The pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu (in the Greek version of Cheops), or the Great Pyramid, is the greatest of the Egyptian pyramids, the oldest of the seven wonders of the world of antiquity and the only one that has survived to our time. For over four thousand years, the pyramid was the largest building in the world.
The pyramid of Cheops is located in the distant suburb of Cairo Giza. Nearby are two more pyramids of the pharaohs Khafre and Menkaur (Khafren and Mikerin), according to ancient historians, the sons and successors of Khufu. These are the three largest pyramids in Egypt.
Following ancient authors, most modern historians consider the pyramids to be burial structures of ancient Egyptian monarchs. Some scientists believe that these were astronomical observatories. There is no direct evidence that the pharaohs were buried in the pyramids, but other versions of their purpose are less convincing.
When the pyramid of Cheops was built
On the basis of the ancient "royal lists" it is established that Cheops ruled around 2585-2566. BC. The construction of the "Sacred Heights" lasted 20 years and ended after the death of Khufu, around 2560 BC.
Other versions of construction dates based on astronomical methods give dates from 2720 to 2577. BC. The radiocarbon method shows a spread of 170 years, from 2850 to 2680. BC.
There are also exotic opinions expressed by supporters of the theories of aliens visiting the Earth, the existence of ancient civilizations, or adherents of occult movements. They determine the age of the Cheops pyramid from 6-7 to tens of thousands of years.
How the pyramid was built
The Pyramid of Cheops is to this day the largest stone building on the planet. Its height is 137 m., The length of the side of the base is 230.38 m., The angle of inclination of the face is 51 ° 50 ", the total volume is about 2.5 million cubic meters. At the time of the end of construction, the height was 9.5 m higher, and the side of the base was 2 m longer, however, over the past centuries, almost all the facing of the pyramid was dismantled. natural factors - temperature changes and winds from the desert, carrying clouds of sand.
Ancient Greek historians reported that the labor of millions of slaves was used in the construction. Modern researchers believe that with the correct organization of work and engineering, the Egyptians would have had several tens of thousands of workers for construction. For the supply of materials, temporary workers were involved, the number of whom, according to Herodotus, reached 100 thousand. Modern scientists fully agree with this, as well as with the reality of the 20-year construction period.
The construction of the pyramid was supervised by the head of the royal works, Khemiun. The tomb of Hemiun is located next to his creation, in which a statue of the architect was discovered.
The main material for the construction was gray limestone, which was cut in the nearest quarries or brought from the other bank of the Nile. The pyramid was faced with light sandstone, which made it literally shine in the sunlight. For interior decoration, granite was used, which was delivered over a thousand kilometers from the area of \u200b\u200bpresent-day Aswan. The structure was crowned with a hewn gilded granite block - a pyramidion.
In total, the construction of the pyramid took about 2.3 million blocks of limestone and 115 thousand facing slabs. The total mass of the building, according to modern estimates, is almost 6 million tons.
The block sizes differ among themselves. The largest are laid in the base, their height is one and a half meters. The higher the blocks are, the smaller they are. The height of the block at the top is 55 cm.The length of the facing slabs ranged from 1.5 to 0.75 m.
The work of the builders of the pyramid was extremely hard. It took a lot of time and effort to extract the stone, trim the blocks and fit the required size. In those days, neither iron nor bronze was known in Egypt. The tools were made of relatively soft copper, so they were quickly ground down and were very expensive. Flint tools were widely used - saws, drills, hammers. Many of them were found during excavations.
The delivery of materials was carried out by the river, and the stone was brought to the construction site on a wooden sled or roller. It was a hell of a job, because the average weight of one block is 2.5 tons, and some of them weighed up to 50 tons.
A variety of devices were used to raise and install the monoliths, and inclined embankments were erected to drag the most massive elements that make up the lower rows up. Images of construction work have been found in a number of Egyptian temples and tombs.
Recently, an original theory has emerged regarding the building methods of the Egyptians. Scientists who studied the microstructure of the blocks in order to establish their origin found foreign inclusions. According to experts, these are the remains of animal hair and human hair, from which the scientists concluded that limestone was crushed at the mining sites and delivered in crushed form to the construction site. Directly at the place of laying, blocks were made of limestone mass, which thereby were a semblance of modern concrete structures, and the traces of tools on the blocks are in fact imprints of the formwork.
Be that as it may, the construction was completed, and the grandiose size of the pyramid fully justifies the supporters of the theories of the Atlanteans and aliens, who do not believe in the possibility of human genius.
What's inside the pyramid
The entrance to the pyramid was made at a height of almost 16 meters in the form of an arch made of granite slabs. Later it was sealed with a granite plug and covered with cladding. The current entrance 10 meters lower was pierced in 831 by order of the Caliph Al-Mamun, who hoped to find gold here, but did not find anything of value.
