The Pyramids of Egypt and the Mystery of Their Abandonment

The Pyramids of Giza

• Located on the West Bank of the River Nile.
• Iconic monuments that once housed the bodies of the pharaohs.
• Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for nearly three thousand years, but giant tombs were only built for a few centuries.
• Egyptologists are still trying to understand why the pharaohs stopped constructing giant pyramids.

Saqqara: The Birthplace of Pyramid Building

• Located 10 miles south of the Pyramids of Giza.
• Considered the birthplace of pyramid building.
• Egypt's first pyramid is located here. It is a 200-foot tall mausoleum with six limestone platforms.
• The platforms were carefully engineered to spread the weight and prevent collapse.

The Tomb of Djoser

• Contains a giant shaft, 26 feet wide and 82 feet deep.
• The bottom of the shaft was intended as the final resting place of the pharaoh Djoser.
• Huge chunks of granite were used to create a giant sarcophagus, measuring 19 feet long and 11 feet high.
• The pyramid was designed to secure the pharaoh's physical body for eternity and ensure he was remembered by the living.

Architectural Revolution

• Djoser's six-tier giant was the first pyramid and the world's first monumental structure built in stone.
• Over the next century, Egypt's kings developed the concept, building monumental tombs along the Nile's West Bank.
• Examples include the first geometrically true pyramid, the Red Pyramid, and the Bent Pyramid.

The End of Pyramid Building

• The Pyramids of Giza were built by a dynasty of pharaohs.
• A new era began a few short centuries after the Great Pyramid of Khufu.