History of the Egyptian pyramids. Ancient pyramids of Egypt: history, description and secrets The first pyramid in human history

For more than four thousand years, pyramids have stood in the sands of Egypt, inspiring respect and even awe. The tombs of the pharaohs look like aliens from another world, they contrast so strongly with the surrounding environment and their scale is so large. It seems incredible that thousands of years ago people were able to build structures of such heights, which, using modern technologies at that time, were surpassed only in the 19th century, and have not been surpassed in volume to this day.

Of course, theories about the “other” origin of the pyramids could not help but arise. Gods, aliens, representatives of vanished civilizations - whoever was credited with creating these majestic structures, at the same time attributing to them the most incredible properties.

In fact, the pyramids are the work of human hands. In our age of atomized society, when the unification of the efforts of several dozen people to achieve a common goal already seems like a miracle, even large-scale construction projects of the 20th century look incredible. And to imagine that the ancestors were capable of such a unification thousands of years ago, you need to have the imagination of a science fiction writer. It’s easier to attribute everything to aliens...

1. If you didn't know it by now, Scythian mounds are the poor man's pyramids. Or how to look at it: pyramids are burial mounds for the land poor. If it was enough for the nomads to drag a pile of earth onto the grave, then the Egyptians had to carry thousand-ton stone blocks - the sand mounds would be blown away by the wind. However, the wind also covered the pyramids with sand. Some had to be dug up. The large pyramids were more fortunate - they were also covered with sand, but only partially. So, the Russian traveler in late XIX century, he noted in his diary that the Sphinx was covered in sand up to its chest. Accordingly, it seemed lower standing nearby Pyramid of Khafre.

2. The first serious problem in the history of the pyramids is also associated with sand drifts. Herodotus, who described and even measured them, does not mention a word about the Sphinx. Modern researchers explain this by saying that the figures were covered with sand. However, Herodotus' measurements, although with slight inaccuracies, coincide with modern ones, made when the pyramids were cleared of sand. It is thanks to Herodotus that we call the largest pyramid the “Pyramid of Cheops.” It is much more correct to call it the “Pyramid of Khufu”.

3. As is often the case with ancient travelers or historians, from the works of Herodotus you can learn more about his personality than about the countries and phenomena he describes. According to the Greek, Cheops, when he did not have enough money to build his own funeral complex, sent his own daughter to a brothel. At the same time, he built a separate small pyramid for his sister, who combined family responsibilities with the role of one of Cheops’ wives.

Heterodyne

4. The number of pyramids, oddly enough, fluctuates. Some of them, especially small ones, are poorly preserved or even look like a pile of stones, so some scientists refuse to consider them pyramids. Thus, their number varies from 118 to 138.

5. If it were possible to disassemble the six largest pyramids into stones and saw tiles from these stones, it would be enough to pave a road from Moscow to Vladivostok 8 meters wide.

6. Napoleon (not Bonaparte at that time), having estimated the volume of the three pyramids in Giza, calculated that using the stones in them it was possible to encircle the perimeter of France with a wall 30 centimeters thick and 3 meters high. And the launch pad of modern space rockets would completely fit inside the Cheops pyramid.

Napoleon is shown a mummy

7. The size of the tomb pyramids matched the territory on which they were located. So, around the Djozer pyramid there was a stone wall (now it is destroyed and covered with sand), enclosing an area of ​​\u200b\u200bone and a half hectares.

8. Not all pyramids served as tombs for pharaohs; less than half of them were. Others were intended for wives, children, or had a religious purpose.

9. The Pyramid of Cheops is considered the highest, but the height of 146.6 meters was assigned to it empirically - this is what it could have been if the cladding had survived. The actual height of the Cheops Pyramid is less than 139 meters. The crypt of this pyramid can completely accommodate two medium-sized two-room apartments, stacked one on top of the other. The tomb is lined with granite slabs. They fit so well that a needle cannot fit into the gap.

The Pyramid of Cheops

10. The oldest pyramid was built for Pharaoh Djozer in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Its height is 62 meters. Inside the pyramid, 11 tombs were found - for all members of the pharaoh's family. The mummy of Jozer himself was stolen by robbers in ancient times (the pyramid was robbed several times), but the remains of family members, including a young child, were preserved.

Pyramid of Jozer

11. When the ancient Greek civilization was born, the pyramids had already stood for a thousand years. By the time Rome was founded they were two thousand years old. When Napoleon, on the eve of the “Battle of the Pyramids,” pathetically exclaimed: “Soldiers! They are looking at you for 40 centuries!”, he was mistaken by about 500 years. According to the Czechoslovakian writer Vojtech Zamarovsky, the pyramids stood when people considered the Moon to be a deity, and continued to stand when people landed on the Moon.

12. The ancient Egyptians did not know a compass, but the pyramids in Giza are very clearly oriented to the cardinal points. Deviations are measured in fractions of a degree.

