Pyramids in Egypt. Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops

The endless series of eras of human civilization contains a huge number of secrets and mysteries. Each of them requires close attention and study. Studying is complicated by the huge time intervals that separate modern man from matters long past. Looking at living people from eternity, the greatest architectural and artistic creations are not at all going to talk about how, by whom, and most importantly, why they were created.

One of the most mysterious masterpieces of bygone times is, without any doubt, pyramids of ancient egypt. These grandiose creations of human hands delight and fascinate, amaze with their size and at the same time evoke a feeling of deep bewilderment: why was it necessary to spend so much effort, energy, and time on absolutely useless structures.

Most likely, those who lived 45 centuries ago wanted to emphasize the greatness of their era, the significance of their rulers, the inviolability of their power and closeness to the gods. Or maybe these structures contain some other meaning, beyond the understanding of modern man. All this is a secret behind seven seals, securely hidden for thousands of years.

The first ancient pyramids of Egypt

Evidence indicates that the first pyramid was built in ancient Egypt under the founder of the 3rd dynasty Pharaoh Djoser. He reigned approximately 2780-2760 BC. e. and radically changed the architectural style of tombs practiced before him.

From the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. rulers were buried in mastabas - truncated pyramids. These were small structures made of stones held together with clay mortar. In those distant times, they may have made an impression on people, but in the present century they are shapeless stone piles that bear little resemblance to architectural creations.

The tomb of Djoser (located in Saqqara - 20 km south of Cairo) had nothing to do with the mastaba. Or rather, it was six mastabas placed on top of each other. The lowest one was also the widest. The next mastaba was smaller, there was an even smaller one on it, and even smaller one higher up. This resulted in a stepped pyramid 62 meters high and with perimeter dimensions of 125 by 115 meters.

For those times, the building was, of course, majestic. Developed it, designed it, and then implemented it Vizier of Pharaoh Imhotep. Apparently she was a very extraordinary person, since her name has survived almost five thousand years. Imhotep is rightfully considered the founder of a new architectural style that lasted in Ancient Egypt for almost 200 years.

The shape of the pyramids underwent significant design changes during the time of the founder of the IV dynasty Pharaoh Snofru(reigned 2613-2589 BC). Two pyramids are associated with his name, but these are no longer stepped, but fundamental structures with smooth inclined walls. One pyramid is called broken line- its height is 104 meters, another pyramid has the name pink. It is taller, its height is 109 meters.

The pyramids are located in Dahshur, a desert area 26 kilometers south of Cairo. They are not alone in their greatness. Next to them there are 20 more pyramids of the pharaohs of the XII and XIII dynasties. In this necropolis, the Sneferu pyramids are the oldest, but despite the fact that other man-made tombs were built many centuries later, these two pyramids are much better preserved. They have not lost their geometric shapes, have not crumbled under the weight of centuries, but continue to rise regally above the mortal earth, dispassionately looking at the world around them.

Such amazing vitality is explained by completely different construction technologies, completely different from those with which the rest of the necropolis structures were built.

The pink and broken pyramids are assembled from granite blocks, perfectly processed and adjusted to each other. These blocks are not held together with mortar, but the structures stand like a monolith. Enormous weight reliably connects all the nodes of these ideal architectural structures, the proof of their strength is the 46 centuries that have passed since their construction.

The rest of the pyramids are assembled from ordinary unprocessed stones, or rather cobblestones. They were connected with mortar and, stacked on top of each other, they created structures that were significantly inferior in strength to Sneferu’s pyramids. All this is quite strange, since in 700 years it was possible not only not to lose the technologies practiced during the IV Dynasty, but also to significantly improve them. The fact remains: during the construction of the broken and pink pyramids, more advanced construction methods were used than in later centuries.

In general, it falls out of the usual range of similar building structures. Its name already speaks about this. The fact is that the angle of inclination of the walls of this structure from the base to the middle of the height is 54° 31′. Then the angle changes and is equal to 43° 21′. The reason for such architectural sophistication is unknown, although there are a great many assumptions and theories.

The prevailing opinion is that in connection with the death of the pharaoh, they decided to speed up the construction work and therefore made the slope of the upper parts of the walls steeper. Other researchers believe that this was just a “test of the pen.” Until that time, nothing like this had been built in Ancient Egypt, so they decided to create something original and different, but apparently this form did not meet with the support of those around them and did not take root.

It got its name due to the peculiar color of the stone blocks from which it is laid out. The blocks have a pale pink color and in the setting rays of the sun they are filled with the appropriate shade. This was the reason for calling it the pink pyramid. Although in ancient times it was not pink at all, but white. The cladding, made of white limestone, had this color. Over the centuries, the coating peeled off and pink limestone was exposed, from which, in fact, the pyramid was assembled.

The pyramids of Snefru are huge, but they cannot be compared with similar structures located on the Giza plateau (northwest of Cairo). There are three pyramids here, two of them are amazing in size. The largest is the pyramid of Sneferu's son Pharaoh Cheops(ruled 2589-2566 BC). Its original height was 146.6 meters, and it was made of 2.3 million limestone blocks.

Bird's eye view of the Great Pyramids of Giza

The top of the pyramid was covered with white limestone, the top was decorated with a pyramidion: a stone made of polished granite. It was covered with gold and shone majestically in the rays of the sun. At the base of the stone there was a square ledge, at the top of the pyramid there was a recess for it. The pyramidion was thus securely attached at a great height, perfectly complementing the grandiose picture of the greatest structure on the planet.

On the eastern side of the pyramid there was a temple and three pyramids for queens. Nowadays, only the foundation of the temple remains, but small pyramids have been preserved. The temple located in the valley was also destroyed. It was connected to the Cheops pyramid by a road. But the ruler’s “solar boat”, made of cedar, remained in excellent condition. After the death of the pharaoh, it was dismantled and placed in a vault at the foot of the pyramid, apparently considering that the formidable ruler would need it in the afterlife.

How the Cheops pyramid was built

Such a huge structure has always raised one question among people: how was it possible to create such a masterpiece? Each block of the pyramid weighs at least two tons; in total, as already mentioned, there are more than two million. They are all perfectly matched to each other and raised to different heights. In addition, there are three chambers inside the pyramid. The topmost one, the burial “chamber of the king,” is lined with granite blocks weighing 60 tons each.

This chamber is located at an altitude of 43 meters from the base of the monumental structure. Raising such blocks tens of meters is a truly difficult task. However, the Egyptians somehow dealt with this and even perfectly matched the granite slabs to each other. There are no gaps between them, which indicates the highest production technology.

