There
are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008. Most were built as tombs for
the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom
periods.
The
most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza, on the outskirts of
Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures
ever built. The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It is
the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence.
Historical
development
By
the time of the early dynastic period of Egyptian history, those with
sufficient means were buried in bench-like structures known as mastabas.
The
second historically documented Egyptian pyramid is attributed to the architect
Imhotep, who planned what Egyptologists believe to be a tomb for the pharaoh
Djoser. Imhotep is credited with being the first to conceive the notion of
stacking mastabas on top of each other – creating an edifice composed of a
number of "steps" that decreased in size towards its apex. The result
was the Step Pyramid of Djoser – which was designed to serve as a gigantic
stairway by which the soul of the deceased pharaoh could ascend to the heavens.
Such was the importance of Imhotep's achievement that he was deified by later
Egyptians.
The
most prolific pyramid-building phase coincided with the greatest degree of
absolutist pharaonic rule. It was during this time that the most famous pyramids,
those near Giza, were built. Over time, as authority became less centralized,
the ability and willingness to harness the resources required for construction
on a massive scale decreased, and later pyramids were smaller, less well-built
and often hastily constructed.
Long
after the end of Egypt's own pyramid-building period, a burst of
pyramid-building occurred in what is present-day Sudan, after much of Egypt
came under the rule of the Kings of Napata. While Napatan rule was brief and
ceased in 661 BC, the Egyptian influence made an indelible impression, and
during the later Sudanese Kingdom of Meroe (approximately in the period between
300 BC–300 AD) this flowered into a full-blown pyramid-building revival, which
saw more than two hundred indigenous, but Egyptian-inspired royal pyramid-tombs
constructed in the vicinity of the kingdom's capital cities.
Al-Aziz
Uthman, son of the great Saladin who crushed the Crusaders, tried to demolish
the Great pyramids of Giza, but had to give up because the task was too big.
However, he did succeed in damaging Menkaure's pyramid.
Pyramid
symbolism
The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent
the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created.
The shape of a pyramid is thought to be representative of the descending rays
of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white
limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a
distance. Pyramids were often also named in ways that referred to solar
luminescence. For example, the formal name of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur The
Southern Shining Pyramid, and that of Senwosret at el-Lahun was Senwosret is
Shining.
While
it is generally agreed that pyramids were burial monuments, there is continued
disagreement on the particular theological principles that might have given
rise to them. One suggestion is that they were designed as a type of
"resurrection machine."
The
Egyptians believed the dark area of the night sky around which the stars appear
to revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens. One of the narrow shafts
that extends from the main burial chamber through the entire body of the Great
Pyramid points directly towards the center of this part of the sky. This
suggests the pyramid may have been designed to serve as a means to magically
launch the deceased pharaoh's soul directly into the abode of the gods.
All
Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, which as the site of
the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian
mythology.
Number
and location of pyramids
In
1842 Karl Richard Lepsius produced the first modern list of pyramids - see
Lepsius list of pyramids - in which he counted 67. A great many more have since
been discovered. As of November 2008, 118 Egyptian pyramids have been
identified.
The
location of Pyramid 29, which Lepsius called the "Headless Pyramid",
was lost for a second time when the structure was buried by desert sands
subsequent to Lepsius' survey. It was only found again during an archaeological
dig conducted in 2008.
Many
pyramids are in a poor state of preservation or buried by desert sands. If
visible at all they may appear as little more than mounds of rubble. As a
consequence archaeologists are continuing to identify and study previously
unknown pyramid structures.
The
most recent pyramid to be discovered is that of Queen Sesheshet, mother of 6th
Dynasty Pharaoh Teti, located at Saqqara. The discovery was announced by Zahi
Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, on 11
November 2008.
All
of Egypt's pyramids, except the small Third Dynasty pyramid of Zawyet el-Amwat
(or Zawyet el-Mayitin), are sited on the west bank of the Nile, and most are
grouped together in a number of pyramid fields. The most important of these are
listed geographically, from north to south, below.
Abu
Rawash
Abu
Rawash is the site of Egypt's most northerly pyramid (other than the ruins of
Lepsius pyramid number one)[5]— the mostly ruined Pyramid of Djedefre, son and
successor of Khufu. Originally it was thought that this pyramid had never been
completed, but the current archaeological consensus is that not only was it
completed, but that it was originally about the same size as the Pyramid of
Menkaure, which would have placed it among the half-dozen or so largest
pyramids in Egypt.
Its
location adjacent to a major crossroads made it an easy source of stone.
Quarrying – which began in Roman times – has left little apart from about 15
courses of stone superimposed upon the natural hillock that formed part of the
pyramid's core. A small adjacent satellite pyramid is in a better state of
preservation.
Giza
Giza
is the location of the Pyramid of Khufu (also known as the "Great Pyramid"
and the "Pyramid of Cheops"); the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre
(or Kephren); the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinus),
along with a number of smaller satellite edifices known as "Queen's
pyramids"; and the Great Sphinx.
Of
the three, only Khafre's pyramid retains part of its original polished
limestone casing, near its apex. This pyramid appears larger than the adjacent
Khufu pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of
inclination of its construction – it is, in fact, smaller in both height and
volume.
The
Giza Necropolis has been a popular tourist destination since antiquity, and was
popularized in Hellenistic times when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater
of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Today it is the only one of
those wonders still in existence.
Zawyet
el-Aryan
This
site, halfway between Giza and Abu Sir, is the location for two unfinished Old
Kingdom pyramids. The northern structure's owner is believed to be the Pharaoh
Nebka, while the southern structure is attributed to the Third Dynasty Pharaoh
Khaba, also known as Hudjefa, successor to Sekhemkhet. Khaba's four-year tenure
as pharaoh more than likely explains the similar premature truncation of his
step pyramid. Today it is approximately twenty meters high; had it been
completed it is likely to have exceeded 40.
