There are 138
pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008.
Most were built as tombs for the country's
Pharaohs and their consorts during the
Old and
Middle Kingdom periods.
The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at
Saqqara, northwest of
Memphis. The earliest among these is the
Pyramid of Djoser (constructed 2630 BCE–2611 BCE) which was built during the
third dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding complex were designed by the architect
Imhotep, and are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of
dressed masonry.
The estimate of the number of workers to build the pyramids range from a few thousand, twenty thousand, and up to 100,000.
The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at
Giza, on the outskirts of
Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures ever built.
The
Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It is the only one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence.
Historical development
The Mastaba of Faraoun, at Saqqara
By the time of the
early dynastic period of Egyptian history, those with sufficient means were buried in bench-like structures known as
mastabas.
The second historically documented Egyptian pyramid is attributed to the architect
Imhotep, who planned what Egyptologists believe to be a tomb for the pharaoh
Djoser. Imhotep is credited with being the first to conceive the notion of stacking
mastabas
on top of each other – creating an edifice composed of a number of
"steps" that decreased in size towards its apex. The result was the
Step Pyramid of Djoser
– which was designed to serve as a gigantic stairway by which the soul
of the deceased pharaoh could ascend to the heavens. Such was the
importance of Imhotep's achievement that he was deified by later
Egyptians.
The most prolific pyramid-building phase coincided with the greatest degree of absolutist
pharaonic rule. It was during this time that the most famous pyramids, those near
Giza,
were built. Over time, as authority became less centralized, the
ability and willingness to harness the resources required for
construction on a massive scale decreased, and later pyramids were smaller, less well-built and often hastily constructed.
Long after the end of Egypt's own pyramid-building period, a burst of pyramid-building occurred in what is present-day
Sudan, after much of Egypt came under the rule of the Kings of
Napata.
While Napatan rule was brief and ceased in 661 BC, the Egyptian
influence made an indelible impression, and during the later Sudanese
Kingdom of
Meroe (approximately in the period between 300 BC–300 AD) this flowered into a full-blown
pyramid-building revival,
which saw more than two hundred indigenous, but Egyptian-inspired royal
pyramid-tombs constructed in the vicinity of the kingdom's capital
cities.
Al-Aziz Uthman, son of the great Saladin who crushed the Crusaders, tried to demolish the Great pyramids of
Giza, but had to give up because the task was too big. However, he did succeed in damaging
Menkaure's pyramid.
Pyramid symbolism
Diagram of the interior structures of the Great Pyramid. The inner line
indicates the pyramid's present profile, the outer line indicates the
original profile.
The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the
primordial mound
from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. The shape of a
pyramid is thought to be representative of the descending rays of the
sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white
limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed
from a distance. Pyramids were often also named in ways that referred to
solar luminescence. For example, the formal name of the
Bent Pyramid at
Dahshur The Southern Shining Pyramid, and that of Senwosret at el-Lahun was
Senwosret is Shining.
While it is generally agreed that pyramids were burial monuments,
there is continued disagreement on the particular theological principles
that might have given rise to them. One theory is that they were
designed as a type of "resurrection machine."
The Egyptians believed the dark area of the night sky around which
the stars appear to revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens.
One of the narrow shafts that extends from the main burial chamber
through the entire body of the Great Pyramid points directly towards the
center of this part of the sky. This suggests the pyramid may have been
designed to serve as a means to magically launch the deceased pharaoh's
soul directly into the abode of the gods.
All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, which as the site of the
setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology.
Number and location of pyramids
In 1842
Karl Richard Lepsius produced the first modern list of pyramids - see
Lepsius list of pyramids
- in which he counted 67. A great many more have since been discovered.
As of November 2008, 118 Egyptian pyramids have been identified.
The location of Pyramid 29, which Lepsius called the "Headless
Pyramid", was lost for a second time when the structure was buried by
desert sands subsequent to Lepsius' survey. It was only found again
during an archaeological dig conducted in 2008.
Many pyramids are in a poor state of preservation or buried by desert
sands. If visible at all they may appear as little more than mounds of
rubble. As a consequence archaeologists are continuing to identify and
study previously unknown pyramid structures.
The most recent pyramid to be discovered is that of Queen
Sesheshet, mother of 6th Dynasty Pharaoh
Teti, located at Saqqara. The discovery was announced by
Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian
Supreme Council of Antiquities, on 11 November 2008.