Hemiun

The architect of the pyramid is called the vizier of Pharaoh Cheops Hemiun. It was Hemiun who designed this structure and supervised its construction. He died shortly before the completion of the work, which, according to ancient sources, lasted 20 long years. Two decades of titanic work produced the greatest architectural masterpiece, which has stunned the human imagination for 45 centuries.

So how was Hemiun able to build such splendor? There is no clear answer to this question. There are different versions and assumptions. One version claims that the blocks were not raised to great heights at all. Workers crushed limestone, turned it into powder, removed moisture, and thus it became ordinary cement. The latter was poured into special formworks located directly on the pyramid under construction, diluted with water, stone and crushed stone were added for binding and monolithic blocks were obtained.

Does this theory have a practical basis? Limestone is a medium-hard rock. It is cut and polished using modern technologies. But how to turn more than six million tons of rock (the weight of the Cheops pyramid is 6.3 million tons) into powder is a rather labor-intensive task, perhaps even impossible. It is unlikely that Hemiun would have dared to do such an action. Besides, where would he get enough wood to make several hundred formworks at the same time?

Wood in Ancient Egypt was worth its weight in gold. It was brought from distant lands, and it was very expensive. Taking into account all the costs, it would be easier to cast gold bars and make a tomb for the pharaoh from them. True, then it would not have stood for 45 centuries, but it would have cost less.

Another point of view looks much more realistic. Some American and French researchers adhere to it. Having carefully examined the internal and external structure ancient building, they put forward a rather interesting theory, which is proposed to discerning readers.

In this case, it is planned to install an external ramp at the beginning of construction. A ramp means an embankment along which the slabs are dragged to the place where they should lie. The pyramid grows, and the height of the ramp increases. In addition to its height, its length also increases: after all, the flatter the embankment, the easier it is to drag blocks along it.

But at a certain height there comes a time when extending the ramp becomes problematic. To maintain the minimum angle, it is necessary to increase the embankment by a kilometer or more. Such a structure is already beginning to exceed the pyramid under construction in volume. But its height is 146.6 meters. This is the kind of embankment you need, and even with a slope angle of maximum 10°.

Hemiun found a way out of a seemingly hopeless situation. The tomb chamber for the king is located at an altitude of 43 meters. It was up to this point that an external ramp was made in order to drag 60-ton slabs along it. If the dimensions of the embankment had allowed, the chamber would have been made much higher, but this height was critical.

To this place, along the external ramp, 600 people could easily drag a huge and heavy block. They moved these stone blocks on sleds. Logs were unlikely to be used, since the wheel was not yet known at that time, so the corresponding analogies most likely could not have occurred to the builders.

Higher up, according to the project, there were stone blocks weighing 2-3 tons. In order to lay them down, an internal ramp was made. It was a narrow spiral-shaped cavity, gently rising upward. It was, and still is, located very close to the edges of the pyramid, above the “king’s chamber.” If you know where to chisel the walls, then the internal ramp is easy to spot.

Five unloading cavities were installed above the chamber itself, with stone slabs placed between them. A gable roof was placed over them. They did this to evenly distribute the weight of the overlying layers of the huge structure.

The weight of these layers is one and a half million tons. If there were no unloading cavities, then the huge mass of stones would crush the “king’s chamber” trimmed with black granite like a nut shell.

The process of installing the upper blocks was as follows: the external ramp was dismantled to a height of just over 15 meters. That is, to the place where the main entrance to the pyramid is located (after the work was completed, it was sealed with a granite plug). The stone blocks from which the entire upper part of the pyramid, more than 100 meters high, was laid out, were dragged here.

The blocks were dragged along a rising corridor that ends at the “king’s chamber.” Currently, this tunnel is divided into an ascending corridor and a Grand Gallery. The large gallery is a high and narrow passage 48 meters long and 8 meters high. Right in the middle of the gallery a square recess stretches its entire length. Its width is 1 meter, depth 60 centimeters. There are 27 pairs of indentations on the side protrusions. The passage ends with a horizontal protrusion with a smooth surface 2 and 1 meter wide and long, respectively.

Here, 45 centuries ago, wooden guides were installed along which sleds were moved, with a stone block lying on them. The guides were held on wooden blocks driven into the recesses of the side protrusions. The next block was dragged to a horizontal ledge, and from it moved to an internal ramp, the entrance to which is located next to the “king’s chamber.” Researchers have not yet reached it, but there is no doubt that in the near future it will be discovered.

Next, the two-ton block was pulled along the ramp to the construction site. Here the builders laid it in one of the rows and began working on the next one. They laid out the outer rows of blocks first, and then the inner ones, in order to maintain the correct geometric shapes of the huge structure. This was a very complex and precise matter: after all, correctly setting an inclined surface is many times more difficult than a vertical one. However, the ancient engineers succeeded brilliantly.

The Pyramid of Cheops
and the highest
world buildings

After the construction of the majestic structure, it was covered with white limestone slabs. Now there is nothing left of the cladding on the Cheops pyramid. All of it was stolen long ago by the residents of Cairo to build their houses. The pathetic remains of white limestone can only be observed on the neighboring pyramid - Khafre's pyramid.

The height of this structure is 143.5 meters. According to legend, it was crowned with a granite pyramidion decorated with pure gold. When he disappeared from the top, where he is now, is unknown. The technology of construction of this structure fully corresponds to that by which the largest pyramid was erected - the Pyramid of Cheops.

Khafre created his creation almost 40 years after the father of Pharaoh Cheops. The years of his reign fall on 2558-2532 BC. e. From 2556 to 2558 BC. e. Another pharaoh reigned in Egypt - Djedefre. He was Khafre's older brother, but he built his pyramid in Abu Roash - 10 km. north of Giza.

Its height after construction was only 68 meters, but the pyramid was lined not with white limestone, but with red granite. They brought him from the very south of the country, since they could not find him closer.

The third pyramid at Giza, standing next to two giants, is Pyramid of Mikerin. Unlike its colleagues, its height is only 66 meters. It is 10 times smaller in volume than the Cheops pyramid. This pharaoh, who took power after Khafre, was not distinguished by apparently exorbitant ambitions and showed modesty unusual for such people.

It seems that most likely the matter is not in the modesty and vanity of the ruler, but in the economy of Ancient Egypt. Seventy years of continuous construction of gigantic structures that brought absolutely no profit, but, on the contrary, pumped out all funds from the treasury, so undermined the well-being of the state that it simply no longer had the opportunity to continue to build something grandiose and exorbitantly huge.

So one can only sincerely sympathize with Mikerin. His creation looks very faded against the general fundamental and majestic background and does not make the proper impression on true connoisseurs of antiquity who come from all over the world to look at the pyramids of Ancient Egypt.

