The Egyptian Pyramids: Monuments for a Journey After Death

Great Sphinx of Giza in front of the Great Pyramid under a clear blue sky — The Great Pyramid at Giza once had a smooth outer surface made of polished limestone that reflected the sun, rising behind the Sphinx in the foreground. At the very top sat a capstone, possibly covered in gold or electrum. Today, the missing casing stones and capstone reveal the rough inner layers, giving the pyramid its stepped appearance.

The ancient Egyptian people believed the powerful sun and the mysterious Nile River were gifts from their gods. They considered their pharaoh a person and a god, descended from the same gods that gave their land great wealth. The Egyptians believed their pharaoh had to make a successful journey to the afterlife to continue providing Egypt with the sun and the river. For that to happen, the pharaoh’s body had to remain intact and on Egyptian land. They built their pyramids as elaborate tombs to protect the pharaoh on his journey.

The Pharaohs and the Afterlife

The Egyptians buried their pharaohs with food and the ruler’s most treasured possessions. They did not believe the pharaoh would use these objects, but that their spiritual essence would comfort the pharaoh as he traveled on a difficult journey through the underworld to reach his destination in the afterlife.

Jackal in the Egyptian desert — Jackals were common around early Egyptian burial sites, where shallow graves made bodies easy to uncover. Their keen sense of smell made even buried bodies vulnerable. Protecting the dead from scavengers became a constant concern.

Early Burials

The early pharaohs were buried in the Egyptian sand, but their bodies were easy prey for jackals. Jackals are wolf-like creatures that prowl the desert for decayed flesh. The Egyptians learned to protect the bodies of the pharaohs by surrounding their graves with mud pits. Archaeologists found bodies buried during this period – about 3400 BCE – that were largely intact. The dry sand preserved the bodies even better than the elaborate techniques the Egyptians later used.

Mastabas

The tombs of the early pharaohs were covered with a mud brick slab called a mastaba. A mastaba was a visible marker of the burial place where Egyptians could pay their respects to their departed ruler. The mastaba also protected the pharaoh’s body from jackals.

Step Pyramid of Djoser rising in tiers above the desert under a clear blue sky — The Step Pyramid of Djoser was built by Imhotep around 2600 BCE. It was the first pyramid in Egypt, rising above the desert as a royal monument that could be seen for miles.

Imhotep Builds a Step Pyramid

Imhotep was a brilliant architect who built an elaborate monument for his pharaoh, Zoser, more than 4,600 years ago. Imhotep placed six mastabas over Zoser’s tomb. Each mastaba was smaller than the one below it. He then covered them with polished white limestone. The result was the Step Pyramid of Zoser, which rose to 203 feet.

Egyptian pharaohs ordered the construction of pyramids from the time of Zoser until about 1700 BCE. Most pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs, though sometimes a close advisor was honored with a burial in one. Archaeologists have so far identified at least 118 pyramids, though other pyramids may have been destroyed or remain hidden beneath the desert sand.

Egyptian pharaohs built pyramids from the time of Zoser to about 1700BCE. Most pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs or their closest advisors. Archaeologists have found 138 pyramids, though others may have been destroyed or remain hidden beneath the desert sand.

The Great Pyramid at Giza

The Great Pyramid at Giza is the largest of the Egyptian pyramids, standing almost 500 feet tall, covering an area nearly the size of ten football fields, and built of more than two million stones. The largest stones weigh 160,000 pounds and had to be transported more than 500 miles to Giza. Historians estimate that it took more than 25,000 workers over twenty years to build the Great Pyramid.

The ancient Egyptians did not have large animals to haul the massive stones, and at the time the Great Pyramid was built, they had not yet invented iron tools. The huge blocks were cut from a quarry using copper chisels and dragged across the desert in great sleds. The weight of the stones would have stranded wheeled vehicles in the sand. The workers were probably Egyptian farmers who were idle during the season when their farmland was flooded by the Nile River.

The End of the Pyramid-Building Era

It appears pharaohs stopped ordering significant pyramids after about 1700 BCE. The tombs were difficult to police; often, they were robbed even as they were being built. Later pharaohs chose more remote burial places that they believed were harder for thieves to find. They were wrong. Today, little remains of even the most secretive tombs.

The Sphinx

Perhaps the most recognizable image of ancient Egypt is the Sphinx, a massive statue with the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh, carved from a single limestone rock. It is about 240 feet long and 66 feet tall, about the length of four school buses parked in a row. The Sphinx has the body of a lion and the head of a man. Experts believe the statue is meant to symbolically protect the pyramids.

Oddly, the Sphinx is missing its nose. Experts are divided over what happened to the nose. Most believe it was broken off by people more than a thousand years ago. They even point to tool markings on the face of the Sphinx. Others argue the nose was worn down by centuries of sandstorms. In any case, apparently even statues eventually show their age.

The Workers who Built the Pyramids

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of worker villages near Giza, suggesting that the workers were respected, well fed, and well treated. Excavators found evidence of houses, kitchens, and bakeries with bread ovens. The workers were likely farmers who were available during their off-season. There is no reliable evidence that the builders relied on slave labor, despite long-standing beliefs.

Resources

Download this lesson as a worksheet with activities

Editable File (Microsoft Word)
Printable PDF (Adobe Acrobat)

Visit Mr. Donn’s Prehistory page for additional materials.

NEXT

The Pharaohs