The Pyramids of Giza are among the oldest monumental stone buildings ever created and also contain the two tallest ancient pyramids in the world. The Great Pyramid, the tallest of the three, is the only surviving one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Many people contributed overtime to build these incredible pyramids that still exist today.
“You can see how over generations they have tackled different engineering problems and become increasingly sophisticated in finding solutions to them,” says Roland Enmarch, an Egyptologist at the University of Liverpool.
So how old are these pyramids, who built them and how were they built so long ago? Some of these issues are relatively simple, while the mechanical details are somewhat obscure.
Read more: Pyramid of Djoser: The world's oldest pyramid is often overshadowed
Tombs inside the pyramids
The oldest of the three iconic pyramids located next to each other is also the largest. It was built as the tomb of the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu, whose Greek name is also often written as “Cheops”.
Two other large pyramids located next to the Great Pyramid – the pyramids of Khafre and Mentaur – were intended to be the tombs of Khufu's son and grandson, respectively.
The dynastic line between the three pharaohs was not necessarily smooth. Khafre was not the first son to ascend the throne Egypt – his brother Djedefre, or Ratoise in Greek, came to power for a relatively short period after his father, but was buried in a long-destroyed pyramid at Abu Rawash, an archaeological site about five miles from Giza. Khafre came to power after the second largest pyramid was built as his tomb.
The third and smallest of the big three pyramids at Giza is the tomb of Menkaure, probably the son of Khafre and grandson of Khufu.
Construction of the pyramids at Giza
All three great pyramids of Giza were built over three generations in Ancient Egypt. The dates are unclear as the evidence is fragmentary and estimated based on a combination of historical accounts and radiocarbon dating.
Khufu may have reigned for about three decades, beginning in the early 26th century BC. Khafre's reign is less certain, but it lasted at least two decades, while Mentaur's reign may have lasted around six decades, ending towards the end of 2500 BC.
It is difficult to say whether the pyramids were completed during each pharaoh's lifetime or whether their successors completed the projects. The Great Pyramid – the oldest of the three – was probably built about 100 years after the Pyramid of Djoser, a step pyramid built at Saqqara during the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom.
How were the pyramids built?
Building such huge monuments was no easy task. Nothing on this scale had ever been attempted before – even Djoser's earlier pyramid was built slightly differently from the pyramids at Giza, and the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre are more than twice as tall as Djoser's.
To begin with, the conditions of the Fourth Dynasty and, indeed, most of the reign of Ancient Egypt were well suited to the extraction of bountiful resources. This was partly due to the annual flood. River Nilewhich contributed to the production of surplus grain.
“These rulers of the Old Kingdom were able to consolidate seasonal agriculture during the Nile floods,” says Harvey Weiss, a Near Eastern archaeologist at Yale University. “This wealth of grain agriculture was used to support the workers who built these funerary structures for the eternal life of the rulers.”
Enmarch says some of this surplus was likely used to feed the pyramid workers. It is unclear whether the workers were slaves, serfs, or indentured laborers, but Enmarch believes it was likely a mixture. Since the Egyptians did not use coins at the time, people often paid taxes in kind. This could mean a few weeks of free labor each year, or that villages had to send a certain number of workers from time to time.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they put every resource they have into this massive project,” Enmarch says.
Although some aspects of the construction of the pyramids remain a mystery, a French archaeologist has discovered papyrus fragments in 2013, written by an official who recorded the daily work of building the Great Pyramid. The log recorded the activities of a work crew that transported fine white limestone casing from a quarry across the Nile from Giza to the pyramids for use in the outer layers of the Great Pyramid.
“We actually have a daily set of administrative records,” Enmarch says. Back then, during the rainy season, small boats could be used to transport this kind of material closer to the work site.
Read more: Who built the Egyptian pyramids? Not slaves
What materials were used to build the pyramids?
Less is known about how the workers assembled the material to build the pyramid. The size of many of the stones suggests they could have been handled by multiple people using rollers, Enmarch said.
To get materials to the summit, Enmarch adds that ramps were probably used – although no trace of such elements remains at Giza, other pyramids elsewhere still have ramps that have never been removed. The problem is that the single straight ramp would have to be so long and massive that it would be a greater challenge than the pyramids themselves.
Other suggestions include ramps that went around the outside of the pyramids, although some researchers believe that the ramps were built inside the pyramids due to structural anomalies found there.
Enmarch is unconvinced of the latter idea due to a lack of clear evidence. Instead, he points to the recent discovery of a ramp steeper than previously thought at the Hatnub quarry during Khufu's reign.
The area Enmarch worked on had post holes that could be used to transport large alabaster blocks on wooden sleds. If such a system were used in the pyramids, any ramp might be smaller than previously thought.
Why didn't the ancient Egyptians build bigger pyramids?
The construction of the pyramids did not stop with the construction of the pyramids at Giza. In fact, there are several smaller pyramids surrounding the big trio. Additionally, pyramid building continued, in a lesser sense, for some time in Egypt and eventually in Kush, whose rulers adopted some of the styles of past Egyptian pharaohs.
Leaders began to favor burials in the Valley of the Kings around the 16th century BC, although smaller elites continued to use smaller clay pyramids for some time.
But the conditions favoring the creation of such large tombs at Giza did not last long. According to a study conducted in Progress in natural science. This dry period disrupted the seasonal flooding of the Nile, reducing the fertility of Egyptian agriculture.
Read more: Oldest Ancient Miracle Still Exists Today, 4,500 Years Later
Article sources
Our authors in discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed research and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
