GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA, EGYPT
The Great Pyramid of Giza , also
called Khufu's Pyramid or the Pyramid of Khufu, and Pyramid of Cheops, is the
oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis
It is also known as the Great
Pyramid of Khufu or the Great Pyramid of the pharaoh Cheops as was called by
Greeks; who listed this pyramid as the first wonder of the world. It is the
only one of the seven ancient wonders still remaining to our days and one of
the most famous tourist attractions in the modern world. The Pyramid is located
in the Giza Necropolis very near Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The total mass of
the great pyramid is estimated around 5.9 million tons and its volume is
approximately 2.6 million cubic meters. The great pyramid was surfaced by white
casing stones and blocks of highly polished white limestone; therefore the original
monument shine brightly with the sun as a jewel. It is a great testimony of
perfection in design and construction that reached ancient Egyptian. Many
people consider still Giza as a spiritual and energetic place; therefore
several privates groups visit Giza all the time attracted by the mystical
aspect of the Great Pyramid.
HISTORY
Historians believe that the great pyramid was constructed in the fourth Egyptian dynasty by order of Pharaoh Cheops (2560 BC approximately) and its construction lasted around 20 years. It was the tallest monument of the world during 3800 years with 146 meters height. The great pyramid was constructed using an impressive number of workers. Herodotus, the Greek historian who made the first list of wonders, estimated that around 100 00 workers were used to built this colossal monument. Nevertheless, modern calculations estimate that at least 300 000 men would have been required for this monumental work. Previously, it was believed that workers were slaves, but now there are modern theories that say they were skilled workers who camped near Giza for a salary; proof of this fact are workers' cemeteries found by archeologists in the vicinity of Giza . It is believed also that around 2 millions blocks (each block weights between 2 and 15 tons) of limestone, basalt and granite were used in the pyramid
It is the only Egyptian pyramid that
has both descending and ascending passages. The most popular theory about the
goal of the pyramids says, they were used as tombs for pharaohs. But, we know
that airshafts were built into the King's and Queen's chambers; nevertheless we
don’t know the purpose of airshafts; since pharaoh’s mummies don’t need air.
Besides, no mummy or remains of any kind have been found inside the great
pyramid. These are some of the reasons why many Egyptologists and other
academicians believe that pyramids were also ceremonial and religious centers,
but the construction, date and possible symbolism of these amazing monuments
are not still completely understood. There are several theories about the
construction of the pyramids. The most accepted of them say that the pyramid
was built moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into
place.
Another important detail about the
pyramids is their orientation, they are oriented 4’ west of north; some experts
believe that this peculiar orientation is due to the position of the stars
b-Ursae Minoris and z-Ursae Majoris about 3,000 years ago, thanks to this
feature; some scientists date the start of the pyramid’s construction around
2467 BC.
There are three main chambers inside
the pyramid, which are arranged centrally, through the vertical axis of the
pyramid; being the largest the lowest chamber also known as “unfinished
chamber”, which was cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was
constructed. The middle chamber is known as the “Queen’s Chamber” and it is the
smallest of the three with around 25 square meters of area and 4.5 meters in
height. A peculiar detail about this chamber is that was explored using a robot
created by the German engineer “Rudolf Gantenbrink”. The Egyptologist “Mark
Lehner” believes that this chamber was designed as a “serdab” a structure used
in other pyramids in Egypt.
The third chamber is the main, the
King’s Chamber. It is located at end of the lengthy series of entrance ways
into the pyramid structure. Its original measurements were 10x20x11.2 cubits
(5.25x10.5x6 meters). These dimensions are consistent with the geometric
methods that used the ancient Egyptians to determine the Golden Ratio phi.
Inside the great pyramid, there had a great number of sarcophagus and a large
gallery, which is 49x3x11 meters. This chamber contains also 2 “air shafts”,
which ascend out of the pyramid, directly to the “Thuban” star and the
“Alnitak” star in the “Orion” constellation. It believes that, these airshafts
were used with ceremonial purposes; since they allowed to the pharaoh’s spirit
to reach the stars.
The King’s sarcophagus is located in
the King’s chamber and it was hollowed out of a single piece of red Aswan
granite. A peculiar detail about this sarcophagus is that it is too short to
accommodate a medium height person without the bending of the knees, but this
burial technique was not used in the ancient Egypt. Therefore, several
scientists believe that the sarcophagus was not designed to host a human body.
No comments:
Post a Comment