be absolutely flat. Workers may have done this by building low mud walls around the base and digging channels in a grid pattern over the surface. Then they filled the channels with water and marked the level the water would reach. After the water drained away, the overhanging rock would have been cut down to the indicated level.

Each side of the pyramid had to face one of the cardinal points. The builders probably established north first and calculated the other directions from there. They may have found north by looking at a specific star in the sky. They would then observe the rising and setting of the star and mark its appearance and disappearance on an artificial horizon.

By dividing the angle in this way, they would obtain a north-south line. They had instruments for drawing right angles; then they were able to find east and west. Then they had to make the base perfectly square. With all four sides exactly the same length and the corners at perfect right angles.

Phase 3: Lifting the Blocks

The inner chambers and passages would have been built independently and the actual pyramid built around them. Some of the builders of the royal pyramid seem to have changed their minds about the location of the burial chambers. The inner pyramid would then be built with limestone cut from the desert plateau. When the main structure was completed, the pyramid was encased in finely cut and polished Tura limestone blocks. 

The stones used in the construction of the pyramids were not bricks. The bricks in the pyramid vary in size. However, the largest can be found in the king‘s chamber. These particular stones differed from regular limestone blocks and were made of granite.

The precise method of raising the pyramids is not known. Pulleys were not invented until Roman times. However, the Greek historian Herodotus speaks of levers being used to lift blocks from one level to the next. It has also been suggested that workers operating in teams used a ramp to get the blocks into position. As the pyramid grew in size, the ramp would have been raised to allow workers to reach the next level. The main problem with this is that the ramp would end up being huge like the pyramid itself and would have reached an immense distance in the desert.

No trace of such a structure has been definitively identified. Another idea is that the ramp would have gone around the pyramid and was dismantled when the pyramid was completed.

Construction methods are still hotly debated and are still one of the greatest mysteries of ancient human culture began in 1000 BC. C and its civilization.

Curiosities that catch your attention about the Great Pyramid of Giza

  • – The first historical reference about the pyramid is the testimony of the Greek historian Herodotus (this fact is striking, since Herodotus lived two thousand years after the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza).
  • – Two and a half million stone blocks were used in its construction, some of which weighed thirty thousand kilos.
  • – Its appearance has changed over time, since in ancient times it was coated with limestone and thus produced an impressive mirror effect.
  • – In its interior the temperature is constant, more specifically 22 degrees centigrade.
  • – In recent researches it was discovered that in the inner chambers there is a great concentration of electromagnetic energy .
  • – The Roman Pliny the Elder, from the 1st century d. C, referred to the pyramids in a derogatory manner, implying that they were useless constructions and that the pharaohs who ordered them to be built were simple vain rulers.
  • – According to a behavior, it is worth noting that the fable is an example of a paradigm. Through a story by Plutarch, when the Greek mathematician and philosopher Thales of Miletus observed the Great Pyramid, he wanted to know its exact height. This initial concern was the origin of Thales’ first theorem.
  • – For almost 4000 years, it was the tallest building in the world and this record was surpassed after the construction of the wooden capital of Lincoln Cathedral, in England.

Interrogations about Great Pyramid of Giza

According to the official version, the Great Pyramid of Giza was built as a great pharaonic tomb. However, no remains were found or any definitive clues to confirm this thesis.

From this initial doubt , the questions began: for what purpose was it built? What techniques were used? Is it absurd to think that other civilizations were related to its construction? He could have compared the three chambers inside with the heart , the brain and sexual organs? Could the electromagnetic energy of its interior be related to the energy of the universe ?

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button