The End of Pyramid Building in Ancient Egypt

The Pyramids Of Giza

The West Bank of the River Nile houses the Pyramids Of Giza, which once contained the bodies of the pharaohs. Although ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for approximately three thousand years, pharaohs only constructed large tombs like the pyramids for a few centuries. Egyptologists are working to understand why the pharaohs ceased building giant pyramids.

Saqqara: The Birthplace of Pyramid Building

Located 10 miles south of the Pyramids Of Giza is Saqqara, the origin of pyramid construction. Egyptologist Chris Naughton seeks to understand why Egyptians built giant pyramids for less than five hundred years.

Egypt's first pyramid, constructed a century before those at Giza, is a 200-foot tall mausoleum composed of six limestone platforms engineered to distribute weight and prevent collapse.

The Pyramid of Djoser

Deep within the Pyramid of Djoser is a 26-foot wide and 82-foot deep shaft, intended as the final resting place for Pharaoh Djoser. The creation of this monument around the king's body is considered remarkable. Large granite pieces were used to create a sarcophagus measuring 19 feet long and 11 feet high. The pyramid secured not only the pharaoh’s physical body for eternity but also ensured he was remembered by the living.

Completed around February, it initiated an architectural revolution. Djoser’s six-tier structure was the world's first monumental structure made of stone. Over the next century, Egyptian kings developed the concept, constructing monumental tombs along the Nile’s West Bank, including the Red Pyramid (the first geometrically true pyramid) and the Bent Pyramid. Subsequently, a dynasty of pharaohs built the Pyramids Of Giza.

However, a few centuries after the Great Pyramid Of Khufu, a new era began.