13. The first European entered the pyramids in the 1st century AD. e. The multi-talented Roman scientist Pliny turned out to be lucky. He described his impressions in volume VI of his famous Natural History. Pliny called the pyramids “evidence of senseless vanity.” Saw Pliny and the Sphinx.

14. Until the end of the first millennium AD. e. Only three pyramids were known at Giza. Pyramids were discovered gradually, and the pyramid of Menkaure was unknown until the 15th century.

Pyramid of Menkaure. The trace of the Arab assault is clearly visible

15. Immediately after construction, the pyramids were white - they were faced with polished white limestone. After the conquest of Egypt, the Arabs appreciated the quality of the cladding. When Baron d'Anglare visited Egypt at the end of the 14th century, he still saw the process of dismantling facing stones for construction in Cairo. He was informed that white limestone had been “mined” in this way for a thousand years. So the cladding disappeared from the pyramids not at all under the influence of natural forces.

16. The Arab ruler of Egypt, Sheikh al-Mamun, having decided to penetrate the Cheops pyramid, acted like a military leader besieging a fortress - the wall of the pyramid was hollowed out with battering rams. The pyramid did not give up until the sheikh was told to pour boiling vinegar over the stone. The wall began to give way little by little, but it is unlikely that the sheikh’s idea would have been a success if he had been unlucky - the breach accidentally coincided with the beginning of the so-called. Large gallery. However, the victory disappointed al-Mansur - he wanted to profit from the treasures of the pharaohs, but found only a few precious stones in the sarcophagus.

17. There are still rumors about a certain “curse of Tutankhamun” - anyone who desecrates the burial of the pharaoh will die in the very near future. They started back in the 1920s. Howard Carter, who opened the tomb of Tutankhamun, in a letter to the editor of the newspaper, which reported that he and several other members of the expedition had died, stated that in spiritual terms, contemporaries had not gone far from the ancient Egyptians.

Howard Carter is somewhat surprised by the news of his painful death

18. Giovanni Belzoni, an Italian adventurer who wandered throughout Europe, in 1815 entered into an agreement with the British consul in Egypt, according to which Belzoni was appointed as the official representative of the British Museum in Egypt, and Consul Salt undertook to redeem the extracted valuables from him for the British Museum. The British, as always, pulled chestnuts out of the fire with the wrong hands. Belzoni went down in history as a grave robber, and was killed in 1823, and the British Museum “preserved for civilization” a lot of Egyptian treasures. It was Belzoni who managed to find the entrance to Khafre's pyramid without breaking the walls. Anticipating prey, he burst into the tomb, opened the sarcophagus and... made sure that it was empty. Moreover, in good lighting he saw an inscription on the wall made by the Arabs. It followed from it that they did not find the treasure either.

19. For about half a century after Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign, only the lazy did not rob the pyramids. Or rather, the Egyptians themselves robbed, selling the relics they found for a pittance. Suffice it to say that for a small sum, tourists could watch the colorful spectacle of the falling cladding slabs from the upper tiers of the pyramids. Only Sultan Khedive Said in 1857 forbade plundering the pyramids without his permission.

20. For a long time, scientists believed that the embalmers who processed the bodies of the pharaohs after death knew some special secrets. Only in the twentieth century, after people began to actively penetrate the deserts, did it become clear that dry hot air preserves corpses much better than embalming solutions. The bodies of the poor people lost in the desert were preserved almost the same as the bodies of the pharaohs.

21. Stones for the construction of the pyramids were obtained by trivial carving. The use of wooden stakes, which, when wet, tore the stone, is more a hypothesis than an everyday practice. The resulting blocks were pulled to the surface and polished. Special craftsmen numbered them near the quarry. Then, in a numerical order, through the efforts of hundreds of people, the blocks were dragged to the Nile, loaded onto barges and taken to the site where the pyramids were built. Transportation was carried out in full water - an extra hundred meters of transportation by land extended construction by months. The final polishing of the blocks was carried out when they were in their places in the pyramid. Traces from painted boards, which were used to check the quality of polishing, and numbers on some blocks have been preserved.

There are still some preparations left...

22. There is no evidence of the use of animals in transporting blocks and building pyramids. The ancient Egyptians actively raised livestock, but small oxen, donkeys, goats and mules are clearly not animals that can be forced to do the hardest work day after day. But the fact that during the construction of the pyramids animals went in herds for food is quite obvious. According to various estimates, from 10 to 100,000 people worked simultaneously on the construction of the pyramids.

23. Either in Stalin’s times they knew about the principles of work of the Egyptians when building the pyramids, or the inhabitants of the Nile Valley developed an optimal scheme for using forced labor, but the breakdown of labor resources looks surprisingly similar. In Egypt, pyramid builders were divided into groups of up to 1,000 people for the most difficult and unskilled work (analogous to the Gulag camp). These groups, in turn, were divided into shifts. There was a “free” leadership: architects (freelance specialists), overseers (VOKhR) and priests (political unit). There were also “morons” - stone cutters and sculptors were in a privileged position.

