The pyramids of Egypt are the largest and most precious buildings in the ancient world. Each royal pyramid was the tomb of a pharaoh. Unlike the palaces made of adobe, the pyramids were built with stone to last eternally. The texts written on the walls of the mortuary chambers indicate that the pyramids were a kind of launching platform. His purpose was to project to heaven the soul of the dead pharaoh, who would live by always among the imperishable stars.
THE FIRST PYRAMID
The first pyramid was a stepped construction that was built for the pharaoh Zoser, between 2630 and 2611 a.C. It is 60 m (197 ft) high and it was also the first real stone tomb. Before, before the pharaohs were buried in adobe tombs or mastabas. The architect of Zoser, Imhotep, came up with the revolutionary idea of placing six stone mastabas of diminishing size, like a staircase that would serve the pharaoh to ascend to heaven.
ENTRANCE TO THE GREAT STONE
There have always been legends about dazzling treasures within the pyramids. Huge stone plates concealed entrances and passageways, but in the year 1000 BC. all the known pyramids had been looted. In Giza, the entrance to the pyramid of Keops (ab.) Is still sealed; visitors enter through a lower entrance opened by the Arab caliph Ma'mún in the ninth century.
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF KEOPS
Around 2550 BC, Pharaoh Keops (who ruled from 2589 to 2566 BC) erected the largest pyramid of all: the Great Pyramid, 147 m (481 ft) high. The design is very beautiful: its sides face north, south, east and west. At the base it is more than 230 m (755 ft) long, and surprisingly the difference between the longest and the shortest side is only 20 cm (8 in).
CAMERA MORTUORIA
In the center of the pyramid of Saqqara, the pharaoh Unas (who ruled from 2375 to 2345 a.C.) lay in a black sarcophagus, the color of fertile land, ready to be reborn. The walls of the burial chamber showed a text describing the journey to the next world. It is compared to Unas with a grasshopper and with a hawk that goes back to heaven. There are also spells on the walls, which are meant to protect him on his journey.
INSIDE THE GREAT PYRAMID
Keops twice the inside of your pyramid. Some passageways lead to three chambers, at the beginning traced to the pharaoh's sarcophagus. From the two upper chambers, narrow ventilation ducts emerge to the surface. The first explorers called Queen's Chamber to the second unfinished room, but it has no relation to any queen.
ORIENTATION
THE CONSTELLATIONS
Some counselors believe that the pyramids are aligned with the constellations, especially that of Orion. The Egyptians associated Orion with in God Osiris, lord of the dead. This constellation has three bright stars, the Orion belt. The vent of the mortuary chamber of Cheops points towards the belt, the theory supports it.
COMPLEX OF PYRAMIDES IN GIZA
In 1994, Robert Bauval and Adrián Gilbert postulated that the position of the pyramids coincided with that of the stars of Orion. Actually, only three pyramids can align with it. Almost all experts think that the site was chosen for practical reasons, especially that of a flat surface where the foundations are laid.