[4][17]
All of Egypt's pyramids, except the small Third Dynasty pyramid of
Zawyet el-Amwat (or Zawyet el-Mayitin), are sited on the west bank of
the
Nile,
and most are grouped together in a number of pyramid fields. The most
important of these are listed geographically, from north to south,
below.
Abu Rawash
The largely destroyed Pyramid of Djedefre
Abu Rawash is the site of Egypt's most northerly pyramid (other than the ruins of Lepsius pyramid number one)
— the mostly ruined
Pyramid of Djedefre, son and successor of
Khufu.
Originally it was thought that this pyramid had never been completed,
but the current archaeological consensus is that not only was it
completed, but that it was originally about the same size as the Pyramid
of
Menkaure, which would have placed it among the half-dozen or so largest pyramids in Egypt.
Its location adjacent to a major crossroads made it an easy source of
stone. Quarrying – which began in Roman times – has left little apart
from about 15 courses of stone superimposed upon the natural hillock
that formed part of the pyramid's core. A small adjacent satellite
pyramid is in a better state of preservation.
Giza
Map of Giza pyramid complex.
Aerial view of Giza pyramid complex
Giza is the location of the
Pyramid of Khufu (also known as the "Great Pyramid" and the "Pyramid of Cheops"); the somewhat smaller
Pyramid of Khafre (or Kephren); the relatively modest-sized
Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinus), along with a number of smaller satellite edifices known as "Queen's pyramids"; and the
Great Sphinx.
Of the three, only Khafre's pyramid retains part of its original
polished limestone casing, near its apex. This pyramid appears larger
than the adjacent Khufu pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location,
and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction – it is, in
fact, smaller in both height and volume.
The
Giza Necropolis
has been a popular tourist destination since antiquity, and was
popularized in Hellenistic times when the Great Pyramid was listed by
Antipater of Sidon as one of the
Seven Wonders of the World. Today it is the only one of those wonders still in existence.
Zawyet el-Aryan
This site, halfway between Giza and Abu Sir, is the location for two
unfinished Old Kingdom pyramids. The northern structure's owner is
believed to be the Pharaoh
Nebka, while the southern structure is attributed to the Third Dynasty Pharaoh
Khaba, also known as
Hudjefa, successor to
Sekhemkhet.
Khaba's four-year tenure as pharaoh more than likely explains the
similar premature truncation of his step pyramid. Today it is
approximately twenty meters high; had it been completed it is likely to
have exceeded 40.
Abu Sir
The Pyramid of Sahure at Abu Sir, viewed from the pyramid's causeway.
There are a total of fourteen pyramids at this site, which served as
the main royal necropolis during the Fifth Dynasty. The quality of
construction of the Abu Sir pyramids is inferior to those of the Fourth
Dynasty – perhaps signaling a decrease in royal power or a less vibrant
economy. They are smaller than their predecessors, and are built of
low-quality local limestone.
The three major pyramids are those of
Niuserre (which is also the most intact),
Neferirkare Kakai and
Sahure. The site is also home to the incomplete
Pyramid of Neferefre. All of the major pyramids at Abu Sir were built as step pyramids, although the largest of them – the
Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai
– is believed to have originally been built as a step pyramid some 70
metres high and then later transformed into a "true" pyramid by having
its steps filled in with loose masonry.
Saqqara
The Step Pyramid of Djoser
Major pyramids located here include the
Step Pyramid of Djoser
– generally identified as the world's oldest substantial monumental
structure to be built of finished stone – the Pyramid of Merykare, the
Pyramid of Userkaf and the
Pyramid of Teti. Also at Saqqara is the
Pyramid of Unas,
which retains a pyramid causeway that is one of the best-preserved in
Egypt. This pyramid was also the subject of one of the earliest known
restoration attempts, conducted by a son of
Ramesses II. Saqqara is also the location of the incomplete step pyramid of Djoser's successor
Sekhemkhet, known as the
Buried Pyramid. Archaeologists believe that had this pyramid been completed it would have been larger than Djoser's.
South of the main pyramid field at Saqqara is a second collection of
later, smaller pyramids, including those of Pepi I, Isesi, Merenre, Pepi
II and
Ibi. Most of these are in a poor state of preservation.
The Fourth Dynasty pharaoh
Shepseskaf
either did not share an interest in, or have the capacity to undertake
pyramid construction like his predecessors. His tomb, which is also
sited at south Saqqara was instead built as an unusually large mastaba
and offering temple complex. It is commonly known as the
Mastaba of Faraoun.