Other ancient pyramids of Egypt

Actually, the construction of the Great Pyramids stopped with Mikerin. Nothing else breathtaking and inspiring a state of delight was created by the pharaohs. The first pharaoh of the V dynasty, Userkaf (ruled 2465-2458 BC), built a pyramid 44.5 meters high. It is located in Saqqara and today is a pile of poorly processed stones that bear little resemblance to an architectural structure.

For some unknown reason, the brilliant technology used to install the pyramids of the pharaohs of the 4th dynasty came to naught. They were never revived. The pyramids, throughout the subsequent centuries, were built from carelessly processed stones or unfired clay bricks and were not even remotely similar to the fundamental structures of the 26th century BC. e.

Such construction continued until the XIII Dynasty. This is the 18th, early 17th centuries BC. e. It was in the 17th century BC. e. The era of constructing grandiose structures ended, and the pyramids of Ancient Egypt became history. Subsequently, the rulers of this power never practiced anything like this.

Thus, about one hundred pyramids were built in Ancient Egypt. They are all located on the left bank of the Nile from Abu Roash to Meidum (70 km south of Cairo) on a limestone plateau. They were created in different centuries different people, but there are no architectural differences in the appearance of these structures, unless they differ in volume and height.

Who built the Great Pyramids and why?

The pyramids of the pharaohs of the IV dynasty stand apart. During their construction, completely different technologies were used, and the quality of the work stands out sharply against the general background of rather primitive and clumsily made structures. Some researchers explain this by the fact that slave labor was not used in the construction of these structures. The majestic structures were built by hired teams of workers - hence the corresponding quality. Subsequently, forced labor was used in such work, which immediately affected such original tombs for the pharaohs.

Perfectly crafted and fitted stone blocks from one of the Great Pyramids

Such an argument may convince someone, but certain things are striking that cannot be explained from this position. In particular, the ideal processing of the stone blocks from which the pyramids are assembled. Their surfaces look mirror-smooth. This can only be done using special equipment for stone processing. Nowadays, there are corresponding machines and tools, but where could they have come from 45 centuries ago, during the Bronze Age?

Another particularity is traces of erosion in the lower layers of the pyramids, which indicates their long stay in water. Even shells are found - this once again emphasizes that the creation of such majestic structures can be safely attributed to more ancient eras, when the climate was not so arid, and the limestone plateau was very often flooded with water.

And finally, why did everyone decide that the Great Pyramids were built by Snefru, Cheops and their successors. Where is that written? This point of view exists with the light hand of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (484-425 BC). This venerable man visited Egypt in 445 BC. e., communicated with local representatives of the nobility, priests, and even described the construction of the Cheops pyramid. But how true is all this? This master has been caught making serious distortions more than once historical facts, but when they mean the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, they believe him unconditionally.

And one more detail - in the same pyramid of Cheops there are no images or inscriptions indicating its creator. But such paraphernalia was an integral part of the funeral art of this state. And the granite sarcophagus itself in the “king’s chamber”, apparently, never served as a storage place for his mummified body. At least there is no evidence or traces that it was once there.

Sculpture of the Great Sphinx

It is also impossible to ignore such a creation of architecture as Great Sphinx sculpture. It is carved from a monolithic limestone rock and, although it has nothing in common with any of the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, it is an integral part of the man-made complex at Giza.

The dimensions of the sphinx are truly enormous: length 73 meters, height 20 meters. Over the millennia, the sculpture was covered with sand up to its neck. From time to time they tried to clear it, although they were limited to only the front part. They completely cleared it and learned the true volumes only in 1925.

The face of the Great Sphinx has pronounced Negroid features

There is an assumption that it was built during the time of Pharaoh Djedefre. He created it in memory of his father, but for some reason his face has pronounced Negroid features. Some researchers, pointing to the disproportionately small head, argue that at first it was the muzzle of a lion, but then one of the later rulers of the state ordered the excess to be cut down and immortalized his face.

It is interesting that the sculpture has clearly visible horizontal stripes. This is erosion, indicating that the sphinx was once up to its neck in water. When? During the great flood that took place 11 thousand years BC. e. according to Sumerian mythology, or during floods - they were a frequent occurrence in the 5th millennium BC. e. Then it turns out that it was created long before the Egyptian pyramids or simultaneously with them, but at a time much earlier than 45 centuries ago. Who created it, when and why?

There are many questions, but no specific answers. Even the above-described theory of the construction of the Cheops pyramid does not have a single practical proof. All this is just guesswork and speculation.

Based on all that has been said, the conclusion suggests itself: the Great Pyramids were created by some other civilization that existed in these places millennia before Ancient Egypt. And they were erected for purposes that the human mind cannot comprehend.

Maybe it was a powerful energy station, maybe through the pyramids there was a connection with space. It is also possible that this could be a healing center: the properties of the pyramids indicate that they have a beneficial effect on a living organism and kill pathogenic bacteria.

What then to do with Cheops? Unfortunately, there are no traces left of the powerful ruler, except for the pyramid with his name. The only thing is a small figurine from Ivory, depicting this person. She was found in Giza in 1903.

People search, guess, assume, doubt. The pyramids of Ancient Egypt are devoid of throwing and vibration. For 45 centuries they have seen everything, it is impossible to surprise or excite them with anything. Great man-made creations dispassionately look at the vain world, and even Time itself respectfully bows its head before them, recognizing them as equal to Eternity.

The article was written by ridar-shakin

Based on materials from foreign and Russian publications

The magic of mysterious countries still exists. Palm trees sway in the warm wind, the Nile flows 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 flash in the Red Sea.

Funerary culture of Ancient Egypt

Pyramids are grandiose structures in the form of a regular geometric polyhedron. In the construction of funerary buildings or mastabas, this form, according to Egyptologists, began to be used because of its resemblance to a funeral pie. If you ask about how many pyramids there are in Egypt, you can hear the answer that to date 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 Saqqara, Upper Egypt, Memphis, Abusir, El Lahun, Giza, Hawar, Abu Rawash, Meidum. They were built from clay bricks with river silt - adobe, in a traditional architectural form. The pyramid housed a prayer room and a funeral “dowry” for traveling in the afterlife. The underground part stored the remains. The pyramids had different appearances. They evolved from a stepped form 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 and in which city they are located. There are many such places. For example, Meiduma is the most mysterious point, where the oldest of all the great funerary buildings are located. When Sneferu came to the throne (c. 2575 BC), Saqqara had the only large, fully completed royal pyramid of Djoser.

