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The Egyptian pyramids are fascinating structures that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. Their majesty and age are awe-inspiring, they have seen so much over the millennia that we can’t even imagine.
This includes one of the Seven Wonders of the World – the Great (Cheops) Pyramid of Giza. They are mysterious and shrouded in many legends and conjectures. The outward simplicity hides a complex system of corridors and rooms, including secret ones. Moreover, the path through the pyramid is full of pitfalls. Their construction since 2500 BC is literally unbelievable. Let’s uncover some of their secrets.
For a long time, the Egyptian pyramids were among the tallest structures in the world. They’ve held that title for almost 4,000 years. The largest and tallest pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Giza, which you may know better as the Pyramid of Cheops. It was originally almost 150 m high, now it still towers to almost 140 m. It wasn’t to be surpassed until the 18th century. However, there are also references to St Paul’s Cathedral, dating from 1221, being taller.
The pyramids’ present appearance, with their colour blending in with the surrounding sand, is the result of many, many years. Originally, the pyramids had a smooth white surface. They were covered on the outside with stones made of polished white limestone, which was quarried in Tura, 18 km away on the other side of the Nile. The top of the pyramid was made of a special stone called pyramidion, which was a mixture of gold and silver called electro. This appearance lasted the pyramids for the first thousand years, after which much of the top stones were taken away and used in the construction of the city of Cairo. Some have been preserved and can be found in museums.
One stone used to build the pyramid weighed on average 2.5 tons. Over 2 million stones were used to build the Great Pyramid, with the heaviest weighing up to 15 t. The construction of the pyramid required many workers and advanced technology for the time, and was completed in about 20 years.
━━ Some of the stones were so heavy that even with modern technology it would have been very difficult to move them.
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Pyramids are also interesting because, although the ravages of time have taken their toll, they are still relatively sound. Their solid construction is mainly due to special mortar. Stone or clay was used, there was a given ratio for mixing it, and together with the amount that was used, they are now almost immortal.
The original pyramids in the Old Kingdom were not just stand-alone structures. They included entire complexes above and below ground, forming necropolises. In addition to the main pyramid for the pharaoh, there may have been smaller ones for queens and other family members, mastabas for nobles and courtiers, or even a temple or burial place for ships. Pyramids built in the New Kingdom did not have such extensive surroundings.
Despite their undeniable cultural importance, the pyramids were in trouble. Attempts to destroy them were quite frequent. Prominent in this was the Ayyubian sultan Al-Aziz Uthman (12th century), who decided to use material from the pyramids for other projects. The historical value probably meant nothing to him at the time. His efforts, like those of others, were futile. The attempt to destroy the smallest pyramid at Giza (Menkauer’s) failed, leaving only a gash that is still visible on its north side. The Sultan would have had such a high cost to dismantle them that he preferred to give up.
The pyramids have always been tempting, as they would contain many of the treasures of Egypt’s rulers in addition to the mummies. Their plundering therefore came fairly early and was quite common in the Middle Kingdom. In the New Kingdom, this is probably also why the pyramids were not built as ostentatiously, and eventually stopped altogether. Thieves were not deterred by the many traps that were set up around and inside the pyramids.
To build such huge structures required advanced technology. To this day, we still find it incomprehensible how the Egyptians did it, especially when you stand next to one of them and feel like an ant. Ancient civilizations were very inventive. They used the Nile to build the pyramids and created water shafts through which the stones were almost effortlessly carried to the site by water pressure. Overland, palm tree trunks were laid on the path and the sand was soaked.The wetting of the sand had to be in exact proportion to the water so that the stones could be moved without binding. Inclined ramps were used for transport at height. The longest ones were up to 3 km long.
━━ Without the Nile River, it would have been difficult for the Egyptians to transport the building stones to the construction site.
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For many years we thought that slaves were the main workers in the building of the pyramids. This was a logical assumption given the amount of labour involved, but the truth is elsewhere. Archaeologists have uncovered entire villages where workers lived and died. Up to a quarter of Egypt’s population was needed to build the pyramids, and some proportion was probably indeed slaves. But it wasn’t nearly that many, with workers flocking from all over the country for wages. They were well cared for, and according to research they regularly had plenty of meat and medical care. Their tombs were built as a tribute.
It is believed that not all the pyramids in Egypt have been discovered yet. Archaeologists have uncovered over 130. That’s how many pyramids have been discovered in all different forms and states of preservation. Most of them are on the west bank of the Nile and include gems like the stepped or cranked pyramid.
Around 80 pyramids lie in the region of Nubia, which was largely located in present-day Sudan. The centre was in the city of Meroë, near which the pyramids stand. They are smaller and better preserved than the Egyptian ones, but they are clearly heavily inspired by the structures of their northern neighbours. The Nubians even conquered Egypt and founded the 25th dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs.
We know a lot about the pyramids these days. In fact, everyone knows the basic facts because of their uniqueness. Yet there are still many mysteries that have not yet been discovered. As the years go by, research has progressed and scientists are able to glean more and more information from each find. The complexity of the pyramids, their internal layout, as well as the meaning and specific purpose of each site are still partly a mystery.
Once upon a time a certain learned man found a connection between the pyramids and the stars. He noticed that the 3 pyramids of Giza were reflections of 3 stars from Orion’s Belt. According to his calculations, the ratio of the size and luminosity of the stars coincided with the sizes of the pyramids, and their position also corresponded to their distance from each other. But this theory has been disproved, as the sky probably looked quite different at the time the pyramids were built. So if they were built according to the stars then, we probably won’t know today. Their celestial significance is still to be discovered.
