Egyptians honored their kings or Pharaohs and their queens by building them gigantic tombs called pyramids. Today we know of eighty of these that still stand today after hundreds of years. King Djoser built the first pyramid. The three; largest and best preserved were built at the beginning of the Old Kingdom in Giza; the most well known of these pyramids is the tomb for pharaoh Khufu. Estimates suggest that between 20,000 and 30,000 laborers were needed to build the Great Pyramid at Giza in less than 23 years. By comparison, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris took almost 200 years to complete. The cores of the pyramids were often composed of local limestone. Finer limestone was used for the outer layer of the pyramids, giving them a white shine that could be seen from miles away. The capstone was usually made of granite, basalt, or other hard stones that could be plated with gold or silver. Teams of oxen or manpower were used to drag the stones. Once the stones were at the construction site, ramps were built to get them into place on the pyramid. These are incredible they even had temples and their form of writing, hieroglyphics, on the walls. Some even were made with traps and misleading passageways to protect the pharaoh. How they did this is still a mystery. One thing for sure is you have to see these unbelievable structures to believe them!
No comments:
Post a Comment