Ancients local residents They called it "el-haram-el-kaddab", which means "false pyramid". Because of 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 funerary building in Egypt. Its appearance dates back to the period of the third dynasty. Narrowing passages from the north lead to the burial chamber. Underground galleries surround the pyramid on all sides except the south. This is the only completed building with huge steps that were lined with stone. But her form 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 arose as a result of the natural development and improvement of the architectural design of the stepped building. Structure real pyramid almost the same. The building blocks were laid to the required shapes and sizes of the object, and then they were finished with limestone or stone.

Pyramids of Dahshur

Dahshur forms the southern area of ​​the Memphis necropolis and contains a number of pyramidal complexes and monuments. Dahshur has only recently been opened to the public. In the Nile Valley, south of Cairo, alone on the edge of the Western Desert, above the lush green fields of Meidum, lies a remarkable area where the transition from a stepped to a regular pyramid shape can be seen. The transformation occurred during the change from the third dynasty of pharaohs to the fourth. During the reign of the 3rd Dynasty, Pharaoh Huni organized the construction of the first regular pyramid in Egypt, using the stepped structures from Meidum as a base for construction. The funerary structure was intended for the son of Huni, the first pharaoh of the fourth dynasty, Snefru (2613-2589 BC). The heir completed work on his father's pyramids, then built his own - a stepped one. But the pharaoh's construction plans were scrapped because construction did not go according to plan. Reducing the angle of the side plane resulted in a diamond-shaped curved silhouette. This structure is called the Bent Pyramid, but it still has its outer shell intact.

Oldest pyramids at Saqqara

Saqqara is one of the huge necropolises ancient city, which 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 step pyramid, Djosera. It was here that the history of the construction of these burial structures began. The first writing on the walls, known as the Pyramid Texts, was found in Saqqara. The architect of these projects is called Imhotep, who invented hewn stone masonry. Thanks to construction developments, the ancient architect was considered a deity. Imhotep is considered the son of the patron of crafts, Ptah. Saqqara is home to many tombs belonging to important ancient Egyptian officials.

A true gem represents the great pyramids of Egypt in the Sneferu complex. Dissatisfied with the Bent Pyramid, which did not allow him to go to heaven with dignity, he began construction about two kilometers to the north. This was the famous Pink Pyramid, so named because of the red limestone used in its construction. This is one of the oldest buildings in Egypt, which is created in the correct form. It has an inclination angle of 43 degrees and is the second largest, second only to Great Pyramid in Giza. It was built by Sneferu's son in Khufu. In fact, the Great Pyramid is only 10 meters from the Pink Pyramid. Other major monuments at Dahshur date from the 12th and 13th dynasties and are not comparable in scale to the work of Huni and Sneferu.

Late pyramids in the Sneferu complex

There are later pyramids at Meidum. In Egypt, where the White Pyramid of Amenemhat II, the Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III and the structure of Senusret III are located, smaller monuments for funerary purposes for minor rulers, nobles and officials dominate.

They talk about a fairly stable and peaceful period in Egyptian history. Interestingly, the Black Pyramid and the structure of Senwosret III were built not of stone, but of brick. Why this material was used is unknown, but in those days new methods of construction penetrated into Egypt from other countries, thanks to trade and international relations. Unfortunately, although brick was much easier to work with, compared to granite blocks, which weighed many tons, this material did not stand the test of time. Although the Black Pyramid is quite well preserved, the White Pyramid is very damaged. Tourists who are little aware of the huge number of pyramidal burials are confused. They ask: "Where are the pyramids in Egypt?" While everyone knows about the great funerary structures of Egypt, there are many lesser examples of similar structures. Scattered along the Nile from Selium on the edge of the oasis to the island of Elephantine 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 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 ones of the Seven Wonders Ancient World and the most famous attractions. This sacred place impresses with its antiquity, the scale of the necropolis, the unreality of the structures and the Great Sphinx. The mysteries of the construction and supposed symbolism of the Giza pyramids only add to the appeal of these ancient wonders. Many modern people still consider Giza a spiritual place. A number of fascinating theories have been proposed to explain the "mystery of the pyramids." The author of the project of the Great Pyramid in Egypt is called the adviser of 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 funerary structures in ancient sources. But even great skeptics are in awe of the great antiquity, scale and absolute harmony of the Giza pyramids.

History of the Pyramids of Giza

Situated on the west bank of the Nile River, approximately 12 miles southwest of downtown Cairo, Giza (el-Gizah in Arabic) is the third largest city in Egypt with a population of almost 3 million. It is a famous necropolis on the Giza plateau and contains the most popular monuments in Egypt. The Great Pyramids of Giza were built in 2500 BC as burial grounds for the pharaohs. Together they constitute the only ancient wonder of the world still in existence today. Many tourists are attracted by Egypt (Hurghada). They can see the Pyramids of Giza in half an hour, which it takes to travel. 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 (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 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 casing 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 construction methods of the Great Pyramid itself. Most accepted theories of construction are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and lifting them into place. It covers an area of ​​just 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 due to the destruction of the smooth limestone surface.

Herodotus on Egypt

When the Greek historian Herodotus visited Giza, around 450 BC, he described the pyramids in Egypt. He learned from Egyptian priests that the Great Pyramid was built for 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. During construction, 100,000 people were employed at a time to move the blocks. But archaeologists consider this implausible and tend to think that the labor force was more limited. Perhaps 20,000 workers with accompanying support staff of bakers, doctors, priests and others would be sufficient to complete this task.

The most famous pyramid was carefully laid out using 2.3 million processed stone blocks. These blocks had an impressive weight from two to fifteen tons. After completion of construction, the burial structure was amazing in weight, which was approximately 6 million tons. All the famous cathedrals in Europe combined have this weight! The Pyramid of Cheops has been recorded for thousands of years as the tallest structure in the world.

Only the graceful spiers of the unusually majestic Lincoln Cathedral, built in England, 160 m high, were able to break the record, but they collapsed in 1549.

Pyramid of Khafre

Among the pyramids of Giza, the second largest in size is the structure built for afterlife journey Khafre (Khefre), son of Pharaoh Khufu. He inherited power after the death of his elder brother and was the fourth ruler in the fourth dynasty. Of his high-born relatives and predecessors on the throne, many were buried in penny tombs. But the grandeur of Khafre’s pyramid is almost as striking as the “last house” of his father.

The Pyramid of Khafre visually reaches to the sky and seems higher than the first pyramid of Giza - the funerary building of Cheops, because it stands on a higher part of the plateau. It is characterized by a steeper slope with a preserved smooth limestone surface. The second pyramid had each side measuring 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, like the building of Khafre, each include five burial pits connected by passages. Together with the mortuary, the Valley of the Temples and the connecting causeway, it is 430 meters long, carved into the rock. The burial chamber, which is located underground, contained a red granite sarcophagus with a lid. Nearby is a square cavity where there was a chest with the entrails of the pharaoh. The Great Sphinx near Khafre's pyramid is considered to be 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, no great pyramids 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 causeway, small tombs of the courtiers were lined up, the temple and morgue were built only for the mummification of the pharaoh's body.

