Download The History and Architecture of the Great Pyramids

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The Pyramids of Giza
This view shows all three pyramid structures:
the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, and
the Pyramid of Menkaure.
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The Old Kingdom (2686 BC - 2182 BC) was a period of
political stability and economic prosperity, during which
great tombs were built for Egyptian Kings in the form of
pyramids.
The first king to launch a major pyramid building project
was King Djoser, who built his famous Step Pyramid at
Saqqara.
The Pyramids of Giza are the greatest architectural
achievement of the time, and include three pyramid
structures and the Great Sphinx monument.
It would have taken several thousand workers decades to
complete just one pyramid. While we know that the stone
for the pyramids was quarried, transported and cut from
the nearby Nile, we still cannot be sure just how the
massive stones were then put into place.
While stone was generally reserved for tombs and temples,
sun-baked mud bricks were used in the construction of
Egyptian houses, palaces, fortresses, and town walls.
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The Pyramids of Giza, also known as the Giza Necropolis, are one of the oldest
remaining wonders of the world. The Necropolis includes three pyramid complexes: the
Great Pyramid (built by King Khufu of the 4th Dynasty); the somewhat smaller Pyramid of
Khafre (Khufu’s son); and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure . The
Necropolis also includes several cemeteries, a workers’ village, an industrial complex,
and a massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx.
The Great Sphinx is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx--a mythical creature with a
lion’s body and a human head. It is commonly believed that the head is that of King
Khafra, who ruled during the 4th dynasty. It is the largest monolith statue in the world,
standing 241 ft long, 63 ft wide, and 66.34 ft high
Most of the stone for the interior seems to have been quarried immediately to the south
of the construction site. The smooth exterior of the pyramid, however, was made of a
fine grade of white limestone that was quarried from the other side of the Nile River.
These exterior blocks had to be carefully cut, transported by river barge to Giza, and
dragged up ramps to the construction site.
•The pyramids follow a geometric circle enclosure to ensure 98%
complete symmetry and ensure minimal deviation from the expected
angles. Each pyramid has an angle deviation of 0.238 degrees from the
expected angle as shown from the details below:
Khufu:50
Khafre:51
Menkaure:49(measurements in degrees estimated)
The sides of all three of
the Giza pyramids were
astronomically oriented
to the north-south and
east-west within a small
fraction of a degree. To
ensure that the pyramid
remained symmetrical,
the exterior casing stones
all had to be equal in
height and width.
Workers might have
marked all the blocks to
indicate the angle of the
pyramid wall and
trimmed the surfaces
carefully so that the
blocks fit together.
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Khufu's vizier, Hemon, or Hemiunu, is believed by some to be the architect of the Great
Pyramid, although it was taken that the pharaoh was the originator of the idea, he merely
implemented the idea and began building.
King Khufu (in Greek known as Cheops). Construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza was begun
during his 26 year reign. King Snefru, another of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs and Khufu's
father, was also quite prolific at pyramid building and it is thought that King Khufu's great
pyramid might have been inspired by watching his father. Khufu was born the son of Snefru
and Hetepheres I around 2589 BC. He is known to have had at least three wives, who bore him
sons that split into three distinct family groups following Khufu's death. Like most of the ancient
Egyptian pharaohs, Khufu built a temple to house his body after his death, although his
mummified corpse has never been found.
Evidence indicates construction began on Khufu's pyramid very soon after he took the throne.
The construction continued for almost the entire length of the king's reign, some 23 years. The
religion and culture of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs commanded an impressive tomb be
built to house the body of a ruler and prepare him for his journey in the afterlife. While the
purpose of the Great Pyramid is thought to have been a burial chamber for the king, his
queens and various other officials, the exact manner in which the pyramid was constructed
continues to be debated.
Today, the pyramid lies just outside the city limits of Cairo and unfortunately, over the years has
been slowly disintegrating due to a number of reasons. It is believed that, like many of the
other pyramids built by ancient Egyptian pharaohs, the masonry on the Great Pyramid of Giza
was picked and recycled for use in more modern structures. Throughout its 4000 year history
the pyramid has lost approximately 10 meters in height, although it still stands at an impressive
145 meters.
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the other architects were not mentioned for the other two pharaohs but
mostly constituted of the king’s royal court(his advisors make the most of the
contributions)
Khafra (also read as Khafre, Khefren and Chephren) was the son
of Khufu and the throne successor of Djedefre. According to the
ancient historian Manetho Khafra was followed by king Bikheris, but
according to archaeological evidences he was rather followed by
king Menkaure. Khafra was the builder of the second largest pyramid of Giza.
Some of the egyptologists also credit him with the building of the Great
Sphinx, but this is highly disputed. There´s not much known about Khafra,
except the historical reports of Herodotus, who describes him as a cruel
and heretic ruler, who kept the Egyptian temples closed after Khufu had
sealed them. here is no agreement on the date of his reign. Some authors
say it was between 2558 BC and 2532 BC; this dynasty is commonly dated
ca. 2650 BC–2480 BC. While the Turin King List length for his reign is blank, and
Manetho's exaggerates his reign as 66 years, most scholars believe it was
between 24 to 26 years.
Menkaure (also read as Menkaura), was an ancient Egyptian king of the 4th
dynasty during the Old Kingdom, who is well known under
his Hellenized names Mykerinos (by Herodot) and Menkheres (by Manetho).
According to Manetho, he was the throne successor of king Bikheris, but
according to archaeological evidences he rather was the successor of
king Khafre. Menkaure became famous for his pyramid tomb at Giza and his
beautiful statue triads, showing the king together with goddesses and his
wife Khamerernebty.
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the principal architect (taken to be the pharaoh)of the Great pyramid
of Giza, in the era of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, chose the 'foot' as the
primary unit of linear measure for the design, then retained in secret the
mathematical system that was used to define the unit of measure for
the pyramid. the chosen unit is found to be dimensionally the same as
the 'foot' defined by the British Imperial system of units.
A mathematical process termed number distillation, which has been
referred to
in the distant past as “the casting out of nines”, is an essential part of the
self-limiting, sequential, single-digit per cell tables that are developed
here. The column and row sums, as well as specific numerically marked
areas whose digits are cubed and summed provide overwhelming
evidence that the term 'foot' is the only possible candidate for the
primary pyramid design unit.
There is no evidence as to just when the unit was adopted for use in the
Old Kingdom era, but the sequentially based, tabular method
introduced here is mathematically and geometrically irrefutable. It
provides a rational, non-circular argument that even hints at the
proposition that the pyramid designer may have developed and been
the first ever to use this particular unit of the 'foot'.
This content was extracted from the
History channel website:
www.historychannel.org
 The principles of pyramid design by
jysillus tybius
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