The main premises are the pharaoh's chamber, the queen's chamber, the Great Gallery and the underground chamber. The passage made by Al-Mamun leads into a 105-meter inclined corridor ending in a chamber carved into the rock mass below the base of the pyramid. Its dimensions are 14x8 m, its height is 3.5 m. For unknown reasons, the work here was not completed.
At 18 meters from the entrance, the descending corridor is separated by an ascending one with a length of 40 meters, ending in the Great Gallery. The Gallery itself is a high (8.5 m.) Tunnel 46.6 m long, leading to the pharaoh's chamber. The corridor to the queen's chamber branches off from the Gallery at its very beginning. In the floor of the Gallery, a rectangular ditch in cross section, 60 cm deep and 1 m wide, has been pierced, its purpose is unknown.
The pharaoh's chamber is 10.5 m long, 5.4 m wide, 5.84 m high. It is faced with black granite slabs. There is an empty granite sarcophagus here. The queen's chamber is more modest - 5.76 x 5.23 x 6.26 m.
Channels 20-25 cm wide lead from the burial chambers to the surface of the pyramid. The channels of the tsar's chamber exit at one end into the room, with the other on the surface of the pyramid. The channels of the queen's chamber begin 13 cm from the wall and do not reach 12 m to the surface, and both ends of the channels are closed by stone doors with handles. It is assumed that the ducts were made to ventilate the premises during the work. Another version, associated with the beliefs of the Egyptians, claims that this is the path to the afterlife, which the souls of the deceased had to pass.
No less mysterious is another small room, the Grotto, to which an almost vertical passage leads from the beginning of the Great Gallery. The grotto is located at the junction of the base of the pyramid and the hill on which it stands. The walls of the Grotto are fortified with rather rough-cut stone. It is assumed that this is part of some structure older than the pyramid.
One discovery related to the pyramid should be mentioned. In 1954, at the southern edge, two pits faced with stone were discovered, in which there were Pharaoh's boats made of Lebanese cedar. One of the boats has been restored and is now in a special pavilion next to the pyramid. Its length is 43.5 m, width is 5.6 m.
The study of the Cheops pyramid continues. Research using the latest methods used in the exploration of the earth's interior shows with a high degree of probability the existence of unknown caverns within the pyramid. So it is quite possible that scientists are expecting new interesting discoveries and discoveries.
In the meantime, the Great Pyramid keeps its secrets, proudly towering in the middle of the desert, as thousands of years ago. After all, as the ancient Arabic proverb says, everything in the world is afraid of time, but time is afraid of the pyramids.
Unsolved mysteries on our planet are getting smaller every year. Constant improvement of technology, cooperation of scientists from various fields of science reveals to us the secrets and mysteries of history. But the secrets of the pyramids still defy understanding - all discoveries give scientists only tentative answers to many questions. Who built the Egyptian pyramids, what was the construction technology, is there a curse of the pharaohs - these and many other questions still remain without an exact answer.
Description of the Egyptian pyramids
Archaeologists talk about 118 pyramids in Egypt, partially or completely preserved to our time. Their age is from 4 to 10 thousand years. One of them - Cheops - is the only surviving "miracle" from the "Seven Wonders of the World". The complex called "Great Pyramids of Giza", which includes and, was also considered as a participant in the "New Seven Wonders of the World" competition, but it was withdrawn from participation, since these majestic structures are actually a "wonder of the world" in the ancient list. 
These pyramids have become the most visited sightseeing sites in Egypt. They have been perfectly preserved, which cannot be said about many other structures - time has not been kind to them. Local residents also contributed to the destruction of the majestic necropolises by removing the cladding and breaking stones from the walls to build their homes. 
The Egyptian pyramids were built by the pharaohs who ruled from the XXVII century BC. e. and later. They were intended for the repose of the rulers. The huge scale of the tombs (some - up to almost 150 m) were supposed to testify to the greatness of the buried pharaohs; here were also things that the ruler loved during his lifetime and which would be useful to him in the afterlife. 
For the construction, stone blocks of various sizes were used, which were hollowed out of the rocks, and later brick became the material for the walls. Stone blocks were turned and adjusted so that a knife blade could not slip between them. The blocks were stacked on top of each other with an offset of several centimeters, which formed a stepped surface of the structure. Almost all Egyptian pyramids have a square base, the sides of which are oriented strictly to the cardinal points. 
Since the pyramids performed the same function, that is, they served as the burial place of the pharaohs, then inside the structure and decoration they are similar. The main component is the burial hall, where the ruler's sarcophagus was installed. The entrance was not arranged at ground level, but several meters higher, and was masked by facing plates. From the entrance to the inner hall there were staircases and passages-corridors, which sometimes narrow so much that it is possible to walk along them only squatting or crawling. 
