Egyptian pyramids

The ancient Egyptian pyramids are the most famous form of architectural art in the late prehistoric period, and they are the largest funerary monuments and tombs in the world, as they were developed from the mastaba tomb, which is one of the greatest symbols of Egyptian art and architecture. The purpose of the pyramids was to protect the body of the pharaoh, and all the belongings he would need after death, in order to facilitate his passage to the afterlife, as the ancient Egyptians believed in an eternal afterlife, and for this reason each pyramid typically contained a variety of Egyptian sculptures, murals, jewelry, and other types of ancient art necessary to preserve the deceased after his death. The Pyramids of Giza were also chosen as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Structural features of the Egyptian pyramids

The pyramids were initially built differently from the pyramids that were built later. For example, the massive pyramids of the Old Kingdom were built of stone blocks, while the pyramids of the Middle Kingdom were smaller and were usually built of bricks covered with limestone. The older structures usually had a limestone core, covered with an outer layer of better quality limestone, or sometimes granite. Granite was also used in the royal chambers inside the pyramid. Up to 2.5 million limestone blocks and 50,000 granite blocks were used to build a single pyramid. The average weight of the pyramids is 2.5 tons per brick. The top stone at the top of the pyramid is usually made of basalt or granite, and was plated with gold, silver, or electrum (a mixture of gold and silver). Inside each pyramid is a chamber for the king, which contains the mummified body of the dead pharaoh, placed inside a precious coffin. A large number of artifacts are buried with the king to keep him with him in the afterlife, as the ancients believed, in addition to statues of the dead man himself. Fake passages are also dug to prevent subsequent desecration of the tomb, and the theft of valuables from it.

The principles of the ancient Egyptians in building the pyramids

All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, where the sun sets, and according to the official religious doctrine regarding the realm of the dead (the pharaoh’s soul was supposed to join the sun during its descent before continuing with it on its eternal journey), most of the pyramids were covered with polished white limestone, in order to give them a shiny reflective appearance from a distance, and the pyramids were built close to the Nile River, to facilitate the river transport of stone from the quarries to the pyramids. The pyramids were part of a funerary complex, and this complex consisted of the pyramid itself and an adjacent funerary temple, both connected by a bridge, and the pharaohs began building their own pyramid as soon as they ascended to the throne. The orientation towards the western horizon (where the sun sets) and the proximity to the city of Memphis (the main city of the country during the third millennium) were the two main factors that determined the location of the pyramid in the Old Kingdom period.

Number of Egyptian pyramids

Archaeologists have currently identified a total of 118 pyramids in Egypt, most of them relatively small, some of them poorly built, and have collapsed into a pile of rubble. In 2008, the ruins of a pyramid emerged from the sand dunes near Saqqara, so it is believed that there may be other pyramids, but they have not yet been found. mm