24. The whistling of whips over the heads of slaves and the terrifying mortality rate during the construction of the pyramids are inventions of historians closer to modern times. The climate of Egypt allowed free peasants to work in their fields for several months (in the Nile Delta they harvested 4 crops a year), and they were free to use the forced “downtime” for construction. Later, as the size of the pyramids grew, they began to be attracted to construction without consent, but so that no one would die of hunger. But during breaks for cultivating the fields and harvesting the harvest, slaves worked; there were about a quarter of all employees.

25. Pharaoh of the VI dynasty Piopi II did not waste time on trifles. He ordered the construction of 8 pyramids at once - for himself, for each of his wives and 3 ritual ones. One of the spouses, whose name was Imtes, cheated on the ruler and was severely punished - she was deprived of her personal pyramid. But Piopi II still surpassed Senusret I, who built 11 tombs.

26. Already in the middle of the 19th century, “pyramidology” and “pyramidography” were born - pseudosciences that opened people’s eyes to the essence of the pyramids. Through interpretation of Egyptian texts and various mathematical and algebraic manipulations with the dimensions of the pyramids, they convincingly argued that people simply could not build the pyramids. According to data at the end of the second decade of the 21st century, the situation has not changed dramatically.

26. You should not follow the pyramidologists and confuse the accuracy of the cladding of tombs with granite slabs and the fit of external stone blocks. The granite slabs for the internal cladding (not all of them!) are fitted very precisely. But the millimeter tolerances in the external masonry are the fantasies of unscrupulous interpreters. There are gaps, and quite significant ones, between the blocks.

27. Having measured the pyramids lengthwise and crosswise, pyramidologists came to an amazing conclusion: the ancient Egyptians knew the number π! Experts who replicate discoveries of this kind, first from book to book, and then from site to site, obviously do not remember, or have not already seen mathematics lessons in one of the primary classes of a Soviet school. There children were given round objects different sizes and a piece of thread. To the surprise of the schoolchildren, the ratio of the length of the thread with which round objects were wrapped to the diameter of these objects almost did not change, and was always slightly more than 3.

28. Above the entrance to the office of the American construction company “The Starrett Brothers and Eken” hung a slogan in which the company that built the Empire State Building promised to build a life-size replica of the Cheops Pyramid at the request of the customer.

29. Often seen in American films and TV series entertainment center"Luxor" in Las Vegas is not a copy of the Cheops pyramid (although the association "pyramid" - "Cheops" is understandable and forgivable). To design the Luxor, the parameters of the Pink Pyramid (the third largest) and the Broken Pyramid, known for its characteristic broken edges, were used.

What are they, Egyptian pyramids?

Perhaps the best known form of late prehistoric art, the pyramids of ancient Egypt are the world's largest funerary structures or tombs. Created from a mastaba tomb, they are one of the most enduring symbols of Egyptian art in general and Egyptian architecture in particular. The ancient Egyptians believed in an eternal afterlife and the purpose of the pyramids was to protect the pharaoh's body and all the things he would need after death to ease his transition to the afterlife. Thus, each pyramid typically contained a variety of Egyptian sculptures, paintings, jewelry, and other forms of ancient art necessary to support the deceased in his afterlife. To date, approximately 140 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt, most of which were built as tombs for the country's pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods (2650-1650). Oldest known Egyptian pyramids are located in Saqqara, near Memphis, south of the Nile Delta. The earliest of them is Pyramid of Djoser(built around 2630 at Saqqara), which was developed during the Third Dynasty famous architect Imhotep (active ca. 2600-2610 BC). The highest was Great Pyramid of Giza(c. 2565), which Antipater of Sidon called one of the seven wonders of the world and is currently the only survivor of the "wonders". Exactly how many paid workers were required to cut, transport and erect the stone megaliths from which each pyramid was built is unknown, although estimates range from 30,000 to 300,000. However, the enormous resources required to create such colossal works of ancient architecture show how rich and well-organized Egyptian society was in the third millennium BC.

How did Egyptian architecture develop before the pyramids were built?

The architectural design of the pyramids was a reflection of both politics and religious customs. Before 3000 BC Ancient Egypt was actually two countries with two burial traditions. In Lower Egypt (in the north), the country was wet and flat, and the dead were buried under their family home, which was usually built on high ground. In Upper Egypt (in the south), the dead were buried far from settlements, in dry sand on the edge of the desert. The mound was usually erected over the grave. As housing and burial sites became closer, between 3000 and 2700 it was common for nobles to be buried in a simple tomb called a mastaba. It was a simple tomb consisting of a rectangular, flat-roofed structure made of clay bricks with slightly sloping walls, within which a deep burial chamber lined with stone or brick was dug into the ground. After some time, the flat roof of the above-ground building was replaced by a pyramidal structure. Finally, the idea came - conceived by Imhotep - to stack mastabas one on top of the other, forming a series of "steps" that decreased in size towards the top, thereby creating the familiar step pyramid design. Not all pyramid projects were successful. The architects hired by King Snefru built three pyramids: the first one, pyramid at Meidum, collapsed in antiquity; second, curved pyramid, had a radically changed angle in the middle of its design; only the third red pyramid turned out to be successful.

