The truly gigantic size of the pyramids of Giza is hard to
describe. The three main pyramids—perhaps the most famous in the world—are
located at the edge of the Western Desert, some 9 km (5 mi) west of the Nile
River in the city of Giza, and approximately 13 km (8 mi) southwest of the city
center of present-day Cairo. There, gigantic monuments, considered by some to
have been ancient tombs built for the Kings of Egypt, were built thousands of
years ago in the middle of the desert.
The three main pyramids, and accompanying temples and
mastaba tombs, make up the so-called Giza pyramid complex.
The area where the pyramids, the Sphinx and remnants of
ancient temples stand is also known as the Giza Necropolis.
The most prominent pyramids at the plateau are its three
main attractions. According to mainstream Egyptologists, the three pyramids of
Giza, also known by many as the “Great Pyramids” (Although three is only one
Great pyramid in Egypt), are thought to have been built in three generations;
Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure.
Although the three pyramids are a great tourist attraction,
a massive statue which has stood guard at the footstep of Khafre’s pyramid for
thousands of years is another jewel at the Giza plateau. Considered the largest
monolithic statue on Earth, the Great Sphinx of Giza is shrouded in mystery,
perhaps just as much as the massive pyramids behind it.
Cut from the very bedrock upon which the pyramids stand,
the original shape of the Sphinx has been restored with layers of blocks
throughout time. It is so old that experts argue it is the oldest known
monumental sculpture in Egypt, although mainstream experts refuse to
acknowledge the possibility it dates further back than Khafre. Gaston Maspero,
the French Egyptologist and second director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was
convinced of precisely that which mainstream scholars refuse to admit.
Gaspero believed the Sphinx to be “the most ancient
monument in Egypt,” dating to a time predating the reign of Khafre or his
direct ancestors.
Just as there are no written accounts of how the pyramids
were built, how the stones used in their construction were quarried and
transported from far-away quarries, and how the massive stones were put into
position, there are absolutely no records that mention the Sphinx or its
purpose.
Never have experts found anything that would shed light on
when the Sphinx was carved, and what it meant in ancient times for the people
that worshiped it.
The Giza plateau and its stumping monuments are therefore
as mysterious as they are beautiful. It is perhaps that very same mystery that
gives the ancient monuments of Egypt a special charm.
Despite a lack in records from the (supposed) time the
pyramids and Sphinx were built, Egyptologists maintain that they know exactly
the purpose of the pyramids and the Sphinx. The pyramids, they say, were no
more than tombs for the great Pharaohs Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure.
The Sphinx served as a monument irradiating the power of
the king. They say that when it was completed, during the reign of Khafre, the
Sphinx bore the head of the Pharaoh, fused with the body of a lion.
Egyptologists argue that the pyramids are therefore just
massive piles of stone, that were constructed to protect the mummified remains
of the pharaohs in the afterlife. If the pyramids really were the tombs of
Egypt’s Kings, then why is their interior so cold, and undecorated?
Usually, ancient Egyptian tombs are highly decorated with
murals illustrating the might of the King and his journey in the afterlife.
The pyramid of Giza, and all other pyramids in Egypt for
that matter, have a complete lack of decorations in their interior. The alleged
burial chambers within the pyramids are left completely undecorated, with no
symbols, marks or illustrations, other than those left behind by tourists in
ancient times.
Quickbird image of the Saqqara
pyramids. Courtesy of Robert Corrie.This is one of the greatest mysteries of the pyramids. The
only mark that was allegedly left behind by the “builders” of the pyramid and
one of the crucial pieces of evidence that places the Great Pyramid of Giza at
the time of Khufu is a poorly scribbled mark inside the pyramid, naming the
work gang.
This alleged mark supposedly names the gang that helped
build the pyramid and makes reference to the Fourth Dynasty rule of Khufu.
However, for all we know, this could have been added to the pyramid in any part
of history.
There are many mysteries surrounding the great pyramid of
Giza. Why does it have three (known) chambers? What was their purpose of the
pyramid served as the tomb for one Pharaoh?