A previously unknown pyramid was discovered at north Saqqara in late 2008. It is believed to be the tomb of
Teti's mother, it currently stands approx 5m high, although the original height was closer to 14m.
Dahshur
This area is arguably the most important pyramid field in Egypt
outside Giza and Saqqara, although until 1996 the site was inaccessible
due to its location within a military base, and was relatively unknown
outside archaeological circles.
The southern Pyramid of
Snofru, commonly known as the
Bent Pyramid,
is believed to be the first Egyptian pyramid intended by its builders
to be a "true" smooth-sided pyramid from the outset; the earlier pyramid
at Meidum had smooth sides in its finished state – but it was conceived
and built as a step pyramid, before having its steps filled in and
concealed beneath a smooth outer casing.
As a true smooth-sided structure, the Bent Pyramid was only a partial
success – albeit a unique, visually imposing one; it is also the only
major Egyptian pyramid to retain a significant proportion of its
original smooth outer limestone casing intact. As such it serves as the
best contemporary example of how the ancient Egyptians intended their
pyramids to look.
Several kilometeres to the north of the Bent Pyramid is the last –
and most successful – of the three pyramids constructed during the reign
of Snofru; the
Red Pyramid
is the world's first successfully completed smooth-sided pyramid. The
structure is also the third largest pyramid in Egypt – after the
pyramids of
Khufu and
Khafre at
Giza.
Also at Dahshur is the pyramid known as the
Black Pyramid of
Amenemhet III, as well as a number of small, mostly ruined subsidiary pyramids.
Mazghuna
Located to the south of Dahshur, this area was used in the
First Intermediate Period by several kings who constructed their pyramids out of
mudbrick.
Lisht
The pyramid of Amenemhet I at
Lisht
Two major pyramids are known to have been built at Lisht – those of
Amenemhat I and his son,
Senusret I.
The latter is surrounded by the ruins of ten smaller subsidiary
pyramids. One of these subsidiary pyramids is known to be that of
Amenemhat's cousin, Khaba II.
[19] The site which is in the vicinity of the oasis of
Fayyum, midway between
Dahshur and
Meidum, and about 100 kilometres south of
Cairo, is believed to be in the vicinity of the ancient city of
Itjtawy (the precise location of which remains unknown), which served as the capital of Egypt during the
12th Dynasty.
Meidum
The pyramid at
Meidum is one of three constructed during the reign of
Sneferu, and is believed by some to have been started by that pharaoh's father and predecessor,
Huni. However, that attribution is uncertain, as no record of Huni's name has been found at the site.
It was constructed as a step pyramid, and then later converted into
the first "true" smooth-sided pyramid when the steps were filled in, and
an outer casing added.
The pyramid suffered several catastrophic collapses in ancient and
medieval times; medieval Arab writers described it as having 7 steps –
although today only the three uppermost of these remain, giving the
structure its odd, tower-like appearance. The hill on which the pyramid
is situated is not a natural landscape feature – it is the small
mountain of debris created when the lower courses and outer casing of
the pyramid gave way.
Hawara
The Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Hawarra
Amenemhet III
was the last powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and the pyramid he
built at Hawarra, near Faiyum, is believed to post-date the so-called
"Black Pyramid" built by the same ruler at
Dahshur. It is the Hawarra pyramid that is believed to have been Amenemhet's final resting place.
el-Lahun
The Pyramid of Senusret II. The pyramid's natural limestone core is clearly visible as the yellow stratum at its base.
The pyramid of
Senusret II at
el-Lahun
is the southernmost royal-tomb pyramid structure in Egypt. Its builders
reduced the amount of work necessary to construct it by ingeniously
using as its foundation and core a 12-meter-high natural limestone hill.
El-Kurru
Piye, the first ruler of the Egyptian 25th dynasty, built a pyramid
at El-Kurru. He was the first Egyptian pharaoh to be buried in a pyramid
in centuries.
Pharaoh Piye's pyramid at El-Kurru
Nuri
Taharqa, a legitimate ruler and Pharaoh of Egypt, built his pyramid at Nuri. It was the largest in the area (North Sudan).
Egyptian Pharaoh Taharqa's pyramid at Nuri
Construction dates
The following table lays out the chronology of the construction of
most of the major pyramids mentioned here. Each pyramid is identified
through the pharaoh who ordered it built, their approximate reign and
its location.