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 canopic jars.

Theories about the construction of the Egyptian giants

The centuries-old history of Egypt conceals many mysteries. The pyramids, built without modern devices, only increase curiosity about these places. Herodotus assumed that the foundation was laid from huge blocks weighing about seven tons. And then, like children’s cubes, all 203 layers were lifted up step by step. But this cannot be done, as evidenced by the Japanese attempt in the 1980s to duplicate the actions of Egyptian builders. The most plausible explanation is that the Egyptians used ramps to tow stone blocks down a ramp using sleds, rollers, and levers. And the base was a natural plateau. The majestic structures withstood not only the crushing work of time, but also numerous attacks by grave robbers. They robbed the pyramids in ancient times. The burial chamber of Khafre, discovered by the Italians in 1818, was empty; there was no longer any gold or other treasures there.

There is a possibility that there are still undiscovered pyramids of Egypt or are now completely destroyed. Many people express fantastic theories about extraterrestrial intervention from 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 and dynamics, thanks to which the construction business developed.

For several centuries now, the mysteries of Ancient Egypt have been the focus of attention of historians and archaeologists. When it comes to this ancient civilization, first of all, the grandiose pyramids come to mind, many of whose secrets have not yet been revealed. Among such mysteries, which are still far from being solved, is the construction of a great structure - the largest of all the Cheops pyramids that have survived to our time.

Famous and mysterious civilization

Of all the oldest civilizations, the culture of Ancient Egypt is perhaps the most well studied. And the point here is not only in the many historical artifacts that have survived to this day and architectural monuments, but also in an abundance of written sources. Historians and geographers of Antiquity also paid attention to this country and, while describing the culture and religion of the Egyptians, did not ignore the construction of the great pyramids in Ancient Egypt.

And when in the 19th century the Frenchman Champollion was able to decipher the hieroglyphic writing of this ancient people, scientists gained access to a huge amount of information in the form of papyri, stone steles with hieroglyphs and numerous inscriptions on the walls of tombs and temples.

The history of ancient Egyptian civilization goes back almost 40 centuries, and there are many interesting, vibrant and often mysterious pages in it. But the greatest attention is drawn to the Ancient Kingdom, the great pharaohs, the construction of the pyramids and the mysteries associated with them.

When were the pyramids built

The era that Egyptologists call the Old Kingdom lasted from 3000 to 2100 BC. e., just at this time the Egyptian rulers were keen on building pyramids. All the tombs erected earlier or later are much smaller in size and worse in quality, which affected their preservation. It seems that the heirs of the architects of the great pharaohs immediately lost the knowledge of their ancestors. Or were they completely different people who came to replace a race that had disappeared inexplicably?

Pyramids were built during the period and even later, during the Ptolemaic era. But not all pharaohs “ordered” such tombs for themselves. Thus, currently more than a hundred pyramids are known, built over 3 thousand years - from 2630, when the first pyramid was erected, to the 4th century AD. e.

Predecessors of the Great Pyramids

Before the great ones were erected, the history of the construction of these grandiose buildings spanned hundreds of years.

According to the generally accepted version, the pyramids served as tombs in which pharaohs were buried. Long before the construction of these structures, the rulers of Egypt were buried in mastabas - relatively small buildings. But in the 26th century BC. e. The first real pyramids were built, the construction of which began in the era of Pharaoh Djoser. The tomb named after him is located 20 km from Cairo and is very different in appearance from those called great.

It has a stepped shape and gives the impression of several mastabas placed one on top of the other. True, its dimensions are rather large - more than 120 meters around the perimeter and 62 meters in height. This is a grandiose building for its time, but it cannot be compared with the Cheops Pyramid.

By the way, a lot is known about the construction of Djoser’s tomb; even written sources have been preserved that mention the name of the architect - Imhotep. Fifteen hundred years later he became the patron saint of scribes and doctors.

The first of the classical pyramids is the tomb of Pharaoh Snofu, the construction of which was completed in 2589. The limestone blocks of this tomb have a reddish tint, which is why Egyptologists call it “red” or “pink.”

Great Pyramids

This is the name of the three cyclopean tetrahedrons located in Giza, on the left bank of the Nile.

The oldest and largest of them is the pyramid of Khufu, or, as the ancient Greeks called him, Cheops. It is the one that is most often called the Great, which is not surprising, because the length of each of its sides is 230 meters and the height is 146 meters. Now, however, it is a little lower due to destruction and weathering.

The second largest is the tomb of Khafre, the son of Cheops. Its height is 136 meters, although visually it looks taller than Khufu's pyramid because it is built on a hill. Not far from it you can see the famous Sphinx, whose face, according to legend, is a sculptural portrait of Khafre.

The third - the pyramid of Pharaoh Mikerin - is only 66 meters high, and it was built much later. Nevertheless, this pyramid looks very harmonious and is considered the most beautiful of the great ones.

Modern man is accustomed to grandiose structures, but his imagination is also stunned by the great pyramids of Egypt, the history and secrets of construction.

Secrets and riddles

Even in the era of Antiquity, monumental buildings in Giza were included in the list of the main wonders of the world, of which the ancient Greeks numbered only seven. Today it is very difficult to comprehend the intention of the ancient rulers, who spent enormous amounts of money and human resources on the construction of such gigantic tombs. Thousands of people were cut off from the economy for 20-30 years and were engaged in the construction of a tomb for their ruler. Such misuse work force is doubtful.

Since the time the great pyramids were built, the mysteries of construction have never ceased to attract the attention of scientists.

Perhaps the construction of the Great Pyramid had a completely different purpose? Three chambers were discovered in the Cheops pyramid, which Egyptologists called funerary, but in none of them were mummies of the dead or objects that necessarily accompanied a person to the kingdom of Osiris found. There are also no decorations or drawings on the walls of the burial chambers; more precisely, there is only one small portrait in the corridor on the wall.

The sarcophagus discovered in the pyramid of Khafre is also empty, although many statues were found inside this tomb, but there are no things that were placed in tombs according to Egyptian customs.

Egyptologists believe that the pyramids were looted. Perhaps, but it is not entirely clear why the robbers also needed the mummies of buried pharaohs.

There are many mysteries associated with these cyclopean structures in Giza, but the very first question that arises in the mind of a person who saw them with his own eyes: how was the construction of the great pyramids of Ancient Egypt?