What is the history of the Egyptian pyramids?

The next phase of construction, which occurred in the subsequent era of Egyptian New Kingdom architecture (1550-1069), focused on the construction of temples. Egyptian pharaohs were no longer buried in pyramids, but in mortuary temples located in the Valley of the Kings on west bank Nile opposite Thebes. A revival of pyramid building occurred in the subsequent period of Late Egyptian architecture (c.664-30 BC). During the Napatan era in neighboring Sudan (c. 700-661 BC), a number of pyramids were built under the influence of Egyptian architects. Later, during the Sudanese Kingdom of Meroe (c. 300 BC – 300 AD), more than two hundred pyramidal funerary structures were built. For more information about the Hellenistic period (323-27 BC), see: Greek art. For information on construction methods in ancient Rome, please see: Roman Architecture (c. 400 BC – 400 AD).

What were the main characteristics of the pyramid?

Early pyramids were built differently from later ones. For example, the monumental pyramids of the Old Kingdom were built from stone blocks, while the pyramids of the late Middle Kingdom were smaller and typically made of clay bricks faced with limestone. Early structures usually had a core of local limestone covered with an outer layer of better quality limestone or sometimes granite. Granite was also traditionally used for the royal halls inside the pyramid. Up to 2.5 million limestone blocks and up to 50 thousand granite blocks could be used to build one pyramid. Average weight can be up to 2.5 tons per block, with some very large megaliths weighing up to 200 tons. The capstone at the top of the structure was usually made of basalt or granite and, if covered with gold, silver or electrum (a mixture of both), can blind observers with its reflection of the sun. Based on excavations of a number of workers' cemeteries discovered in the early 1990s, archaeologists now believe that the pyramids were built by tens of thousands of indentured laborers and artisans who were housed in huge camps nearby.

Deep inside each pyramid was the main chamber, which contained the mummified body of the dead pharaoh, placed in a precious sarcophagus. In addition, as noted, a huge number of artifacts were buried with him to support him in the afterlife, as well as monuments to the dead man himself: for example, inside Pyramids of Khafre there were over 52 life-size statues. In addition, dummy passages were dug to prevent subsequent desecration of the tomb and theft of valuables.

All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, where the sun sets, in accordance with official religious doctrine concerning the kingdom of the dead. (The pharaoh's soul supposedly united with the sun during its descent before continuing its eternal journey with it). Most of the pyramids were faced with polished white limestone (much of which has now been stolen) to give them a shiny, reflective appearance from a distance. Bent Pyramid in Dahshur, one of the few that still retains part of its original limestone covering. They were located relatively close to the Nile, which made it easier to transport stone from the quarries near Heliopolis along the river.

Pharaohs—along with their architects, engineers, and construction supervisor—usually began building their own pyramid as soon as they ascended the throne. The two main factors that determined the pyramid's location during the Old Kingdom included its orientation to the western horizon (where the sun set) and its proximity to Memphis, the country's key city in the third millennium.

The most famous Egyptian pyramids

Pyramid of Djoser (c. 2630) (Saqqara)
Built in the necropolis of Saqqara, northwest of the city of Memphis, it is the centerpiece of a huge complex bordered on all sides by the 33-foot wall of light Tura limestone. Noted as the first monumental structure made of stone and the most famous "step" Egyptian pyramid, its original height was approximately 203 feet (62 meters). It was faced with polished white limestone.

Bent Pyramid (c. 2600) (Dahshur)
This distinctive structure, called the curved, blunted or diamond-shaped pyramid and formerly also known as the southern shining pyramid, is located in the royal necropolis of Dahshur, south of Cairo. Approximately 320 feet (98 meters) high, next to the second pyramid erected by ruler Snefru. A sort of hybrid of flexible pyramids with stepped and smooth sides, the only one whose original facing of polished limestone remained intact.

Red Pyramid (c.2600) (Dahshur)
Named after the red-colored stone, at 341 feet tall, it is the largest of the three important pyramids at the Dahshur necropolis and the third largest after those at Khufu and Khafre at Giza. Experts also consider it the world's first "true" smooth pyramid. Ironically, it was not always red because - like almost all pyramids - it was originally lined with white Tura limestone. This was the third pyramid built by Pharaoh Snefru and took between 10 and 17 years to complete.