In most necropolises, burial chambers (chambers) are located below ground level. Ventilation was carried out through narrow shafts-channels, which permeate the walls. Rock paintings and ancient religious texts are found on the walls of many pyramids - in fact, from them scientists get some of the information about the construction and owners of burials. 
The main mysteries of the pyramids
The list begins unsolved mysteries from the form of necropolises. Why was the pyramid shape chosen, which is translated from Greek as "polyhedron"? Why were the faces located clearly on the cardinal points? How did the huge stone blocks move from the mining site and how were they raised to great heights? Were the buildings erected by aliens or people who own a magic crystal? 
Scientists even argue over the question of who built such tall monumental structures that have stood for millennia. Some believe they were built by slaves who died in hundreds of thousands each building. However, new discoveries by archaeologists and anthropologists convince that the builders were free people who received good food and medical care. They made such conclusions based on the composition of the bones, the structure of the skeletons and the cured injuries of the buried builders. 
All the deaths and deaths of people involved in the study of the Egyptian pyramids were attributed to mystical coincidences, which provoked rumors and talk about the curse of the pharaohs. There is no scientific evidence for this. Perhaps the rumors were started to scare away thieves and looters who want to find valuable things and jewelry in the graves. 
To the mysterious interesting facts can be attributed to the tight timing of the construction of the Egyptian pyramids. According to calculations, large necropolises with that level of technology should have been built in at least a century. How, for example, was the Cheops pyramid built in just 20 years? 
Great Pyramids
This is the name of the burial complex near the city of Giza, consisting of three large pyramids, a huge statue of the Sphinx and small satellite pyramids, probably intended for the wives of the rulers. 
The original height of the Cheops pyramid was 146 m, the side length - 230 m. Built in 20 years in the XXVI century BC. e. The largest of the Egyptian landmarks has not one but three burial halls. One is below ground level, and two are above the baseline. Intertwining passageways lead to the burial chambers. On them you can go to the chamber of the pharaoh (king), to the chamber of the queen and to the lower hall. The pharaoh's chamber is a pink granite chamber with dimensions of 10x5 m. A granite sarcophagus without a lid is installed in it. None of the scientists' reports contained information about the mummies found, so it is not known whether Cheops was buried here. By the way, the mummy of Cheops was not found in other tombs either. 
It still remains a mystery whether the Cheops pyramid was used for its intended purpose, and if so, then apparently it was plundered by marauders in the past centuries. The name of the ruler, by whose order and project this tomb was built, was learned from the drawings and hieroglyphs above the burial chamber. All other Egyptian pyramids, with the exception of Djoser, have a simpler engineering structure. 
Two other necropolises in Giza, built for the heirs of Cheops, are somewhat more modest in size:
Tourists come to Giza from all over Egypt, because this city is actually a suburb of Cairo, and all transport interchanges lead to it. Travelers from Russia usually travel to Giza with excursion groups from Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada. The trip is long, 6-8 hours one way, so the tour is usually designed for 2 days. 
The great structures are accessible only during business hours, usually until 5 pm, in the month of Ramadan - until 3 pm. It is not recommended to go inside for asthmatics, as well as for people suffering from claustrophobia, nervous and cardiovascular diseases. You should definitely take drinking water and hats with you on the excursion. The excursion fee consists of several parts:
- Entrance to the complex.
- The entrance to the inside of the pyramid of Cheops or Khafre.
- Entrance to the Sun Boat Museum, on which the body of the pharaoh was transported across the Nile.
Against the background of the Egyptian pyramids, many people like to take photos, sitting on camels. You can bargain with camel owners.
Djoser's pyramid
The first pyramid in the world is located in Saqqara, near Memphis, the former capital of Ancient Egypt. Today, the pyramid of Djoser is not as attractive to tourists as the necropolis of Cheops, but at one time it was the largest in the country and the most complex in terms of engineering design. 
The burial complex included chapels, courtyards, storage. The six-step pyramid itself has not a square base, but a rectangular one, with sides 125x110 m. The height of the structure itself is 60 m, there are 12 burial chambers inside it, where Djoser himself and his family members were supposedly buried. The mummy of the pharaoh was not found during excavations. The entire territory of the complex of 15 hectares was surrounded by a stone wall 10 m high. Currently, part of the wall and other buildings have been restored, and the pyramid, whose age is approaching 4700 years, has been preserved quite well.
The first wonder of the world of all time, one of the main structures of our planet, a place full of secrets and mysteries, a point of constant pilgrimage for tourists - the Egyptian pyramids and in particular the pyramid of Cheops.
Building the giant pyramids, of course, was far from easy. Huge efforts of a large number of people were made in order to deliver the stone blocks to the Giza or Saqqara plateau, and later to the Valley of the Kings, which became the new necropolis of the pharaohs.
