Ancient Egypt: The Pyramids
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Discussion of types of pyramids as they developed through Ancient Egypt to the common pyramid we think of today--and how they were built and used as tombs
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Ancient Egypt: The Pyramids
- 1. ANCIENT EGYPT: PART III THE PYRAMIDS Humanities I Dr. Whitney Vandiver Redlands Community College
- 2. EARLIEST ARCHITECTURE • In the earlier dynasties, the burial of the pharaohs were a procession of floating the body down the Nile to a burial site in Giza (Gizeh). • Remember that the Nile flowed downward to the North. • Because of the stronghold of the afterlife in Egyptian culture, the dwellings for the dead were some of the first and primary architectural concerns.
- 3. MUSTABA “mustaba” (Arabic, stone bench) mud and stone bricks with limestone slabs long rectangle with a flat top outer room for offerings accessible to others inner shaft the led to the tomb underground Left: Mastabaof Niankhkhum and Khnumhotep
- 4. STEP PYRAMID Imhotep, a vizier, first designed the step pyramid around 2700 BC multiple mustabas stacked ramps leading to each level during construction burial chambers still located underground provided grander appearance
- 5. BENT PYRAMID flat mustaba on bottom angled single level piece on top same or greater height smoother appearance begin to make use of interior space for multiple purposes sharper angle with pointed top smooth mastaba
- 6. BENT PYRAMID antechamber—room between the upper burial and lower burial chambers upper burial chamber—most likely added to store objects meant to go with the dead into the afterlife, such as prayers, miniatures models of boats, and food lower burial chamber---the actual burial room for the body satellite pyramid—smaller replica for offerings
- 7. COMMON PYRAMID design removes view of mustaba mustaba is underneath packing stone would fill the gaps in steps entire outer casing of limestone or granite has the same angle visible deterioration of limestone coating intermediate phase of some packing over mustaba mustabas—likely incomplete pyramids
Notes de l'éditeur
- Initially designed for the sole purpose of protecting the body deep within the ground and providing a space for offerings, the mustaba design is simple and resembles the base of what would become the iconic Egyptian pyramid. Recall the earlier methods of burial in which bodies were buried deep in the sand to use the heat of the desert to mummify the bodies; in a similar way, the bodies in mustabas were buried up to 100 feet below the surface, but mostly for the purpose of securing their burial, as this construction was solely for pharaohs and high priests. Unfortunately, they did not provide much protection, aside from the depth of the body, from grave robbers. Eventually the design was made larger into the step pyramid, but this was most likely to produce a more visibly massive burial chamber rather than for true protection of the bodies, though that purpose was reinforced in future designs.
- The firststep pyramid was designed byImhotep around 2700 as the pharaoh’s funerary monument by stacking multiple mustabas on top of each other with each successive construction becoming smaller than the last until a shape similar to the common pyramid emerged. During construction, ramps would be built up the side of each level leading to the next to allow builders to transport stones to the next level; however, some step pyramids no longer have the ramps either due to age or the finishing of the construction causing them to be removed to preserve the pyramid look of the structures. Like mustabas, burial chambers were still located beneath the surface with the additional height adding to the grandeur and impressive look of the structure rather than creating usable space. This would have offered a more memorable status of the pharaohs buried in them compared to earlier mustabas, and the growing shape and size of the pyramids caused complexes to begin to form around them as well, as can be seen in the image on the left.
- The bent pyramid is the next phase of the design with a large mustaba on bottom, represented by a flat top and angled sides, and a small pyramid on top, which has sides with sharper angels and a pointed top. Unlike the recognized pyramids, these constructions have a visibly deviating point at which the angle of the pyramid change. While this gained some height over the step pyramid, more than anything it gained in appearance rather than actual space. After the bricks were layered and settled, a smooth surface was rubbed on (perhaps by sanding the surface of the bricks or applying a coating) to create the image of a single structure. While much more space could be gained inside the structure, only a few bent pyramids, though there aren’t many remaining, made use of the extra space with most still having the burial chamber beneath the surface but most offering two entrance tunnels to the rooms or tomb, usually from the north and west. The tunnels are usually a single tunnel and at a steep angle downward, as it was not expected to be used expect to bury the pharaoh.