Pyramid of Khufu/Cheops (c. 2565) (Giza)
Built by Pharaoh Khufu, son of Pharaoh Snefru, the Pyramid of Khufu (Greek: Cheops) is known as the Great Pyramid of Giza. This is the oldest and largest of the three tombs in the Giza necropolis. Approximately 4,806 feet (146 meters) tall, it was the tallest man-made structure in the world for nearly four millennia. According to the eminent Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie, it was built from approximately 2,400,000 limestone blocks, weighing 2.5 tons each. Its construction took about 20 years. Most of the rough interior blocks were quarried locally, but the granite for the pharaoh's chambers came from quarries in Aswan, about 500 miles from Giza. In addition to approximately 6 million tons of limestone, 8,000 tons of granite and approximately 500,000 tons of mortar were used for Khufu's pyramid.

Pyramid of Djedefre (c.2555) (Abu Rawash)
Now in ruins, largely (it is believed) because it was dismantled by Roman builders who wanted to use the stone for their own building projects elsewhere in Egypt, this pyramid at Abu Rawash was built by Djedefre, son of Pharaoh Khufu. It is the northernmost pyramid of Egypt and is believed to have been similar in size to the Pyramid of Menkaure at Giza, although some evidence suggests that it may have been the tallest of all the pyramids. Originally known as the "Starry Sky of Djedefre", according to Egyptologists, its outer layer of polished granite and limestone made it one of the most beautiful pyramids.

Pyramid of Khafre (c. 2545) (Giza)
Rising to 448 feet, this pyramid, also called Shefren's Pyramid, is the second largest structure in the Giza necropolis, and because it sits on a slightly raised stone base, it appears as if it is taller than the Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops). Also made from blocks of Tura limestone, the largest of which weighed an estimated 400 tons, its outer shell was dismantled during Egyptian New Kingdom architecture by Ramesses II to provide stone for the construction of the temple at Heliopolis. To the east of the pyramid is a conventional mortuary temple with a controlled entrance hall, a pillared courtyard, five rooms for the pharaoh's statue, five storage chambers and an inner sanctuary.

Pyramid of Menkaure (c. 2520) (Giza)
This is the third and last of the famous pyramids of Giza, located southwest of Cairo. The smallest of the three, its original height was approximately 215 feet (65.5 meters) and, like the others, it is made of limestone and granite. It served as the tomb of Pharaoh Menkaure, who, according to ancient historians such as Herodotus, was a kind and enlightened ruler. Inside the pyramid, archaeologists discovered a large number of stone sculptures depicting the pharaoh in the traditional style of Egyptian naturalism, as well as a magnificent basalt sarcophagus that may have contained the remains of Menkaure. Unfortunately, the ship carrying him to England sank off the island of Malta.

Construction: how were the pyramids built?

Egyptologists remain undecided as to the exact construction method used to create the pyramids. In particular, experts disagree on the method by which the stones were transported and laid (rollers, different types of ramps, or a lever system), as well as the type of labor used (slaves or paid workers, and if they were paid, they were given a salary or tax credit). Whatever the exact method of construction, the results were extraordinary. For example, the Great Pyramid of Giza was built with extremely precise dimensions—a piece of paper barely fits between the stones—and aligned to within a fraction of an inch across its entire 13-acre base. The latest construction methods and laser leveling techniques can hardly be better. One of the reasons why the Egyptian pyramids are such an amazing example of megalithic art, and why they are among the greatest works in art history.

The 10-year obsession of the French architect made it possible to identify a new, most realistic (truthful) theory for the construction of the Cheops pyramid. In the 2013 film, he shows how the external ramp was built, along which the blocks were raised, and proves its existence on the site. This is one of the best pyramid building movies on Youtube.

How to move heavy stone blocks?

One of the main difficulties that the early pyramid builders faced was how to move the huge quantities of heavy stone blocks. It appears that this issue was resolved using methods that included the following elements. To begin with, the stone blocks were oiled to facilitate movement. Additionally, based on excavated artifacts from certain temples, it appears that the builders used a cradle-like machine to help roll the stones. This technique was validated in tests conducted by the Obayashi Corporation using 2.5 ton concrete blocks, which proved that 18 people could pull a block up a 1/4 (height to length) incline at a speed of approximately 60 feet. minute. However, this method does not work for heavier blocks in the 15-80 ton weight range. Greek architecture borrowed heavily from Egyptian building techniques.

What equipment was used to build the pyramids?

In 1997, experts joined forces to conduct a pyramid-building experiment for a television program. In three weeks, they built a pyramid 20 feet high and 30 feet wide, using 186 stones, each weighing approximately 2.2 tons. The project required the use of 44 people using iron hammers, chisels and levers. Note: Experiments done with copper tools showed that they were a viable alternative to iron tools, but would require about 20 extra people to keep them sharp. In addition to the hardware tools, a forklift was used, but no other modern equipment was permitted. Levers were used to turn and roll stones weighing up to 1 ton, while large stones were hauled using wooden sleds by a crew of 12 to 20 men.

