The Great Pyramid of Giza



The Great Pyramid of Giza

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ANASTASIA KARNAKI

ANTONIS KONSTANTOPOULOS

MARIA MAGLARA

KALAMATA 2012

SUMMARY

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) over a 10 to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BCE. The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years and there have been varying scientific and alternative theories about the Great Pyramid's construction techniques.

Seven wonders

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of the most remarkable creations of classical antiquity, and was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it to be the representation of perfection and plenty, and because it was the number of the five planets known anciently plus the sun and moon.

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Location

The pyramids of Giza, are located in Giza, Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile river near Cairo. The pyramid is located at the northern edge of the Giza plateau. It lies in the desert west of Giza, next to the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure (Khufu’s and grandson).

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Description

Outside:

The name “Pyramid” comes from a Greek traveler named Herodotus of Halicarnassus. He visited Egypt around 450 BC and included a description of the Great Pyramid in a history book he wrote. Herodotus was told by his Egyptian guides that it took twenty-years for a force of 100,000 oppressed slaves to build the pyramid. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu and was constructed over a 20 year period. Khufu's vizier, Hemon, or Hemiunu, is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid. It is thought that, at construction, the Great Pyramid was originally 280 Egyptian cubits tall, 146.5 metres but with erosion and absence of its pyramidion, its present height is 138.8 metres. Each base side was 440 cubits, 230.4 metres long. The mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes. The volume, including an internal hillock, is roughly 2,500,000 cubic metres. Based on these estimates, building this in 20 years would involve installing approximately 800 tonnes of stone every day. Similarly, since it consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks, completing the building in 20 years would involve moving an average of more than 12 of the blocks into place each hour, day and night. The first precision measurements of the pyramid were made by Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1880–82 and published at The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh. Almost all reports are based on his measurements. Many of the casing stones and inner chamber blocks of the Great Pyramid were fit together with extremely high precision. Based on measurements taken on the north eastern casing stones, the mean opening of the joints is only 0.5 millimetres wide (1/50th of an inch). Right by The Great Pyramid of Giza lie three smaller pyramids which are believed to hold the Pharaoh’s queens. 

Inside:

Much like most old kingdom pyramids, the inside of The Great Pyramid of Giza consists of three chambers.  The entrance is on the north face of the pyramid and placed up high.  The entrance leads to a passageway that descends 191 ft through the pyramid into an underground chamber.  There is a passageway from this chamber that is wide enough for only one man, but it leads to a dead end.  On the east-west central axis of the pyramid remains the Queens Chamber which was misnamed by early explorers.  This chamber was sealed off from the rest of the pyramid and is now believed to once be the location of the king’s ka (spirit) statue.  Connected to the descending passage, there is an ascending passage as well.  The ascending passage is only big enough to crawl in (approx 1m high and 1m wide).  This passage leads you to the Grand Gallery which ultimately leads you to the Pharaoh’s Chamber.  All that remains in the Pharaoh’s Chamber today is Khufu sarcophagus.  The room is built in red granite, and it is believed that the pyramid was built around the sarcophagus.  Also discovered were airshafts in the pyramid.  The four airshafts are believed to be “escape routes” for the Pharaoh’s soul.  Two of the airshaft point to Orion and the other two point towards the polar stars.  Originally the stones were encased in brilliant white polished limestone which gave it a glittering appearance so much so that one Greek historian named Diodorus Siculus who lived during the 1st century BC said :"The Pyramids...by the immensity of the work and the skill of their construction strike those who see them with wonder and awe."

  

 Construction

The Great Pyramid was built during Khufu’s reign (2551 BC – 2528 BC) and Hemiunu is believed to be the architect. Some believe that his pyramid at Giza was built by slaves but this is not true. One hundred thousand people worked on it for three months of each year. This was the time of the Nile's annual flood which made it impossible to farm the land and most of the population was unemployed. He provided good food and clothing for his workers and was kindly remembered in folk tales for many centuries.

The Pyramids were commissioned by the Pharoah, but the Pyramids were built by the people. With little tools or technology, the Egyptians were able to move heavy blocks of stone as far as 500 mi as well as place the blocks on top of one another so that the pyramid would reach 481ft tall. It is a mystery even today how the Egyptians maneuvered these heavy blocks, but some theories have been drawn.  Many believe that the stones were carried using wooden sleds, levers and papyrus twine to the pyramid using ramps. The gradual ramps were made of mud, stone and wood. The ramps were used to move the blocks not only to the pyramid but around and up it as well. The Nile River was also used in transporting materials and equipment. Over 100,000 laborers worked on the project. The people that built the pyramid were skilled and well-fed builders who lived in nearby cities. Help from many communities across Egypt most likely occurred to create the pyramid

Materials

The Great Pyramid consists of an estimated 2.3 million limestone blocks with most believed to have been transported from nearby quarries. The Tura limestone used for the casing was quarried across the river. The largest granite stones in the pyramid, found in the "King's" chamber, weigh 25 to 80 tonnes and were transported from Aswan, more than 500 miles away. Traditionally, ancient Egyptians cut stone blocks by hammering wooden wedges into the stone which were then soaked with water. As the water was absorbed, the wedges expanded, causing the rock to crack. Once they were cut, they were carried by boat either up or down the Nile River to the pyramid. It is estimated that 5.5 million tons of limestone, 8,000 tons of granite (imported from Aswan), and 500,000 tons of mortar were used in the construction of the Great Pyramid.

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Use

There have been many theories about the use of the pyramid, ranging from a tomb or monument for a Pharaoh, an astronomical observatory, a place for elaborate Egyptian rituals, a giant sundial, a grain storage structure, a prophetic monument, a water irrigation system, a repository for ancient knowledge to the Egyptian Book of the Dead immortalized in stone or a communication device to other worlds or realms.

Probably, pyramids had been internal tombs for pharaohs’ bodies, who weren’t just kings for Egyptians but living gods, and they may have offered the people reassurance of their continuing influence with the gods. The pyramid wasn’t just a symbol of regal power, but a visible link between earth and heaven.

Whatever the truth is, the pyramids have been preserved for uncounted thousands of years and they seem destined to continue their existence to eternity.

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References

wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza





Egyclopidia National Geographic



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