At the moment, there are about a hundred pyramids found in Egypt, but the finds continue, and their number is constantly increasing. At different times, one of the 7 wonders of the world meant different pyramids. Someone meant all the pyramids of Egypt as a whole, someone the pyramids near Memphis, someone the three large pyramids of Giza, and the most critics recognized only the largest pyramid of Cheops.
The afterlife of Ancient Egypt
One of the central moments in the life of the ancient Egyptians was religion, which shaped the entire culture as a whole. Particular attention was paid to the afterlife, perceived as a clear continuation of earthly life. That is why preparation for life after death began long before her, was posed as one of the main tasks of life.
According to the ancient Egyptian belief, a person had several souls. The soul of Ka played the role of the Egyptian's double, with whom he was to meet in the afterlife. Ba's soul connected with the person himself, and left his body after death.
Religious life of the Egyptians and the god Anubis
At first it was believed that only the pharaoh had the right to life after death, but he could bestow this “immortality” on his entourage, who were usually buried next to the tomb of the ruler. Ordinary people were not destined to get into the world of the dead, the only exceptions were slaves and servants, whom the pharaoh "took" with him, and who were depicted on the walls of the great tomb.
But for a comfortable life after the death of the deceased, it was necessary to supply everything necessary: \u200b\u200bfood, household utensils, servants, slaves, and much more needed for the average pharaoh. They also tried to preserve the human body so that the Ba soul could later reconnect with him. Therefore, in matters of body preservation, embalming and the creation of complex pyramid tombs were born.
The first pyramid in Egypt. Djoser's pyramid
Speaking about the construction of the pyramids in Ancient Egypt in general, it is worth mentioning the beginning of their history. The very first pyramid in Egypt was built about five thousand years ago at the initiative of Pharaoh Djoser. It is in these 5 millennia that the age of the pyramids in Egypt is estimated. The construction of the pyramid of Djoser was led by the famous and legendary Imhotep, who was even deified in the later centuries.
Djoser's pyramid
The entire complex of the erected building occupied an area of \u200b\u200b545 by 278 meters. Along the perimeter, it was surrounded by a 10-meter wall with 14 gates, only one of which was real. In the center of the complex was the Djoser pyramid with sides 118 by 140 meters. The height of the Djoser pyramid is 60 meters. A burial chamber was located almost at a depth of 30 meters, to which corridors with many branches led. Utensils and sacrifices were kept in the branch rooms. Here archaeologists have found three bas-reliefs of Pharaoh Djoser himself. Near the eastern wall of the Djoser pyramid, 11 small burial chambers were discovered, intended for the royal family.
Unlike the famous great pyramids of Giza, the Djoser pyramid had a stepped shape, as if intended for the ascent of the pharaoh to heaven. Of course, this pyramid is inferior in popularity and size to the pyramid of Cheops, but still the contribution of the very first stone pyramid into the culture of Egypt is difficult to overestimate.
The Pyramid of Cheops. History and short description
But still the most famous for the ordinary population of our planet are the three nearby pyramids of Egypt - Khafre, Mekerin and the largest and highest pyramid in Egypt - Cheops (Khufu)
Pyramids of Giza
The pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops was built near the city of Giza, which is currently a suburb of Cairo. When the pyramid of Cheops was built, at present it is impossible to say for sure, and research shows a wide spread. In Egypt, for example, the date of the beginning of the construction of this pyramid is officially celebrated - August 23, 2480 BC.
Pyramid of Cheops and Sphinx
About 100,000 people were simultaneously involved in the construction of the wonder of the world, the Cheops pyramid. During the first ten years of work, a road was built, along which huge stone blocks were delivered to the river and the underground structures of the pyramid. Work on the construction of the monument itself continued for about 20 more years.
The dimensions of the Cheops pyramid at Giza are amazing. The height of the Cheops pyramid initially reached 147 meters. Over time, due to being covered with sand and the loss of cladding, it decreased to 137 meters. But even this figure allowed it to remain the tallest human structure in the world for a long time. The pyramid has a square base with a side of 147 meters. The construction of this giant is estimated to require 2,300,000 limestone blocks, weighing an average of 2.5 tons.
How were the pyramids built in Egypt?
The technology of building pyramids is controversial in our time. Versions range from the invention of concrete in Ancient Egypt to the construction of pyramids by aliens. But it is still believed that the pyramids were built by man exclusively by his own strength. So for the extraction of stone blocks, first a shape was outlined in the rock, grooves were hollowed out and a dry tree was inserted into them. Later, the tree was doused with water, it expanded, a crack formed in the rock, and the block was separated. Then it was processed to the desired shape with tools and sent down the river to a construction site.