Abu
Sir
There
are a total of fourteen pyramids at this site, which served as the main royal
necropolis during the Fifth Dynasty. The quality of construction of the Abu Sir
pyramids is inferior to those of the Fourth Dynasty – perhaps signaling a
decrease in royal power or a less vibrant economy. They are smaller than their
predecessors, and are built of low-quality local limestone.
The
three major pyramids are those of Niuserre (which is also the most intact),
Neferirkare Kakai and Sahure. The site is also home to the incomplete Pyramid
of Neferefre. All of the major pyramids at Abu Sir were built as step pyramids,
although the largest of them – the Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai – is believed
to have originally been built as a step pyramid some 70 metres high and then
later transformed into a "true" pyramid by having its steps filled in
with loose masonry.
Saqqara
Major
pyramids located here include the Step Pyramid of Djoser – generally identified
as the world's oldest substantial monumental structure to be built of finished
stone – the Pyramid of Merykare, the Pyramid of Userkaf and the Pyramid of
Teti. Also at Saqqara is the Pyramid of Unas, which retains a pyramid causeway
that is one of the best-preserved in Egypt. This pyramid was also the subject
of one of the earliest known restoration attempts, conducted by a son of
Ramesses II. Saqqara is also the location of the incomplete step pyramid of
Djoser's successor Sekhemkhet, known as the Buried Pyramid. Archaeologists
believe that had this pyramid been completed it would have been larger than
Djoser's.
South
of the main pyramid field at Saqqara is a second collection of later, smaller
pyramids, including those of Pepi I, Isesi, Merenre, Pepi II and Ibi. Most of
these are in a poor state of preservation.
The
Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Shepseskaf either did not share an interest in, or have
the capacity to undertake pyramid construction like his predecessors. His tomb,
which is also sited at south Saqqara was instead built as an unusually large
mastaba and offering temple complex. It is commonly known as the Mastaba of
Faraoun.
A
previously unknown pyramid was discovered at north Saqqara in late 2008. It is
believed to be the tomb of Teti's mother, it currently stands approx 5m high,
although the original height was closer to 14m.
Dahshur
This
area is arguably the most important pyramid field in Egypt outside Giza and
Saqqara, although until 1996 the site was inaccessible due to its location
within a military base, and was relatively unknown outside archaeological
circles.
The
southern Pyramid of Snofru, commonly known as the Bent Pyramid, is believed to
be the first Egyptian pyramid intended by its builders to be a "true"
smooth-sided pyramid from the outset; the earlier pyramid at Meidum had smooth
sides in its finished state – but it was conceived and built as a step pyramid,
before having its steps filled in and concealed beneath a smooth outer casing.
As
a true smooth-sided structure, the Bent Pyramid was only a partial success –
albeit a unique, visually imposing one; it is also the only major Egyptian
pyramid to retain a significant proportion of its original smooth outer
limestone casing intact. As such it serves as the best contemporary example of
how the ancient Egyptians intended their pyramids to look.
Several
kilometeres to the north of the Bent Pyramid is the last – and most successful
– of the three pyramids constructed during the reign of Snofru; the Red Pyramid
is the world's first successfully completed smooth-sided pyramid. The structure
is also the third largest pyramid in Egypt – after the pyramids of Khufu and
Khafre at Giza.
Also
at Dahshur is the pyramid known as the Black Pyramid of Amenemhet III, as well
as a number of small, mostly ruined subsidiary pyramids.
Mazghuna
Located
to the south of Dahshur, several mudbrick pyramids were built in this area in
the late Middle Kingdom, perhaps for Amenemhat IV and Sobekneferu.
Lisht
Two
major pyramids are known to have been built at Lisht – those of Amenemhat I and
his son, Senusret I. The latter is surrounded by the ruins of ten smaller
subsidiary pyramids. One of these subsidiary pyramids is known to be that of Amenemhat's
cousin, Khaba II. The site which is in the vicinity of the oasis of Fayyum,
midway between Dahshur and Meidum, and about 100 kilometres south of Cairo, is
believed to be in the vicinity of the ancient city of Itjtawy (the precise
location of which remains unknown), which served as the capital of Egypt during
the 12th Dynasty.
Meidum
The pyramid at Meidum is one of three
constructed during the reign of Sneferu, and is believed by some to have been
started by that pharaoh's father and predecessor, Huni. However, that
attribution is uncertain, as no record of Huni's name has been found at the
site.
It was constructed as a step pyramid,
and then later converted into the first "true" smooth-sided pyramid
when the steps were filled in, and an outer casing added.
The pyramid suffered several
catastrophic collapses in ancient and medieval times; medieval Arab writers
described it as having 7 steps – although today only the three uppermost of
these remain, giving the structure its odd, tower-like appearance. The hill on
which the pyramid is situated is not a natural landscape feature – it is the
small mountain of debris created when the lower courses and outer casing of the
pyramid gavewe way.
Hawara
Amenemhet III was the last powerful
ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and the pyramid he built at Hawarra, near Faiyum, is
believed to post-date the so-called "Black Pyramid" built by the same
ruler at Dahshur. It is the Hawarra pyramid that is believed to have been
Amenemhet's final resting place.
el-Lahun
The
pyramid of Senusret II at el-Lahun is the southernmost royal-tomb pyramid
structure in Egypt. Its builders reduced the amount of work necessary to
construct it by ingeniously using as its foundation and core a 12-meter-high
natural limestone hill.
El-Kurru
Piye,
the first ruler of the Egyptian 25th dynasty, built a pyramid at El-Kurru. He
was the first Egyptian pharaoh to be buried in a pyramid in centuries.
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