Amazing facts

Cyclopean structures demonstrate the phenomenal knowledge of the ancient Egyptians in astronomy and geodesy. The faces of the Cheops Pyramid, for example, are precisely oriented to the south, north, west and east, and the diagonal coincides with the direction of the meridian. Moreover, this accuracy is higher than that of the observatory in Paris.

And such a geometrically ideal figure has enormous dimensions, and is even made up of separate blocks!

Therefore, the knowledge of the ancients in the field of construction art is even more impressive. The pyramids are built from giant stone monoliths weighing up to 15 tons. The granite blocks that lined the walls of the main burial chamber of Khufu's pyramid weighed 60 tons each. How did such colossuses rise if this camera is at a height of 43 meters? And some stone blocks of Khafre’s tomb generally weigh 150 tons.

The construction of the great pyramid of Cheops required the ancient architects to process, drag and raise more than 2 million such blocks to a very significant height. Even modern technology does not make this task easy.

A completely natural surprise arises: why did the Egyptians need to drag such colossuses to a height of several tens of meters? Wouldn't it be easier to build a pyramid of smaller stones? After all, they were able to somehow “cut” these blocks out of a solid rock mass, so why didn’t they make their task easier by sawing them into pieces?

Besides this, there is another mystery. The blocks were not just laid in rows, but were so carefully processed and pressed tightly together that in some places the gap between the slabs was less than 0.5 millimeters.

After its construction, the pyramid was still covered with stone slabs, which, however, had long been stolen by enterprising locals to build houses.

How were ancient architects able to solve this incredibly difficult problem? There are many theories, but they all have their shortcomings and weaknesses.

Herodotus' version

The famous historian of Antiquity Herodotus visited Egypt and saw the Egyptian pyramids. The construction, described by the ancient Greek scientist, looked like this.

Hundreds of people on drags dragged the stone block to the pyramid under construction, and then, using a wooden gate and a system of levers, lifted it to the first platform, equipped at the lower level of the structure. Then the next lifting mechanism came into play. And so, moving from one site to another, the blocks were raised to the required height.

It’s hard to even imagine how much effort the great Egyptian pyramids required. Their construction (photo, according to Herodotus, see below) was indeed an extremely difficult task.

For a long time, most Egyptologists adhered to this version, although it raised doubts. It is difficult to imagine such wooden lifts that could withstand a weight of tens of tons. And dragging millions of multi-ton blocks on drag nets seems difficult.

Can Herodotus be trusted? Firstly, he did not witness the construction of the great pyramids, since he lived much later, although he may have been able to observe how smaller tombs were erected.

Secondly, the famous scientist of Antiquity in his writings often sinned against the truth, trusting the stories of travelers or ancient manuscripts.

"Ramp" theory

In the 20th century, a version proposed by the French researcher Jacques Philippe Louer became popular among Egyptologists. He suggested that the stone blocks were moved not on drags, but on rollers along a special embankment-ramp, which gradually became higher and, accordingly, longer.

The construction of the great pyramid (photo image below), thus, also required enormous ingenuity.

But this version also has its drawbacks. Firstly, one cannot help but pay attention to the fact that this method did not make the work of thousands of workers dragging blocks of stone easier at all, because the blocks had to be dragged up the mountain, into which the embankment gradually turned. And this is extremely difficult.

Secondly, the slope of the ramp should be no more than 10˚, therefore its length will be more than a kilometer. To build such a mound requires no less labor than the construction of the tomb itself.

Even if it was not one ramp, but several, built from one tier of the pyramid to another, it is still a colossal work with a dubious result. Especially when you consider that several hundred people are needed to move each block, and there is practically no place to place them on narrow platforms and embankments.

In 1978, admirers from Japan attempted to build a pyramid only 11 meters high using drag and mound. They were never able to complete the construction, having invited modern technology to help.

It seems that people with the technology that was in ancient times cannot do this. Or were they not people? Who built the great pyramids at Giza?

Aliens or Atlanteans?

The version that the great pyramids were built by representatives of another race, despite its fantastic nature, has completely rational grounds.

Firstly, it is doubtful that people who lived in the Bronze Age owned the tools and technologies that allowed them to process such an array of wild stone and put it together into a geometrically perfect structure weighing more than one million tons.

Secondly, the assertion that the great pyramids were built in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. uh, debatable. It was expressed by the same Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the 5th century. BC. and described the Egyptian pyramids, the construction of which was completed almost 2 thousand years before his visit. In his writings, he simply retold what the priests told him.

There are suggestions that these Cyclopean structures were erected much earlier, perhaps 8-12 thousand years ago, or maybe as many as 80. These assumptions are based on the fact that, apparently, the pyramids, the sphinx and the temples around them survived the era of floods. This is evidenced by traces of erosion that were found on the lower part of the sphinx statue and the lower tiers of the pyramids.

Thirdly, the great pyramids are clearly objects related in one way or another to astronomy and space. Moreover, this purpose is more important than the function of the tombs. Suffice it to remember that there are no burials in them, although there are what Egyptologists call sarcophagi.

The theory of the alien origin of the pyramids was popularized by the Swiss Erich von Däniken in the 60s. However, all his evidence is rather a figment of the writer’s imagination than the result of serious research.

If we assume that aliens organized the construction of the great pyramid, the photo should look something like the picture below.

The Atlantean version has no less fans. According to this theory, the pyramids, long before the emergence of the ancient Egyptian civilization, were built by representatives of some other race, who had either super-advanced technology or the ability to move colossal blocks of stone through the air by force of will. Just like Master Yoda from the famous movie "Star Wars".

It is almost impossible to prove, as well as refute, these theories using scientific methods. But perhaps there is a less fantastic answer to the question of who built the great pyramids? Why couldn’t the ancient Egyptians, who had a variety of knowledge in other areas, do this? There is one that removes the shroud of secrecy surrounding the construction of the Great Pyramid.

Concrete version

If moving and processing multi-ton stone blocks is so labor-intensive, couldn't ancient builders have used an easier method of pouring concrete?

This point of view is actively defended and proven by several famous scientists, from different specialties.

The French chemist Joseph Davidovich, having made a chemical analysis of the material of the blocks from which the Cheops pyramid was built, suggested that it was not natural stone, but concrete of a complex composition. It is made on the basis of ground rock, and is the so-called Davidovich’s conclusions were confirmed by a number of American researchers.

Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences A.G. Fomenko, having examined the blocks from which the Cheops pyramid was built, believes that the “concrete version” is the most plausible. The builders simply ground up the abundant stone, added binding admixtures, such as lime, lifted the concrete base in baskets to the construction site and loaded it into formwork and diluted it with water. When the mixture hardened, the formwork was dismantled and moved to another place.