The magic of mysterious lands still exists. Palm trees sway in the warm wind, the Nile floats through the desert, surrounded by a green valley, the sun illuminates the Karnak Temple and the mysterious pyramids of Egypt, and bright schools of fish flicker in the Red Sea.
Burial culture of Ancient Egypt
Pyramids are called grandiose structures in the form of a regular geometric polyhedron. In the construction of burial buildings or mastabs, this form, according to Egyptologists, began to be used because of the resemblance to a memorial cake. If you ask how many pyramids are in Egypt, then you can hear the answer that today about 120 buildings have been found and described, which are located in different areas along the banks of the Nile.
The first mastabas can be seen in Sakkara, Upper Egypt, Memphis, Abusir, El-Lahun, Giza, Hawara, Abu Ravash, Meidum. They were built from clay bricks with river mud - adob, in a traditional architectural form. The pyramid housed a prayer room and a burial "dowry" for traveling in the afterlife. The underground part kept the remains. The pyramids had a different appearance. They have evolved from a stepped to a true geometrically correct form.
Evolution of the shape of the pyramids
Tourists are often interested in how to see all the pyramids of Egypt, in which city they are located. There are many such places. For example, Meiduma is the most mysterious place, where the oldest of all the great burial buildings are located. When Sneferu came to the throne (circa 2575 BC), Saqqara was the only large fully completed royal pyramid of Djoser.
The ancient locals called it "al-haram-el-kaddab", which means "false pyramid". Due to its shape, it attracted the attention of travelers back in the Middle Ages.
The step pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara is known as the earliest form of a burial structure in Egypt. Its appearance is attributed to the period of the third dynasty. Tapering passages from the north lead to the burial chamber. Underground galleries surround the pyramid from all sides except the southern one. This is the only completed building with huge steps that were faced with stone. But its shape was different from the ideal. The first regular pyramids appeared at the beginning of the reign of the 4th dynasty of the pharaohs. The true form has arisen as a result of the natural development and improvement of the architectural design of the stepped building. The structure of a real pyramid is practically the same. Building blocks were laid to the required shapes and sizes of the object, and then they were finished with limestone or stone.
Dakhshur pyramids
Dakhshur forms the southern region of the necropolis in Memphis and contains a number of pyramidal complexes and monuments. Dakhshur was only recently opened to the public. In the Nile Valley, south of Cairo, alone at the edge of the Western Desert, above lush green fields at Meidum, is a notable area where you can see the transition from stepped to regular pyramid shape. The transformation took place during the change of the third dynasty of the pharaohs to the fourth. During the reign of the 3rd Dynasty, Pharaoh Huni organized the construction of the first regular pyramid in Egypt, where the stepped structures from Meidum are located as a base for construction. The burial structure was intended for the son of Huni, the first pharaoh of the fourth dynasty Sneferu (2613-2589 BC). The heir completed work on his father's pyramids, then built his own - a step one. But the construction plans of the pharaoh were curtailed, as the construction did not go according to plan. Decreasing the angle of inclination of the side plane resulted in a diamond-shaped curved silhouette. This structure is called the Broken Pyramid, but it still has the outer shells intact.
The oldest pyramids in Saqqara
Saqqara is one of the huge necropolises ancient citywhich is known today as Memphis. The ancient Egyptians called this place "White Walls". The pyramids of Egypt at Saqqara are represented by the first oldest stepped pyramid, Djosera. It was here that the history of the construction of these burial structures began. In Saqqara, the first writing on the walls was found, known as the Pyramid Texts. The architect of these projects is called Imhotep, who invented masonry from hewn stone. Thanks to construction developments, the ancient architect was ranked among the deities. Imhotep is considered the son of Ptah, the patron saint of crafts. There are many tombs in Saqqara that belonged to important ancient Egyptian officials.
The true gem represents the great pyramids of Egypt at the Sneferu complex. Discontent with the Broken Pyramid, which did not allow him to adequately go to heaven, he began construction about two kilometers to the north. It was the famous Pink Pyramid, so named for the red limestone used in construction. This is one of the oldest buildings in Egypt, and it was built in the correct shape. It has a slope of 43 degrees and is the second largest, second only to the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was built by the son of Sneferu in Khufu. In fact, the Great Pyramid is only 10 meters from Pink. Other major monuments in Dahshur belong to the 12th and 13th dynasties and are incomparable in scale with the works of Huni and Sneferu.
Late pyramids in the Sneferu complex
There are later pyramids in Meidum. In Egypt, where the White Pyramid of Amenemhat II, the Black Amenemhat III and the building of Senusret III are located, smaller burial monuments for minor rulers, nobles and officials dominate.