Furthermore, why is the Great Pyramid of Giza the only one
in Egypt with both ascending and descending passages? No other pyramid has been
built like that. All pyramids that predate it are dissimilar.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is also the only known pyramid
that has eight sides. No other pyramid in Egypt has this particular
characteristic. No other pyramid in Egypt has been built with such care,
precision, and alignment.
The eight sides of the pyramid are nearly invisible from
the ground. The unique feature can be best appreciated from the air if one were
to fly above the pyramid. However, in addition to needing to fly above the
pyramid, the eight sides are visible only under proper lighting conditions.
This unique feature is best appreciated at either dawn or sunset on the spring
and autumn equinoxes when the sun casts shadows on the pyramid.
Spotted for the first time in 1940 by British Air Force
pilot, P. Groves as he was flying above the massive monuments, the eight sides
of the pyramid were detailed in The Pyramids of Egypt, 1975, p. 207 by I.E.S.
Edwards:
“In the Great Pyramid the packing-blocks were laid in such
a way that they sloped slightly inwards towards the center of each course, with
a result that a noticeable depression runs down the middle of each face — a
peculiarity shared, as far as is known, by no other pyramid,” Edwards wrote.
But many other striking facts are embedded within this
ancient pyramid.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, which remained the tallest
building on the surface of the planet for 3,800 years after it was completed,
was built with unprecedented precision and alignment.
According to the survey of J.H. Cole of the monument in
1925, the accuracy of the pyramid’s workmanship is such that the four sides of
the base have an average error of only 58 millimeters in length. (Survey of
Egypt, Paper No. 39; Government press, Cairo.)
Furthermore, as revealed by Flinders Petrie, the sides of
the square base of the Great Pyramid are closely aligned to the four cardinal
compass points (within four minutes of arc) based on true north, not magnetic
north, and the finished base was squared to a mean corner error of only 12
seconds of arc.
It seems that whoever designed the pyramid—according to
mainstream scholars the builder of the Great Pyramid was Hemiunu—was a great
scientist and mathematician. Measurements of the pyramid have further revealed
that the ratio of the perimeter to height of 1760/280 Egyptian Royal cubits
equates to 2Ï€ to an accuracy of better than 0.05 percent.
True wonders of ancient engineering, it is believed that
the pyramids at Giza were built by the ancient Egyptians in a span of 85 years
between 2589 and 2504 BC.
However, Egypt has more than just the pyramids at Giza.
Not far from the Giza plateau, to the south of the “Great
Pyramids” stands the oldest pyramid of Egypt. This is believed to be the
Third-Dynasty pyramid of King Djoser, the so-called Step Pyramid of Saqqara.
According to mainstream experts, the Step Pyramid was built
some 4,700 years ago. This ancient structure is thought to have laid down the
necessary foundations for pyramid building in Egypt, and it is the monument
responsible for the pyramid building in Egypt.
Eventually, future generations of rulers worked and
developed the design of the pyramid until the “perfect” pyramid was created.
This is the Red Pyramid of Fourth Dynasty king Sneferu,
Khufu’s father.
Sneferu is ancient Egypt’s greatest pyramid builder. He
erected three pyramids; one at Meidum and two at Dahshur. His pyramids at
Dahshur were revolutionary in many ways. The Red Pyramid is believed to have
laid down the foundations for the construction of the Great Pyramid.
Sneferu’s Red Pyramid is regarded as the first successful
smooth-sided pyramid in Egypt.
As explained by Egyptologist Mark Lehner, the truly
gigantic pyramids of Egypt were built over the course of three ancient Egyptian
generations starting with King Sneferu, his son Khufu and grandson Khafre.
Sneferu’s three pyramids alone contain more than 3.5
million cu. meters (124 million cu. ft) of stone.
All other ancient pyramids of ancient Egyptian Kings
combined, excluding Queen’s pyramids and satellite pyramids contain only 41
percent of the total mass of the pyramids of Sneferu, his son Khufu and
grandson Khafre.
Although Menkaure who built the third-largest pyramid at
Giza used multi-ton blocks, his pyramid was smaller in total mass even compared
to Egypt’s first pyramid.
Source :
curiosmos.com
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