- The bent pyramid also saw the addition of usage of interior space and exterior elements for larger burial complexes. Because the development of Egyptian religion and belief in the afterlife was strong and became so engrained in the culture, more objects became commonplace in burial chambers to aid the dead in the afterlife, such as prayer scrolls to help with obstacles, miniature models of boats and chariots with horses to help the dead traverse the afterlife’s terrain, food such as honey (some of which has been discovered in the 20th century still jarred, unopened, and edible) to feed the dead on their quest, and—especially for pharaohs—wealthy objects to decorate them and show their status in the afterlife, such as gold statues, busts, jewelry, and offerings to take with them in paradise. As the amount of these items grew, the need to store them also grew. The upper burial chamber could serve the purpose of housing a good deal of these objects, while the lower burial chamber, which was sometimes above ground and within the pyramid, housed the actual tomb and body. With two burial chambers, two entrances were included in the design, which unknowingly led to easier access by grave robbers in later times despite their being sealed after burial.Some sites have satellite pyramids, which were designed to hold offerings to the dead pharaohs or the gods with which they were associated, which kept the primary pyramid secure while giving people the ability to visit and praise the pharaohs. Some pyramids also have chapels attached, though this was a very late addition to designs. As the design and implementation—and size—of funerary pyramids became an expectation for pharaohs, comparisons were made so that each pharaoh wished to show his or her power as stronger than the last, leading to larger and larger complexes. Many were started at the beginning of a pharaoh’s rule and were not finished until after the pharaoh actually died if the successor wished to let workers finish the work. Often times, because the complexes had grown so large, walls were constructed to encompass the elements of each burial site to ensure that each pharaoh’s site was separated.
- The final design, which is the common pyramid that we tend to see and think of today, removes the visibility of the mustaba and drops the single angle pyramid over the entire structure. The construction of the pyramid is known to have started with a mustaba underneath, which was then filled in with packing stone to fill the gaps between the levels of stone, making it appear as a single-angled pyramid. A casing of limestone or granite, depending on the quarry and location, was then cemented as an outer casing to make it appear as one gigantic structure. The image at the bottom shows three phases of building, with the two on the left at the forefront being basic mustabas which were most likely unfinished. The one on the right at the forefront looks like an intermediate phase, either incomplete or having lost its outer casing. The three pyramids in the back have lost their outer casings almost entirely, but one can see at the top of the middle and tallest pyramid that the outer casing of limestone still exists at the top of the pyramid. The jagged edges of the remaining stone are visible in the image. As with the height of the pyramid, wind erosion from the desert climate have taken away a large portion of the protective casings, leaving them in a different state than their finished versions and lacking anywhere from 15-30 feet from their original height.While the engineering design of the pyramids is agreed upon, the overall method by which the construction was completed, such as how such large stones were moved and put into place, is not known and has not been convincingly proven. Some believe a system of logs used to roll the blocks up ramps with a system of levers and pulleys in place to aid in moving and keeping the blocks from falling was used. This might very well be the best suggested system thus far; however, scholars have attempted to mathematically prove that such systems would either have required so many different angled ramps or so many additional years of completion that the theories would ultimately fail. Each stone at the Pyramids of Giza (above) weighs roughly 15 tons. How were they carried from quarries, as we can see the marks from their excavation and can match many with their initial quarry sites? Once there, how did they lift them and position them so perfectly? A lifting system of some sort had to be used from above to complete the top layer, as they were too heavy to lift from below. Did they shave and angle the stones before building it or do so afterward to make such perfect angles? There are many aspects about some of the simplest ancient structures that we still do not know to this day and will likely never uncover without the discovery of recorded texts.
- With the changed design and likely change in construction method, the available space inside the pyramids was used for a now expansive burial system that was almost strictly interior with little underground burial. Not all pyramids have identical interiors, though most have some that serve similar purposes in different ways. Nearly all have a pharaoh’s burial chamber, titled here the King’s Chamber. A Grand Gallery acts as a large antechamber for objects to go with the dead into the afterlife. Notice that the Queen’s chamber is much smaller and does not have its own gallery. If a consort was buried with a pharaoh, male or female, the consort took second place to the pharaoh and therefore had a smaller chamber and had fewer objects in the gallery, most of which were for the pharaoh’s passage. Shafts were added as the design and construction of the pyramids continued to develop. Some believe they were added as air ways for workers, while some believe that it might also be to provide for structural support. The Relief Chambers are known to help absorb some of the pyramid’s weight and tension as it settled to keep it from collapsing. The escape or service shafts were likely for workers during construction, but it is also possible that they were left for any maintenance that might have been expected in future generations.Some chambers and rooms either serve purposes that we do not currently understand or we believe were changed or set up simply to deceive grave robbers. Egyptologists have discovered rooms filled with sand and leading to dead-end passages, perhaps to confuse robbers or trap them. The Subterranean Chamber pictured here is thought to be the original burial chamber for Pharaoh Khufu, for whom one of the Great Pyramids of Giza was constructed; however, texts discovered from his time period state that Khufu wanted the burial chamber to be above base of the pyramid (above ground), which would begin in this diagram in the middle of the service shaft, about ¼ of the way up the pyramid diagram. Therefore, it is believed that the Subterranean Chamber was deserted, as it was empty upon discovery and extended into a corridor that ended without a room, and a new chamber was built in the top half of the superstructure of the pyramid.