How many workers were used to build the Egyptian pyramids?

Consultants Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall, in collaboration with Egyptologists, estimate that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built using an average workforce of approximately 14,500 people - sometimes reaching a peak workforce of 40,000 - in about ten years without using iron tools, pulleys or wheels. They calculated that such a workforce could support a work rate of 180 blocks per hour in a 10-hour workday: calculations based on data taken from modern construction projects completed in the Third World, without modern equipment.

Pyramids of Ancient Egypt They have been delighting, surprising, and exciting the imagination for more than a millennium. Heated debate continues over when Egypt's ancient pyramids were built, who built them, and why they were built. Each disputing side has its own compelling arguments. This article provides a largely undisputed official point of view on these issues.

History of the pyramids of Egypt

The history of the pyramids of Egypt from the construction of the first pyramid of Ancient Egypt - the step pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser. It was built at Saqqara around 2600 BC. This was the pharaoh of the third dynasty.

Before him, the tombs of the pharaohs were built from dried bricks. Subsequently they received the name - mastaba. A similar mastaba was built for Djoser.

But the pharaoh did not use this tomb, but, together with his talented architect Imhotep, undertook the grandiose construction of a mastaba in Saqqara, which is now called the pyramid of Djoser or the “step pyramid”. Above this lower mastaba, five more mastabas were built, each of smaller size. Construction took place in six stages, according to the number of steps. As a result of the superstructures, the base of the pyramid reached dimensions of 125x115 meters, and its height was 61 meters (the height of a modern twenty-story building).

Here, for the first time, stone, rather than baked brick, was used as a building material. The Pyramid of Djoser is considered the world's first stone architectural structure.

Undoubtedly, these small pyramids that decorated the upper part of the tomb were associated with the cult of the sun god. On the eastern slope of the pyramid there was a small niche in which there was a cult statue of the inhabitant of the tomb. She looks towards the rising sun. Above the burial chamber, carved into the rock, there was a small courtyard. It was surrounded by a stone wall. In its western part a small chapel was built in the form of a terrace with columns. Above all this towered a small pyramid with a base 3X3 m, 4 m high. The angle of inclination to the horizon plane was much more vertical than that of the huge pyramids of the Ancient and Middle Kingdoms, it reached 68 °.

The pyramids were revived in the 8th-7th centuries BC. e., but not in Egypt, but on the territory of the Nubian kingdom of Napata and in the 4th century BC. e. in Meroe. None of these pyramids had a base length of more than 12-13 m and a height of more than 15-16 m. The angle of inclination of the faces was 68 °, as on the graves of the Theban masters. They were built mainly of stone, only the later ones were built of bricks.

Pyramids

Mysterious pyramids of Egypt

The Egyptian Pyramid of Djoser, better known as the step pyramid, is located in Saqqara, 30 km from Cairo. A visit to the pyramid is part of the Dashur-Sakkara excursion. It’s worth visiting this pyramid at least out of curiosity, because this is the very first pyramid built in honor of the ruler Djoser. The peculiarity of the pyramid is that it is made in a stepped form. Six steps are the path along which the pharaoh goes to the afterlife, according to historians. Inside the pyramid there are 11 burial chambers for the pharaoh and his family members. In progress archaeological excavations Djoser himself was not discovered, only the mummies of his relatives. This is explained by the fact that by the time the excavations began, the tomb had already been plundered.

An excursion to Saqqara with a visit to the Pyramid of Djoser will cost about $80 per person.

Pyramid of Mikerin

The pyramid is located on the Giza plateau next to other famous pyramids - Cheops and Khafre. Compared to them, the pyramid of Mikerinus is considered the smallest and youngest pyramid of the famous triad. The peculiarity of this pyramid is its color - up to the middle it was made of red granite, and above it was made of white limestone. But in the 16th century, the cladding was destroyed by Mamluk warriors. The fact that the pyramid of Mykerinus is relatively small sizes, scientists explain that the Egyptians stopped making grandiose tombs. But despite this, the pyramid never ceases to amaze scientists and travelers. For example, the largest block of stone weighs about 200 tons! What technical means helped the ancient Egyptians so much? An excursion to the pyramid is included in the Cairo travel program and costs approximately $60 per person.

Pyramid of Mikerin

The Pyramid of Cheops

There is hardly a person. who would not know the main attraction of Egypt - the Pyramid of Cheops. The height of this one of the Seven Wonders of the World today is 140 meters, and the area is about 5 hectares. The pyramid consists of 2.5 million stone blocks. The construction of the pyramid took 20 years. Several thousand years have passed since the construction of the Cheops pyramid, but the Egyptians still strongly revere the pyramid, and every year in August they celebrate the day its construction began. Despite the research and excavation of the pyramid, it still holds many secrets. For example, in the funeral room of the pharaoh’s wife, secret doors were discovered, which, according to scientists, symbolize the path to the afterlife. But archaeologists were never able to open the last door. The cost of an excursion to the Giza plateau with a visit to the pyramids is $50-60. For children, the ticket will cost half as much.