They talk about a fairly stable and peaceful period in the history of Egypt. Interestingly, the Black Pyramid and the construction of Senusret III are not built of stone, but of brick. Why this material was used is unknown, but at that time new construction methods penetrated into Egypt from other countries, thanks to trade and international relations. Unfortunately, while the brick was much easier to work with, compared to granite blocks that weighed many tons, this material did not stand the test of time. Although the Black Pyramid is reasonably well preserved, the White one is badly damaged. Tourists who are little aware of the huge number of pyramidal burials have a misunderstanding. They ask, "Where are the pyramids in Egypt?" While everyone is aware of the great burial structures of Egypt, there are many less significant examples of similar structures. Scattered along the Nile from Celia at the edge of the oasis to Elephantine Island in Aswan, in the village of Naga el-Khalifa, about five miles south of Abydos, in the city of Minya and many other unexplored places.
Pyramids of Giza and the necropolis
For all tourists who come to Egypt, an excursion to the pyramids becomes almost a ritual. The buildings of Giza are the only surviving of the seven wonders of the Ancient World and the most famous landmarks. This sacred place impresses with its antiquity, the scope of the necropolis, the unreality of the structures and the Great Sphinx. The mysteries of the construction and the alleged symbolism of the pyramids of Giza only add to the appeal of these ancient wonders. Many modern people Giza is still considered a spiritual place. A number of fascinating theories have been proposed to explain the "mystery of the pyramids." The author of the project Great pyramid in Egypt they call the advisor Cheops and his relative, Hemiun. Giza is the most important place on earth for many researchers who are trying to unravel the geometric perfection of burial structures in ancient sources. But even the greatest skeptics are in awe of the deep antiquity, the scope and absolute harmony of the Giza pyramids.
History of the pyramids of Giza
Located on the west bank of the Nile River, about 12 miles southwest of downtown Cairo, Giza (el-Gizah in Arabic) is the third largest city in Egypt with a population of nearly 3 million. It is a famous necropolis on the Giza plateau that houses the most popular monuments in Egypt. The Great Pyramids of Giza were built in 2500 BC for the burials of the pharaohs. Together they make up the only thing ancient miracle light still in existence today. Egypt (Hurghada) attracts many tourists. They can see the pyramids of Giza in half an hour, which will be required on the road. You can admire this wonderful ancient sacred place to your heart's content.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu, or Cheops, as the Greeks called it (is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids at Giza), and the necropolis bordering Cairo, have remained virtually untouched by time. It is believed that the pyramid was built as a tomb for the fourth dynasty of the Egyptian pharaohs Khufu. The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. It was originally covered with facing stones, which created a smooth outer surface. Some of them can be seen around the base and at the very top. There are various scientific and alternative theories about how the pyramids of Ancient Egypt were built, and about the methods of building the Great One itself. Most of the accepted construction theories are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones out of the quarry and lifting them into place. It covers an area of \u200b\u200bjust over 5 hectares. The original height was 146 m in height, but the pyramid is still an impressive 137 m high. The main losses are associated with the destruction of the smooth limestone surface.
Herodotus about Egypt
When the Greek historian Herodotus visited Giza, around 450 BC, he was describing what pyramids were in Egypt. He learned from the Egyptian priests that the Great Pyramid was built for the pharaoh Khufu, who was the second king of the fourth dynasty (c. 2575-2465 BC). The priests told Herodotus that it was built by 400,000 people over 20 years. The construction involved 100,000 people moving the blocks at a time. But archaeologists find this implausible and tend to think that the labor force was more limited. Perhaps 20,000 workers with an accompanying support staff of bakers, doctors, priests and others would be enough to carry out this task.
The most famous pyramid was neatly laid out with 2.3 million cut stone blocks. These blocks had an impressive weight of two to fifteen tons. After the completion of construction, the burial structure was striking in weight, which was approximately 6 million tons. All the famous cathedrals in Europe taken together have such a weight! The Pyramid of Cheops has been registered for thousands of years as the tallest structure in the world.
Only the graceful spiers of the extraordinarily majestic Lincoln Cathedral, built in England, with a height of 160 meters, were able to break the record, but collapsed in 1549.
Pyramid of Khafre
Among the pyramids of Giza, the second largest is the structure built for the afterlife journey of Khafr (Khafren), the son of Pharaoh Khufu. He inherited power after the death of his older brother and was the fourth ruler in the fourth dynasty. Of his noble relatives and predecessors on the throne, many were buried in penniless tombs. But the grandeur of the Khafre pyramid strikes almost as much as the "last house" of his father.
The Khafre pyramid visually stretches towards the sky and seems higher than the first pyramid of Giza - the burial building of Cheops, because it stands on the higher part of the plateau. It is characterized by a steeper slope with a preserved smooth limestone cover. At the second pyramid, each side was 216 m and was originally 143 m high. Its limestone and granite blocks weigh about 2.5 tons each.