Over the decades, the concrete became so compacted that it became indistinguishable from natural stone.

It turns out that concrete blocks, not stone, were used in the construction of the Great Pyramid? It would seem that this version is quite logical and explains many of the mysteries of the construction of ancient pyramids, including the difficulties of transportation and the quality of processing of the blocks. But it has its weaknesses, and it raises no fewer questions than other theories.

Firstly, it is very difficult to imagine how ancient builders were able to grind more than 6 million tons of rock without the use of technology. After all, this is exactly the weight of the Cheops pyramid.

Secondly, the possibility of using wooden formwork in Egypt, where wood has always been highly valued, is questionable. Even the boats of the pharaohs were made from papyrus.

Thirdly, the ancient architects undoubtedly could have thought of making concrete. But the question arises: where did this knowledge go? A few centuries after the construction of the great pyramid, not a trace remained of them. Tombs of this type were still being erected, but they were all only a pitiful semblance of those that stand on the plateau at Giza. And to this day, what remains of the pyramids of a later period are most often shapeless piles of stones.

Consequently, it is impossible to say with certainty how the great pyramids were built, the secrets of which have not yet been revealed.

Not only Ancient Egypt, but also other civilizations of the past keep many mysteries, which makes getting to know their history an incredibly fascinating journey into the past.

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 - the path along which the pharaoh goes to afterworld, 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. Scientists explain the fact that the Mykerinus pyramid is relatively small in size by the fact that the Egyptians stopped doing 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 at the highest level and does not leave any 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.

The southern pyramid, better known as Broken Pyramid, 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. Main difference Bent pyramid in. 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 book such a tour today - just travel companies your city through a special form on our website, or contact us with any questions you may have at 8-800-100-30-24.

Egyptian pyramids- tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. The largest of them - the pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Mikerin in El Giza in ancient times were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The construction of the pyramid, in which the Greeks and Romans already saw a monument to the unprecedented pride of kings and cruelty that doomed the entire Egyptian people to meaningless construction, was the most important cult act and was supposed to express, apparently, the mystical identity of the country and its ruler.

The people worked on the construction of the pyramids during the part of the year free from agricultural work. Texts have been preserved that testify to the attention and care that the kings themselves (though of later times) paid to the construction of their tomb and its builders. It is also known about the special cult honors that were given to the pyramid itself.

Description of the most famous pyramids (briefly)

The Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu), the Great Pyramid, is the face of the Egyptian pyramids and the largest structure of antiquity, giving rise to many secrets and legends around itself. It took two decades to build the pyramid. Construction time IV Dynasty 2600 BC. e. Located in Giza. The original height is 146.60 m, today it is 138.75 m. The dimensions of the base are 230 m. It was the largest building in the world for more than 4,000 years.

The pyramid has not one, but three burial chambers. One of them is located below ground level, and two are located above the base line. Intertwining corridors lead to the burial chambers. Along them it is possible to go to the pharaoh's chamber, to the chamber of his wife and to the lower hall. The Pharaoh's Chamber is a chamber made of pink granite, measuring 10 x 5 m. It contains a granite sarcophagus without a lid. Not a single report from researchers mentioned the mummies found, so it is unknown whether Cheops was buried here. It should be noted that the mummy of Cheops was not found in other tombs.

After the Great Chinese wall it is the largest structure that has ever been erected in the entire history of mankind.

The second most important is the pyramid of Khafre, the son of Cheops. It was found during archaeological excavations in 1860. The tomb of this ancient Egyptian king is “guarded” by the famous Sphinx, which looks like a lion lying on the sand, whose face may have been given the features of Khafre himself. Near Khafre's pyramid there is a separate pyramid for his wife, a temple, a port and an enclosure wall.

The estimated time of construction of the pyramid is the middle of the 26th century BC. e. It was built on a 10-meter plateau, so it seems higher than the Cheops pyramid, but this is not entirely true. The original height is 143.9 m, today it is 136.4 m. The dimensions of the base are 210.5 m. The pyramid was decorated with a pink granite pyramidion, which is now lost. We have no information as to whether the granite was decorated with limestone, plaster or gold.

The third great pyramid is the Pyramid of Mikerin (also known as the “Pyramid of Menkaure”). It is the smallest of them, and was built later than the others. Construction time IV Dynasty (approximately 2540-2520 BC) Initial height - 65.55 m, today - 62 m. Dimensions of the base - 102.2 × 104.6 m. According to eyewitnesses, the pyramid Menkaure was the most beautiful of all the pyramids. Sculptures from the reign of Menkaure were characterized by highest quality artistic performance. In addition, the pyramid of Mikerinus marked the end of the era of large pyramids. All subsequent buildings were small in size.

The Step Pyramid of Djoser is considered one of the largest in Egypt. Construction time: III Dynasty (approximately 2650 BC). It is located in the village of Saqqara, and was erected for Pharaoh Djoser by Imhotep himself. The original height is 62.5 m, today it is 62 m. The size of the pyramid is 125 m × 115 m. This is the first pyramid of Egypt, and it is very well preserved.

Initially, Imhotep intended to create an ordinary stone mastaba (rectangular tomb). Only during the construction process did it turn into the first step pyramid. The meaning of the steps is believed to be symbolic - along them the deceased pharaoh was supposed to ascend to heaven.

The burial complex included chapels, courtyards, and storage facilities. The six-step pyramid itself has a rectangular base, not a square one. Inside the structure there are 12 burial chambers, where Djoser himself and members of his family could probably have been buried. The pharaoh's mummy was not discovered during excavations. The entire territory of the complex of 15 hectares was surrounded by a 10-meter stone wall. Now part of the wall and other buildings have been restored.

The most unusual pyramid in shape is in Medum. Construction time III Dynasty (approximately 2680 BC) Located 100 km south of the capital of Egypt, it was built for Pharaoh Huni, the last ruler of the III Dynasty, but it was completed by his son Sneferu. It originally had eight steps, but today only the last three are visible. The original height is 93.5 m, today it is 65 m. The base is 144 m.

Its unusual forms were first reported by Al-Makrizi in the 15th century. The pyramid had a stepped shape. In his essays, Al-Makrizi described a pyramid consisting of 5 steps, and that it had serious damage from erosion and from the removal of stonework by local residents.

Pink Pyramid or Northern Pyramid. Construction time IV dynasty (from approximately 2640 to 2620 BC) Initial height - 109.5 m, today - 104 m. Base - 220 m. Northern pyramid of Pharaoh Snefru in Dahshur, at the time of its construction in the 26th century BC. e. was the tallest building in the world. It is now the third tallest pyramid in Egypt, after Khufu and Khafre at Giza.