Pyramid of Khafre

Although the Pyramid of Khafre is 4 meters smaller than the Pyramid of Cheops, visually it seems higher. The secret is that the pyramid stands on a ten-meter plateau and is very well preserved to this day. The pyramid has two entrances - one at a height of 15 m, and the other on the same side at the base level. The inside of the Khafre pyramid is quite modest - two rooms and a couple of corridors, but the real sarcophagus of the pharaoh is kept here. The tomb is made on top level and does not leave any of the tourists indifferent. The tomb itself is empty.

Archaeologists found a grand discovery in a pyramid in the 19th century - a sculpture of a pharaoh made from mountain diorite.

The cost of an excursion to the Pyramid of Khafre is about $60.

Pyramid of Khafre

Dashur

This place is not as popular as the Giza plateau with its pyramids. Dashur is famous for its pyramids, which were built during the reign of Pharaoh Snofu. These structures are considered the first tombs in history built using new types of structures.

South Pyramid, which is better known as Broken, got its name due to its irregular shape. During its construction, the angles of the edges were changed for an unknown reason. This may have been a mistake, but scientists explain this as a construction move with concern for the strength and durability of the pyramid. The main difference between the Bent Pyramid is this. that it has two entrances - the “traditional” northern one and the almost never encountered southern one.

Another attraction of Dashur is the Northern Pyramid, better known by its name as the Red Pyramid. The pyramid got its name because of its red facing color. This is the first tomb with a regular pyramidal shape. The pyramid is very dark, so it is worth taking a flashlight with you. In the lowest burial chamber one can observe a high stepped ceiling, the same as in the gallery of the Cheops pyramid.

The cost of an excursion to Cairo, which includes a trip to Dashur, will cost an average of $85.

Probably every person wants to look at the pyramids. And if this is your dream since childhood, then a tour to Egypt is what you need. It’s very easy to order such a tour today - just contact travel companies in your city through a special form on our website, or contact us with any questions you may have at 8-800-100-30-24.

The only one of the 7 wonders of the world that has survived to this day is the Pyramid of Cheops, or the Pyramid of Khufu, as the Egyptians themselves call it, unlike the rest of the world, which uses the Greek pronunciation of the name of the pharaoh.

To fully understand how far from us are those times when the Cheops Pyramid was built, one only has to think that for contemporaries of the other six wonders of the world, the Great Pyramid of Giza was so old that they no longer knew the answer to its secret.

Despite the fact that the largest pyramid in the world is more than four thousand years old, it has been quite well preserved to this day. Today, excursions to the Egyptian pyramids can be booked from almost any hotel in Cairo.

History and construction of the Great Pyramid of Cheops

It is believed that a certain Hemion, the pharaoh’s nephew and vizier, and, by extension, also a court architect, was involved in bringing the royal ambitions to life. The Pyramid of Cheops was built around 2540 BC, and its construction began twenty years earlier - somewhere in 2560 BC.

More than two million huge stones were needed to build the Great Pyramid of Giza. The largest blocks weighed several tens of tons. For the structure weighing 6.4 million tons, so that it does not sink underground under its own weight, strong rocky soil was chosen. Granite blocks were delivered from a quarry that was located 1000 km away. Scientists still cannot find the answer to the question of how these stones were transported and how the Cheops pyramid was built

The purpose of the tallest pyramid in Ancient Egypt also causes a lot of controversy. According to the most common opinion, this is really the tomb of Cheops (the second pharaoh of the IV dynasty of rulers) and members of his family. But nevertheless, discussions around the mystery of the pyramid do not subside. For example, from the point of view of some astronomers, some kind of observatory was equipped here, since the ventilation ducts and corridors point with amazing accuracy to the stars Sirius, Thuban, and Alnitak. It is also interesting that during the construction of the Cheops pyramid, the coordinates of the Earth’s magnetic poles were also taken into account.

Geometry and description of the pyramid of Khufu

The size of the Cheops pyramid surprises even modern people. Its base occupies a huge area of ​​53 thousand square meters, which is equivalent to ten football fields. Other parameters are no less striking: the length of the base is 230 m, the length of the side edge is the same, and the area of ​​the side surface is 85.5 thousand square meters.

Now the height of the Cheops pyramid is 138 meters, but initially it reached 147 meters, which can be compared to a fifty-story skyscraper. The years have left their mark on the safety of the pyramid. Numerous earthquakes over thousands of years collapsed the stone top of the structure, and the smooth stone with which the outer walls were lined crumbled. And yet, the interior of the attraction, despite many robberies and vandals, remained virtually unchanged.

The entrance to the pyramid, located on the north, was originally at a height of almost 16 meters and was sealed with a granite plug. Now tourists get inside through a huge gap made ten meters below, left in 1820 by the Arabs led by Caliph Abdullah al-Mamun, who attempted to find treasures supposedly hidden here.

