FREE ESSAY ON THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT

THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT

In my report, I will discuss how the pyramids were built, what 
purpose they served, the three pyramids at Giza, some messages 
found on the stones that were used to build pyramids, and what a mastabas is. 
Pyramids are tombs built for Egypt's pharaohs. Pyramids are 
large structures with four sides that are the shape of a triangle, that meet at the top
to
form a point. The 
ancient Egyptians used the pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and temples for their gods.

The pyramids 
have one or two little temples attached to them, which holds their relatives and
servants. A
few pyramids 
still stand today, and are great attractions for tourists. 
The pyramids were built by taking blocks of granite to the workshop, measuring
the blocks down 
to size, shaping the blocks, and placing the blocks into the body of the pyramid. The
core
of the structure 
is now completed. Then, you place the limestone blocks on the top of the structure (they
started putting 
the blocks on top and then worked their way down). They left two empty rooms to place
the pharaoh and 
his belongings in. They sealed the pyramids so well, it took four hundred years for two
robbers to figure 
out how to get in. 
The pyramids were built by free citizens, drafted for public work, not by slaves of
any sort. 
The pyramids were built by four thousand expert stone sculptors all year round.
An extra work 
group of about ninety-five thousand men worked on the pyramids during the four month
period of the 
inundation (the time of enforced idleness for farmers, since 
the field were covered with the Nile water flood ). 
The pyramids were built between the year 1600 B.C. and the 
year 2700. 
Many scholars believe that the reason why the pyramids were built in a triangular
form is 
because it has a religious meaning to the Egyptians. The slanting side might have
reminded
the Egyptians 
of the slanting rays of the sun, that the pharaoh's soul could climb to the sky and join
the
gods. 
In the pyramids they buried the pharaoh's body. There was a chamber for the body.
There was 
also a chamber for treasures of gold and other priceless items for the pharaoh's
afterlife.
Sometimes a boat 
is placed inside so the pharaoh would have a way to transport himself into his afterlife.

In Pharaoh Cheopses pyramid, therewas his mummy, caskets full of jewels,
furniture inlaid with 
ivory and gold, silver and alabaster bowls and vessels, chests filled with clothing and
precious ornaments, 
and jars filled full of food and wine. You must think that the pyramids must have been
large to hold all of 
that, and as a matter of fact the base of the pyramid covers enough area to hold ten
football fields. 
The three pyramids at Giza stand on the west bank of the Nile River,outside of
Cairo. They are 
the largest and best preserved pyramids. The largest of the three was for Pharaoh Khufu
(Cheops). The 
next to largest was for Pharaoh Khafre. The smallest (yet not small at all) was for
Pharaoh
Menkaure. 
The first known pharaoh to have a pyramid was Pharaoh Zoser,in 
the year 2650 B.C. Imhotep built it for him. 
If you ever see something that looks like a pyramid, except it's smaller than one,
and has a flat 
top, don't mistake it for a pyramid, it's a mastabas. In the mastabas the king's
relatives and
servants are 
buried. 
Some blocks had marks on them to show where they belonged. Others had
messages like  this 
side up ,  vigorous gang, or even  how drunk the king is . 
In conclusion, the pyramids were built by free, drafted, citizens. Pyramids were
used to bury the 
pharaohs. The messages on the stones were decoded. The three pyramids at the Giza were
the largest, and 
a mastabas is not a pyramid. 
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
CASSON,LIONEL. ANCIENT EGYPT. CANADA:TIME INCORPORATED,1965. 
NEWBY,P.H. THE EGYPT STORY, ITS ART, ITS MONUMENTS, ITS PEOPLE, ITS 
HISTORY.ITALY:ABBEVILLE PRESS,1979 
PAYNE,ELIZABETH.THE PHARAOHS OF ANCIENT EGYPT.NEW
YORK:RANDOM HOUSE 
INCORPORATED,1984.