It is unusual in that it has a pink tint due to the special stone that was used during construction. Researchers believe that this pyramid was also built by the above-mentioned Pharaoh Snefru. The Pink Pyramid was not always pink. Previously, its walls were covered with white limestone. However, in our time, white limestone is almost completely absent, since in the Middle Ages a significant part of it was removed for the construction of houses in Cairo, as a result of which pinkish limestone was exposed.

Not far from the Pink one is the Broken (“cut” or “diamond-shaped”) pyramid. Construction time IV Dynasty (XXVI century BC) Initial height - 104.7 m, today - 101.1 m. Base - 189.4 m. It got its name because of its irregular shape. It was built in three stages, at each of which it was given different angles of inclination. It differs from other Egyptian pyramids in that the pyramid not only has an entrance on the north side, which was the standard, but also a second entrance, which is open higher, on the west side.

Explaining the non-standard shape of the pyramid, German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt (1863-1938) put forward his “accretion theory.” According to it, the king died suddenly and the angle of inclination of the pyramid's faces was sharply changed from 54° 31 minutes. up to 43° 21 min., for quick completion of work.

What is known about the Egyptian pyramids

Building the pyramids

Slabs weighing at least 2.5 tons, from which the pyramids were built, were cut out of stone in a nearby quarry and transported to the construction site using ramps, blocks and levers. There is an opinion, considered marginal by the scientific community, that concrete was used in the construction of the pyramid, that is, the slabs were made directly at the construction site. At the tops of the pyramids, traces of wooden forms have been preserved to this day, erased at the base by numerous sandstorms. To prevent the walls of the pyramids from cracking as a result of the compression-expansion process, individual blocks were separated by thin layers of mortar. The slope of the external walls is exactly 45°. The surface was covered with blocks of polished white limestone. After the fall, the limestone was stretched out by local residents for their needs.

What is encrypted in the pyramids

What is the secret of the Egyptian pyramids? Why, for almost 5 millennia, have they never ceased to excite the imagination of everyone who has seen them? All sorts of assumptions have been made about this: they were built by aliens, they contain encrypted astronomical and magical knowledge of the ancient priests, they contain a prediction of the future. Digital magic was so popular that by measuring it in all directions and adding up the results, amateurs could predict anything.

Why were the pyramids built?

Even the debate about whether the pyramids are actually the tombs of the pharaohs continues today. Some researchers believe that these are temples where the sun god Amun-Ra was initiated into the cult of the sun god, others - that the pyramid is a huge scientific laboratory of the ancients. Some argue that the pyramids are huge natural generators of earthly energy, in which the pharaohs were “charged” with this energy for a long time, even rejuvenated and prepared for state activities. And then they were buried near the pyramids, in small rooms, perhaps near the funeral temples.

The pyramids delighted many of the greats of this world: , Cleopatra, . The latter, in order to inspire his grenadiers during the Egyptian campaign, first exclaimed: “The pyramids are looking at you,” and then instantly calculated in his mind that from the two and a half million stone blocks of the Cheops pyramid it would be possible to build a wall around France three meters high.

Interesting facts about Egyptian pyramids

All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile River, which is the site of sunset and was associated with the kingdom of the dead in Egyptian mythology.

The edges of the pyramids are curved by one meter so that they can accumulate solar energy. Due to this, the pyramids could reach thousands of degrees and emit an incomprehensible hum from such heat.

Despite the intense heat that reigns around the pyramids, the temperature inside them actually remains relatively constant, hovering around 20°C.

Egyptian pyramids also have this feature. The stone blocks are arranged in such a way that there are no gaps between them; even the thinnest blade will not fit through there.

The Great Pyramid consists of 2.3 million blocks that are perfectly aligned and fit together. The blocks weigh from 2 to 30 tons, and some of them even reach a weight of more than 50 tons.

Although many people associate pyramids with hieroglyphs, no inscriptions or hieroglyphs have been found in the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Estimates of the number of workers involved in the construction of the pyramids vary greatly, however, it is quite possible that at least 100 thousand people built them.

Three large pyramids on the Giza plateau replicate the “Orion’s Belt” from the constellation Orion on Earth. The Pyramid of Cheops and the similar-sized Pyramid of Khafre occupy the places of the two brightest stars in Orion's belt, Al-Nitak and Al-Nilam, and the smaller pyramid of Menkaure is offset from the axis of the two neighboring ones, just like the third and smallest star in the belt - Mintaka.

Structures similar to the Egyptian pyramids can also be found in Sudan, where the tradition was later picked up.

Each side of the pyramid is located in the direction of one side of the world.

It was calculated that large necropolises with that level of technology should have been built in no less than a century. How, for example, was the Cheops pyramid built in just 20 years?

In the 12th century, an attempt was made to destroy the pyramids of Giza. Al-Aziz, the Kurdish ruler and second sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty, tried to demolish them, but he was forced to retreat as the task was too large-scale. And yet, he was able to damage the Pyramid of Mykerinus, where his attempts left a vertical gaping hole in its northern slope.

Pyramids are one of the numerous evidences in favor of the existence in those ancient times of a certain developed civilization. Meanwhile, that era fits into the time frame of the existence of the legendary Atlantis, although no one undertakes to claim that it built early pyramids the civilization was in reality the Atlantean civilization.

Tourist Information

The Great Pyramid complex of Giza is open to the public from 8:00 to 17:00 every day, except during the winter months (opening hours until 16:30) and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when access closes at 15:00.

Some travelers believe that if the pyramids are in the open air and are not a museum in the literal sense of the word, then here you can behave freely and climb these structures. It should be remembered: doing this is strictly prohibited - in the interests of your own safety!

Before entering the pyramids, you need to objectively assess your psychological state and physical health. For those who are afraid of closed spaces (claustrophobia), it is better to skip this part of the tour. Due to the fact that the inside of the tombs is usually dry, hot and a little dusty, asthmatics, hypertensive patients and those suffering from other diseases of the cardiovascular and nervous system are not recommended to enter here.

How much can an excursion to the area of ​​the Egyptian pyramids cost a tourist? Cost has several components. The entrance ticket will cost you 60 Egyptian pounds, which is approximately 8 euros. Would you like to visit the Pyramid of Cheops? For this you will have to pay 100 pounds or 13 euros. Seeing the inside of Khafre's Pyramid is largely cheaper at £20 or €2.60.

You will have to pay separately to visit the museum Solar boat, which is located south of the Cheops pyramid (40 pounds or 5 euros). Photography is allowed in the pyramid area, but you will have to pay 1 euro for the right to take photographs. Visiting other pyramids on the territory of Giza - for example, the mother and wife of Pharaoh Khafre - is not paid.