In the deserts of Egypt lie the colossal remains of an ancient civilization. These enormous works of human endeavor are the only member of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World that time has passed down to us. These are, of course, the great pyramids of ancient Egypt. But these imposing structures were not built to impress civilization millennia down the road. The pyramids in fact had a purpose to the ancient Egyptians. While they seem very simple in nature, as they are simply four-sided pyramids with square bases, they had a meaning for those that had them built. Even by today’s standards, the pyramids of ancient Egypt were an impressive feat of engineering, due to their enormous size, both in building materials and finished product. Indeed, there is more to these mysterious pyramids of the ancient Egyptians than meets the eye.

Before a decent discussion of the pyramids is begun, a bit of background history must be set forth. The ancient Egyptian empire lasted for over 3,000 years, beginning at around 3,100 BCE and ending just shy of 300 years before the dawn of the Common Era. Historians break up the empire chronologically into nine separate eras. The second of these eras, known as the Old Kingdom, is when all of the pyramid construction took place, and dates from 2,686-2,181 BCE (Edwards 1). During this era, Egypt’s kings and queens were buried inside these pyramids. Presently, there are about ninety such pyramids—or remains of pyramids—which stretch along the desert just to the west of the Nile River (Edwards 2).

The previous style of burial of Egyptian pharaohs was the mastaba, a flat-roofed structure made of brick. However, at the beginning of the Old Kingdom, stone was introduced as a building material. Building with stone has been attributed to Imhotep, the most ancient of all known architects. He was the designer of the first type of Egyptian pyramid, the step pyramid, which was first introduced at the burial complex of Zoser, just outside the ancient city of Memphis. It was achievements such as these that gained Imhotep great respect among later Egyptians who not only saw him as a great architect, but also “a magician, astronomer, and the father of the art of medicine” (Edwards 35). Step pyramids are similar to the pyramids we know today, but instead of being flat on all four sides, they have setbacks as they rise, giving the appearance of giant steps.

These step pyramids were not true pyramids, however, but by the second dynasty of the Old Kingdom, true pyramids began to take shape. The now-ruined pyramid of Meidum is an early example of a true pyramid. While the ruined core of the superstructure is the only thing that really remains of this pyramid, archaeologists have deduced that it was originally built as a step pyramid, and then later converted to a true pyramid by building over the steps, thereby flattening the sides (Edwards 74-77). However, the evolution of the true pyramid was not without its flaws. One good example of this is the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. At the beginning of its existence, the pyramid was supposed have a slope of 60 degrees. But when the pyramid was being built, cracks began to develop in it, so the builders quickly compensated by giving the sides a shallower angle. However, it appears they did not compensate enough, and another adjustment had to be made due to more cracks in the structure. This time they were too far along to re-angle the slope of the sides, so they abruptly changed the slope of the pyramid a little over halfway up the structure, giving it a “bent” appearance (Edwards 82-83).

The recipient of the preceding pyramid was the Egyptian pharaoh Senefuru. His son, and heir to the Egyptian monarchy was Khufu (or Cheops as he was known in Greek). His pyramid, in the Giza group of pyramids is also known as the Great Pyramid, as it is the largest pyramid in the world. When one reads or hears the world “pyramid,” he or she thinks of this pyramid, as it is the most famous pyramid of them all. It has been estimated that Khufu’s pyramid, when completed, consisted of 2,300,000 square blocks of stone, which on average weighed about two and a half tons. Some of the largest blocks topped out at fifteen tons. Each side of Khufu’s pyramid is about 756 feet long, and although no side is exactly the same, the difference between the longest and shortest sides is a mere 7.9 inches. The pyramid is only a few minutes off true north, and its square base has angles only a few minutes shy of ninety degrees (Edwards 102-106). Even by today’s standards, Khufu’s pyramid was built with great precision and skill.

Obviously, the construction of this pyramid and many others was no small feat, even if modern equipment was used. And since the Egyptians had no knowledge of the pulley, the pyramids would have been that much harder to build. The workmen probably only had “copper chisels and possibly iron tools, as well as flint, quartz, and diorite pounders” (Fakhry 9). They also had wooden crowbars, sledges and rollers, which they used in order to transport the enormous stone blocks. While transporting a giant block of stone may seem like it would have been a major accomplishment for the ancient Egyptians, it did not seem to faze them, as they would later go on to transport much larger and heavier objects. The real question lies in how the workmen got massive blocks of rock hundreds of feet into the air. The popular theory regarding the elevation of these blocks is that the Egyptians used ramps made of rubble that had brick retaining walls holding them up. Once the construction was complete, this entire system of ramps would have had to be removed. A pyramid that stood hundreds of feet in the air would have had to a large and complex system of ramps, adding to the difficulty of the construction of these massive tombs. There is no doubt that the construction of a pyramid would have required a considerable amount of manpower. It is now believed that it took thirty years and 100,000 laborers who were replaced every three months to construct Khufu’s pyramid (Fakhry 9-14). Indeed, the pyramids were construction efforts of mammoth proportions.

As these pyramids were essentially tombs, the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom were obviously very concerned with getting to the afterlife. Because the ancient Egyptian afterlife was seen as not much different from the mortal life they led, they had their bodies preserved by mummification, and objects were placed in the tombs for the pharaohs to carry on with them to the afterlife (Fakhry 7). These tombs were in, or even underneath the pyramids, with many passageways and labyrinths to thwart grave robbers as there were many valuable things left with the deceased. These passageways and tomb chambers themselves were not haphazardly placed, however. A great deal of effort went into the placement of them, and the construction of their ceilings as to not jeopardize the structural integrity of the structure. Corbelled ceiling were employed in passageways and ante-chambers to alleviate the stress of millions of tons of pressure created by the heavy stone that these pyramids were made of. It would have obviously been a waste of time to build a large monument that would collapse under the weight, as well as being a disgrace to the pharaoh who was buried there.

The earliest Egyptians worshiped a sun-god, and the pharaohs believed themselves to be representatives of the sun-god. One symbol of this sun-god was a phoenix perched upon an object of pyramidal shape, which may be the reason that pharaohs had ordered pyramids to be built for them. The sides of the pyramids would then represent the rays of the sun, and help enable the dead pharaoh to pass through to the afterlife (Fakhry 7-8). But despite the reason for the pyramids being the shape that they are, it is indisputable that because of their grandness, Egyptians placed enormous importance on reaching the afterlife.

The pyramids are some of the most well recognized structures in the world. They are still compared with modern day triumphs of architecture and engineering. In many books they are matched up against the Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building and Sears Tower. Thousands of years after their creation, we still look up in awe at the magnificence and grandeur of these great achievements of human ingenuity and endeavors of spirituality. It is still sobering to think of about the amount of time and resources that were invested these great monuments of royal splendor. It also reminds us of the importance spirituality plays in the lives of humans, even those who lived many thousands of years ago. Whether or not the pharaohs actually made it to the afterlife shall never be known, but some, such as Senefuru and Khufu have, in a sense, reached immortality. Imhotep, the architect of many of these great monuments, has too become immortalized in history as being one of the first known architects as a result of his work on the pyramids. These pyramids have solidified these ancient rulers as well as others in the pages of history. These pyramids have stood the test of time, and most likely, thousands of years from now, when all our modern skyscrapers have either toppled or been dismantled, the pyramids of the ancient Egyptians will still stand tranquilly in the desert and invoke the same mystery and inspiration to the future generations who gaze at them.



Works Cited


Edwards, I.E.S. The Pyramids of Egypt. Middlesex, England: Viking Books, 1985.

Fakhry, Ahmed. The Pyramids. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1961.