One of the very few manmade objects that defy modern engineering, the Pyramids of Giza are an eternal symbol of Ancient Egypt and the life of the people that lived during that time. They – combined with the Great Sphinx – are probably the most famous monuments in Egypt, if not on earth. Built over 4,500 years ago on the rocky plateau near the Nile River, we know who built them and that they were to be tombs for kings. How they built and why they built in the shape they are in are just two of the mysteries the world may never be able to answer.
We do know, however, based on historical information and research that the pyramids were built by paid labourers and that the camps were massive communities all of their own where families lived, worked, played and learned under the growing shadow of the pyramids. It has been speculated that the massive rocks used in the construction were hauled on sledges up a sloping embankment that was constructed around the pyramids the higher the workers went, and then eventually the embankment was dismantled.
The pyramids were built as tombs for different kings and Pharaohs, and like the tombs in the Valley of the Kings they were the targets of grave robbers. At one point in history each of the pyramids had an adjoining mortuary temple where the funeral rituals were performed upon the Pharaoh’s death. Most of the Giza necropolis is strewn with the remains of these temples, pits for funerary boats, smaller pyramids and the tombs of members of the royal family and officials.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu actually has a known passageway to the King’s Chamber where Khufu’s now empty sarcophagus still remains. The entrance is just above the base of the pyramid, and it leads from a cramped Ascending Passage up 36 metres to a towering Grand Gallery in the centre of the pyramid. The King’s Chamber is another 46 metres upwards from the Grand Gallery, and the weight that bears down on it from the massive stones is dissipated by a series of stress relief chambers and granite beams that were put into place above the pyramid.
