The Pyramids of Egypt

The West Bank of the River Nile

The West Bank of the River Nile is home to the Pyramids Of Giza, which once housed the bodies of the pharaohs. Although ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for nearly three thousand years, its kings only built huge tombs like these for a few centuries.

Egyptologists are still trying to piece together why the pharaohs stopped constructing giant pyramids. The majesty of the ancient structures makes the fact that Egyptians gave up building them all the more incredible.

Saqqara: The Birthplace of Pyramid Building

Saqqara is located 10 miles south of the Pyramids Of Giza. It is considered the birthplace of pyramid building. The search for clues to why Egyptians built giant pyramids for less than five hundred years begins here.

Egypt’s first pyramid is a 200-foot tall mausoleum of six huge limestone platforms, carefully engineered to spread the weight of rock and prevent collapse. It was constructed a century before the Pyramids at Giza.

The Pyramid of Djoser

Deep inside is a giant shaft, 26 feet wide and 82 feet deep. (26 \text{ feet wide} \times 82 \text{ feet deep}) At the bottom of the shaft is pharaoh Djoser's intended final resting place. Creating this incredible monument around the body of the king is pretty amazing.

To house his mummy, huge chunks of granite were slid down a passage into the shaft and stacked, creating a giant sarcophagus 19 feet long and 11 feet high. (19 \text{ feet long} \times 11 \text{ feet high}) It wasn't just a tomb designed to secure the pharaoh's physical body for eternity. Crucially for success in the afterlife, the pyramid ensured the king was remembered by the living.

Completed around February, it sparked an architectural revolution. Joseph's six tier giant wasn't just the first pyramid. It was the world's first monumental structure built in stone. Over Over the next century, Egypt's Kings developed the concept, building monumental tombs all along the Nile's West Bank, including the first geometrically true pyramid, the Red Pyramid, and a misshapen experiment, the Bent Pyramid. Then, a dynasty of pharaohs built the most iconic monuments in Egypt, the Pyramids Of Giza.

The End of an Era

Just a few short centuries after the Great Pyramid Of Khufu rose from the desert, a new era was on the horizon.