Inside the Cheops pyramid there are three tombs, located one above the other. The lowest, unfinished underground chamber is located at the base of the rock. Above it are the burial chambers of the queen and pharaoh, to which the rising Great Gallery leads. Those who built the pyramid created a complex system of corridors and shafts, the plan of which is still being studied by scientists. Egyptologists have put forward a whole theory of understanding the afterlife of people of that time. These arguments explain the secret doors and other design features.

For many years now, the Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops in Giza, like the Great Sphinx, has been in no hurry to reveal all its secrets. For tourists, it remains the most striking attraction of Egypt. It is impossible to fully comprehend the secrets of its corridors, shafts and ventilation ducts. Only one thing is clear: the Great Pyramid is the fruit of a brilliant design idea.

• There are many opinions about when the Cheops pyramid was built and who did it. The most original assumptions are various versions of construction completed long before the Flood by civilizations that did not survive it, as well as hypotheses about alien creators.
• Despite the fact that no one knows the exact time when the Cheops Pyramid was built, in Egypt the date of the start of its construction is officially celebrated - August 23, 2560 BC.
• The latest excavations, carried out at the beginning of the 21st century, indicate that the work of the pyramid builders was hard, but at the same time they were well cared for. They had a high-calorie diet of meat and fish and comfortable sleeping places. Many Egyptologists are of the opinion that they were not even slaves.
• Studying the ideal proportions of the Great Pyramid of Giza, scientists came to the conclusion that already in those days the ancient Egyptians knew very well what the golden ratio was and actively used its principle when creating a drawing.

• There are no decorative paintings or historical inscriptions inside the Cheops pyramid, except for a small portrait in the passage to the queen's chamber. There is not even any evidence that the pyramid even belonged to Pharaoh Khufu.
• For three millennia before 1300, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure on the planet, until a taller one was built. Cathedral in Lincoln.
• The heaviest stone block used in the construction of the pyramid weighs 35 tons and is placed above the entrance to the pharaoh's burial chamber.
• Before the Vandal Arab invasion of Egypt, the outer slabs of the Cairo pyramid were so carefully polished that in the light of the moon they emitted a mysterious shimmer, and in the rays of the sun their cladding shone with a soft peach light.
• To explore rooms that are difficult for humans to reach, scientists used a special robot.
• From 6 to 10 thousand tourists visit the pyramids every day, and about 3 million per year.

Useful information for tourists

Currently, in the museum on the south side of the pyramid you can get acquainted with exhibits that were found during excavations and in the pyramid itself. There is an opportunity to see the restored unique cedar boat (Solar Boat), which was built by the ancient Egyptians. You can also buy souvenirs here. And the next viewing point on the territory will be the Great Sphinx.

In the evenings, a sound and light show is shown in Giza: alternating spotlight illumination of local attractions is accompanied by a fascinating story, including in Russian and English.

Opening hours of the Giza Museum complex

• daily from 8.00 to 17.00;
• in winter – until 16.30;
• during Ramadan - until 15.00.

Ticket prices

• entrance ticket to the Giza zone for foreigners – $8;
• entrance to the Cheops pyramid – $16;
• inspection of the Solar Boat – $7.

For children and students, prices are usually two times lower.

• To visit the Cheops Pyramid, only 300 tickets are sold per day: 150 at 8.00 and 150 at 13.00.
• It is best to go to the pyramids in the morning to grab a ticket and protect yourself from the midday heat.
• The entrance to the pyramid is very low, you will have to walk 100 meters bent over, and it is also very dry, hot and slightly dusty inside. Water is not recommended for people suffering from claustrophobia, diseases of the respiratory tract and heart.
• Photo and video shooting is prohibited inside. As for photographs against the backdrop of the Great Pyramid, it is better not to give your camera into the wrong hands, as there are frequent cases of theft.
• It is better to take a photo of the Cheops pyramid (as well as other pyramids) in the morning or evening, when the sun is not shining too brightly, otherwise the image will turn out flat.
• Climbing the pyramid is strictly prohibited.
• For local residents tourists are the main and often the only source of income, so you will constantly be offered to buy something. Therefore, think carefully about whether you need certain offers, and in any case, be sure to bargain. Give tips only to those who truly deserve them.
• Be careful: there are a lot of pickpockets around.

How to get to the Cheops pyramid

Address: Egypt, Cairo, El Giza district, El Haram street

Getting there from Cairo:

• By metro (line No. 2) - to Giza station. Then transfer to bus No. 900 or No. 997 and drive along Al-Haram avenue for 15–20 minutes.
• By bus No. 355 and No. 357 from the airport and Heliopolis. It runs every 20 minutes.
• Take a taxi to Al-Haram.

From Hurghada or Sharm el-Sheikh: on tourist bus or taxi.