The ancient pyramids of Egypt, for example Cheops, as well as the construction of Khafre, include five burial pits, connected by passages. Together with the morgue, the Valley of the Temples and the connecting dam, it is 430 meters long carved into the rock. The burial chamber, which is underground, preserved a red granite sarcophagus with a lid. Nearby is a square cavity where a chest with Pharaoh's entrails was located. The Great Sphinx near the pyramid of Khafre is considered his royal portrait.
Pyramid of Mikerin
The last of the pyramids of Giza is the Pyramid of Mikerin, located to the south. It was intended for the son of Khafre, the fifth king of the fourth dynasty. Either side is 109 m, and the height of the structure is 66 m. In addition to these three monuments, small pyramids were built for Khufu's three wives and a series of flat-topped pyramids for the remains of his beloved children. At the end of the long dam were small tombs of the courtiers, the temple and morgue were built only to mummify the body of the pharaoh.
Like all the pyramids of Egypt, created for the pharaohs, the burial chambers of these buildings were filled with everything necessary for the next life: furniture, statues of slaves, niches for canopics.
Theories about the construction of Egyptian giants
The centuries-old history of Egypt conceals many mysteries. The pyramids, built without modern appliances, only increase the curiosity about these places. Herodotus assumed that the foundation was made of huge blocks weighing about seven tons. And then, like from children's blocks, we raised all 203 layers step by step. But this cannot be done, as evidenced by the Japanese attempt in the 1980s to duplicate the actions of the Egyptian builders. The most plausible explanation is that the Egyptians used inclined ones, along which blocks of stone were towed along the ladder using sleds, rollers and levers. And the base was a natural plateau. The majestic structures have withstood not only the crushing work of time, but also numerous attacks by grave robbers. They robbed the pyramids in ancient times. Opened by the Italians in 1818, Chephren's burial chamber was empty, there was no longer any gold and other treasures.
There is a possibility that the pyramids of Egypt are still undiscovered or are now completely destroyed. Many people express fantastic theories about the extraterrestrial interference of another civilization, for which such construction is child's play. The Egyptians are only proud of the perfect knowledge of their ancestors in the field of mechanics, dynamics, thanks to which the construction business developed.
Everyone knows how many interesting, sometimes amazing scientific discoveries were made by scientists on the ancient Egyptian land. Her tombs and temples gave a lot of wonderful finds. But the greatest miracle of Egypt, which amazed people even in ancient times, was the pyramids - these amazing artificial mountains - the tombs of the ancient Egyptian kings.
Huge tombs and pyramids were built, demanding an incredible price and containing priceless treasures, and complex embalmed mummies. The splendor of Ancient Egypt lasted over 3 thousand years.
The pyramids were imposing tetrahedral tombs built for the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. All the faces, which formed a kind of triangle, converged at the top, forming a pointed apex.
Scientists note that during the entire existence of the Ancient Egyptian kingdom, more than 80 pyramids were built, but only a small part has survived to us. There are three pyramids that have survived - these are the pyramids of Cheops, Khafren and Mikerin (they also have Egyptian names - Khufu, Khafra and Menkaur). Formally, only the first of this list belongs to the legendary seven wonders of the world. However, they are all mysterious and majestic.
The first Egyptian pyramid was built in the Saqqara Desert around 2650 BC. The most impressive pyramids built at Giza more than 100 years later had flat edges. The top of each pyramid was probably covered in gold. Inside the pyramids were burial chambers and secret galleries. [Appendix 2] No one really knows why the Egyptians built these tombs in the form of pyramids, but it is possible that they were seen as a ladder to heaven, helping the Pharaoh to gain eternal life. Pharaohs were called kings in Ancient Egypt. But this is not the only version of the reasons for the construction of the Egyptian pyramids.
On March 22, 1993, news agencies all over the world broadcast sensational news - an unknown German robot engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink made an outstanding discovery. A remote-controlled robot launched by him explored the Cheops pyramid from the inside. This is the discovery he made. It turned out that the pyramids are reflected in the sky, but rather are themselves a reflection of the constellation Orion. The pyramids of Giza are the belt of Orion. Thus, according to R. Gantenbrink's version, the theory of "star correspondence" was confirmed. Thanks to the star orientation, a high accuracy in the construction of the pyramids was achieved. Why is the construction of the pyramids focused specifically on the constellation Orion? The Nile was the real ruler of Egypt. The flood of the river began on the day of the summer solstice, which was accompanied by the appearance of Sirius from the horizon. The rise of Sirius, in turn, was preceded by the appearance of Orion. This coincidence has given rise to the ideas on which the religious cult is based. After a period of absence of these constellations, began new season revival of life. That is why Orion was associated with the great god Osiris.
