Until you reach the Pyramids they seem continually near to you.There are over ninety royal pyramids in Egypt which were built over a period of one thousand years, by the Egyptian rulers for themselves and their queens.
The largest, oldest and the only undestroyed pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was built by King Khufu during the Fourth Dynasty (2,575 - 2,465 BC). It is considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This pyramid was built with almost 6.5 million tons of limestone blocks, and the height surpassed 450 feet.
Why Pyramids Were Built:-
According to the common perception, the pyramids were built because the Egyptians believed in life after death. According to this common belief, kings are like Gods (or they are close to Gods) and must, therefore, receive all amenities and comforts for their next life. So, the dead kings and their queens were buried along with food, costly jewels and other useful things to carry along with them for their next life, following the one that they lived on Earth.
True Pyramids
We can not really positively identify any true pyramids outside of Egypt. These are pyramids originally built with smooth sides that come to a point at the top. Most of the pyramids in Mexico, and most probably those in China were step pyramids, built up with successive "steps" of stone or other substances. Also, pyramids outside of Egypt appear to have been build for a different purpose then those in Egypt. While Egyptian pyramids most always have a man made substructure and are funerary in nature, we know of no pyramids outside of Egypt with such structures. Instead, other pyramids most often seem to have a temple, altar or chapel on the top step, and their purpose seems more oriented to that of a temple. It can also most likely be said that Egyptian pyramid complexes were more structured then those found outside of Egypt. Over very long periods of time, they often retained the same components and even a basic design.
Traditional View of Egypt Pyramids
However, there are a number of facts that support more traditional views that Egypt's pyramids were, in fact, built by none other then the ancient Egyptians without outside assistance. These include:
Evolution: Monolithic, smooth sided pyramids did not just suddenly appear in Egypt. There was an evolutionary period, leading to the great pyramids of Giza that began with simple mastaba tombs, expanded into step pyramids, which led to experimentation, some of which failed miserably, and culminating with the perfected structure. In addition, the decorative themes associated with pyramids also evolved over time.
Construction Methods: We not only find the Egyptian's ancient stone cutting and other tools within the ruins of pyramids, we also find some of the ramps that they used, and evidence of other construction methods. These are contemporary tools, and construction methods that would have fit the times.
Regardless, it would appear that pyramids built both inside and outside of Egypt most often are in some way related to sun worship, or at least some form of astronomical religious activity. In Egypt, pyramids were mostly built in the north, where the worship of the sun god, Re was most dominant. In fact all of the major pyramids were built not far away from Memphis and nearby modern Cairo. Most are located at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, at Saqqara or nearby Abusir or Dahshur, or somewhat farther away, close to the Fayoum region. At least as regards pyramids, the north was at its zenith during the late Old Kingdom (5th Dynasty), when kings not only built their pyramid complexes, but also built sun temples.
While the pyramid's built in Egypt seem to be all funerary in nature, to regard them as merely tombs is an oversimplification. It involved a complex of buildings because it was the dead pharaohs palace of the afterlife, where he was mystically transformed and resurrected as a full god. The pyramid itself represented the primeval mound from which the world arose from the ancient waters.
When using the Egyptian cubit the perimeter is 365.24 - the amount of days in the year
When doubling the perimeter, the answer is equal to one minute of one degree at the equator
The apex to base slant is equal to 600th of a degree of latitude
The height x 10 to the power of 9 gives approximately the distance from the earth to the sun
The perimeter divided by 2 x the height of the pyramid is equal to pi - 3.1416
The weight of the pyramid x 10 to the power of 15 is equal to the approximate weight of the earth
When the cross diagonals of the base are added together, the answer is equal to the amount of time (in years) that it takes for the earth's polar axis to go back to its original starting point - 25,286.6 years
The measurements of the King's Chamber gives 2-5-3 and 3-4-5 which are basic Pythagorean triangles.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu from the Fourth Dynasty was a mathematical wonder:
It was laid out with geometric precision - a near-perfect square base, with sides of 230 meters that differ from each other by less than twenty centimeters, and faces that sloped upwards at an angle of 51ยบ to reach an apex nearly 150 meters above the desert floor.
There are about 2,300,000 giant, heavy stone blocks in the pyramid, which are placed so close together that a knife blade can not be inserted between them! The sides of the square base have an error of less than 1/14,000, while the right angles have an error of less than 1/27,000.
Milestones in Egyptian Pyramids:
1.About 2630 BC: The Step Pyramid of Djoser designed by Imhotep is the first pyramid like structure completed, and is also the world's first known monumental stone building.
2.About 2575 BC: The Red Pyramid is built by Snofru as the first successful true pyramid, after a number of failures. It has smoothed, cased sides.
3.About 2551 BC: The Great Pyramid of Kufru is built, the largest pyramid ever constructed in Egypt, and may also be the first pyramid to have subsidiary queen's pyramids attached to the complex.
4.About 2465 BC: Userkaf's pyramid at Saqqara is the first pyramid with an entrance in the pavement of the pyramid's courtyard on the north side rather than on the face of the pyramid itself. Strangely, the mortuary temple in this pyramid is located on the south side, with only an offering hall on the east.
5.About 2375 BC: For the first time that we know of, we find pyramid text within the pyramid of Unas at Saqqara
6.About 2278 BC: The pyramid of Pepi II is the last to be built in the traditions of the Old Kingdom, as well as the last to build any monumental pyramid until the beginning of the 12th Dynasty and the Middle Kingdom.
7.About 1991 BC: Amenemhet I uses mudbrick to build his pyramid at Lisht. Now, not only is the complex named, but each component of the complex is also given a name.
8.About 1956 BC: Senusret I's pyramid at Lisht is built with more subsidiary pyramids then any complex built before, or after his time.
9.About 1877 BC: With the pyramid of Senusret II at Lahun, the builders become more concerned with security then tradition, and for the first time locate the entrance to the pyramid not under the north chapel in the center of the pyramid's north wall like many earlier complexes, but rather hid the entry passage in the pavement of the pyramid courtyard near the east end of the pyramid's south side. He also incorporates a more complex substructure suggestive of a move towards the worship of Osiris, and away from the traditions of the sun cult, probably signaling the coming end to the pyramid builders.
10.About 1817 BC: Amenemhet III becomes the last, large scale successful pyramid builder with his structure at Hawara. Both it, and his pyramid at Dahshur are built with a monolithic Burial chamber block with niches for the sarcophagus and canompic jars.
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