Excellent astronomers lived in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians, as you know, to determine the exact time of crops, very closely followed the stars, drawing up star maps and tables. Therefore, the pyramids are oriented strictly along the meridian, their faces look to the 4 cardinal directions, the entrance is always located on the north side of the structure.
Another interesting theory is the use of pyramids as a power plant.
Several confirmations of this hypothesis can be found based on the architecture of the Cheops pyramid. Did the ancient Egyptians make sense to erect such a grandiose structure just to honor the memory of the pharaoh? The pyramid is pierced by various shafts and channels at its entire height and extent. Scientifically proven that these channels are laid according to the maps starry sky... A vertical channel runs along the axial line of the pyramid, which, possibly, is an energetic installation for communication with the Universal Mind or the spirits of ancestors, according to beliefs ancient people... It is interesting that inside the pyramid there are a large number of rooms that have nothing to do with the burial ceremony. It has not yet been proven whether, in fact, Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) was buried in the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid or else in another place.
The mysteries of the pyramids of Ancient Egypt with each new discovery leave more questions than answers. The pyramid of Cheops is built on the basis of more ancient pyramid, the construction time of which is supposedly 14 thousand years BC. Its size is so large that it takes up about half the volume of the Great Pyramid. When arranging and painting the interior, special lanterns, possibly electric, were used. They were discovered during excavations and still gave off a faint light despite thousands of years since their burial.
There is a hypothesis that the Egyptians received electricity using power plants such as the Great Gallery in the Cheops pyramid. On the edges of the pyramid, scientists have found various images made with grooves. Drawings can be seen in reflected light if desired. On the southern side of the pyramid, most likely, there is a portrait of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth, one of the most significant gods in Egyptian mythology. Riddles in stone, the secrets of the pyramids of Ancient Egypt will excite the imagination of mankind for a long time, receiving their response in books and films. We can only hope that the technologies of the twenty-first century will still be able to reveal to people the knowledge that was buried under the thickness of sand and time.
Back in the 10th century, the historian Masudi argued that the Egyptian pyramids of Giza are not only a repository of all the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians on astronomy, art and religion, but also contain "historical and prophetic predictions." In 1865, Robert Menzies suggested that if you take the sacred inch of the Egyptians as a basis and measure the length inner chambers Egyptian pyramid, then we will find the chronological dates of the most important events of the past and future. On the basis of the discoveries made by Mr. Varil in 1948-49, Egyptologists-Symbolists believe that the architecture of most of the temples of ancient Egypt contains a number of symbols of a philosophical, historical and especially religious nature. In their opinion, the location of the foundations of the colonnades and even the superstructures of the surface structures of these monuments indicate esoteric knowledge hidden from the profane. In turn, the famous astronomer, director of the Bourgeois Observatory, Abbot More, devoted his life to solving the mysteries that the study of ancient Egyptian temples and the pyramid of Cheops in Giza brings to scientists.
The results of measurements of the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops, obtained by the engineer Davidson, were amazing. The diagonal of the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops gives its absolutely exact direction along the meridian, and the accuracy of this direction to the theoretical North Pole reaches 4 minutes 30 seconds: this is more accurate than the Paris Observatory. In addition, this meridian, passing through the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops, divides the surface of the sea and land into two equal parts, counting America and the Pacific Ocean. Moreover: the latitude passing through the center of the Cheops pyramid also divides the entire globe into two equal parts, according to the amount of land and water. Thus, for 2500 years BC. The Egyptians knew the exact ratio of the surface of all continents and it was not by chance that they chose the mouth of the Nile for the construction of the Egyptian pyramids of Giza. When measuring the pyramid of Cheops itself, it turned out that the perimeter of the pyramid of Giza, divided by a double height, gives the exact number "Pi", with an accuracy of one hundred thousandth. Interestingly, the sacred measure of length of Egypt, i.e. A pyramidal inch (oddly coincidentally equal to modern English) is one billionth of the Earth's orbit traversed in 24 hours. Another linear measure of the pyramid, the cubit, equal to 25 inches, or 635.66 millimeters, is one ten millionth of the polar radius of the Earth. The sum of the two diagonals of the Egyptian pyramid, expressed in inches, gives the number of years during which the north pole of our earth makes one complete revolution. The volume of the pyramid, multiplied by the specific gravity of the stone from which it is made, gives the theoretical weight of the globe. The same measure is found once again in the king's chambers when measuring the "sarcophagus". We find its volume in relation to the volume of the globe. This volume, so to speak, the standard of weight, coincides exactly with the weight of one British pound (453.59 g). The archaic units of measures of the English correspond exactly to the “sacred” units of Ancient Egypt!
pyramid ancient egyptian pharaoh tomb
