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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
George, Charles, 1949-
The pyramids of Giza / By Charles and Linda George.
p. cm. -- (Ancient Egyptian wonders series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60152-259-7 (e-book)
1. Jizah (Egypt)--Antiquities--Juvenile literature. 2. Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)--Juvenile literature.
I. George, Linda. II. Title. III. Series: Ancient Egyptian wonders series.
DT63.G45 2012
932--dc23
2012000282
CONTENTS
A Timeline of Ancient Egypt 4
Introduction 6
Th e Search for Eternity
Chapter One 11
Evolution of the Giza Pyramids
Chapter Two 21
Pyramids and the Afterlife
Chapter Th ree 34
Stone by Stone
Chapter Four 46
In and Around the Pyramids
Chapter Five 59
By the Sweat of Th eir Brows
Source Notes 72
For Further Research 74
Index 76
Picture Credits 80
About the Authors 80
A Timeline of Ancient Egypt
Editor’s note: Dates for major events and periods in ancient Egyptian history vary widely. Dates used here
coincide with a timeline compiled by John Baines, professor of Egyptology at University of Oxford in England.
Great Pyramids of Giza
are built by Khufu,
Khafre, and Menkaure.
First pyramid, the Step Pyramid at
Saqqara, is built by Djoser.
Capital city of
Memphis is founded.
Upper and Lower
Egypt unify as one
kingdom.
Late( cPar. e3d1yn0a0s–ti2c 9P5e0r ioBdC) Earl(cy a. D2yn9a5s0ti–c 25Pe7ri5 oBdC) (cOla. d 2K5i7n5g–d2o15m 0 BC)First I(nctae. r21me2d5i–a1t9e 7P5 erBiCo)d (Micda. dl1e9 7Ki5n–1g6d4o0m BC)
Hieroglyphic
script is developed.
Old Kingdom
collapses, resulting
in a period of Egypt
social upheaval and prospers
political chaos. during its
classical
period of
art and
literature.
Mentuhotep reunites
Egypt.
4
Egypt enjoys
peace for Ptolemy becomes king after
more than 50 Alexander’s death in 323 BC; he
years under founds a dynasty that rules Egypt
Ramesses II, a for nearly three centuries.
noted warrior
and prolifi c
builder. Th e Rosetta stone, which later
provides the key to deciphering
Egyptian hieroglyphs, is carved.
Tutankhamun (King Tut) dies at
a young age after a short reign; his Egypt regains its
undisturbed tomb is discovered in independence.
the Valley of the Kings in AD 1922.
Persians conquer
Hyksos rulers are driven Egypt.
from Egypt.
Nubians
Hyksos kings invade and conquer
seize power in Egypt. Egypt.
d
o d
Second( Ican. t1er63me0d–i1a5t2e 0 PeBriC) (Ncea. w1 5Ki3n9g–1do07m5 BCT)hird I(nctae. r1m0e7di5–at7e1 5 PeBriC)o L(at7e1 5P–e3ri3o2 dBC) Gre(co3-3R2 oBmCa– n APeD ri3o9d5)
Akhenaten introduces Alexander the Great conquers Egypt
an unpopular and makes it part of his vast empire.
monotheistic religion.
Egypt is ruled by
Cleopatra VII
Hatshepsut, a woman
(better known
pharaoh.
as Cleopatra)
serves as Egypt’s
last independent
ruler.
Egypt becomes a
province of the Roman
5 Empire in 30 BC.
INTRODUCTION
The Search for
Eternity
S
eventy days had passed—70 days since their king had died. All
prescribed rituals had been followed by the priests, with loving
care and reverence for their god-king. His body had been carefully
washed, purifi ed, and drained of all fl uids. Most of his internal organs
had been removed, preserved, and placed in special containers, his fl esh
dried with native salts and wrapped in resin-soaked linen bandages.
Every requirement had been meticulously followed, adhering to reli-
gious dictates dating back to the creation of the earth by the god Atum.
All this was done to ensure that their god-king would live forever. Sev-
enty days were devoted to getting the king’s body prepared. His tomb,
one of the grandest the world has ever seen, took much longer to pre-
pare. Th is was ancient Egypt, the
Did You Know? king was Khufu, and his tomb was
When Jesus was born, the the Great Pyramid of Giza.
pyramids of Giza were After being mummifi ed, Khu-
already 2,500 years old.
fu’s body was ready to be entombed
in a huge edifi ce that was the most
important building constructed during the king’s reign—the pyramid
where his preserved body would rest for all eternity. But his soul would
not be trapped inside the pyramid. Th anks to carefully constructed path-
ways to the outside, the king’s soul and spirit would fl y free into paradise,
where he would live forever in luxury, peace, and beauty.
6
Wonders of the Ancient World
Th ree of the grandest of all the pyramids built by the pharaohs of
Egypt still stand on the Giza Plateau, just outside Cairo. Th ese monu-
ments to their kings—Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure—are testaments
in stone of the achievements of the ancient Egyptians. Th ey have
stood for 4,500 years as reminders of their builders and of the glory
and grandeur that was ancient Egypt.
Th e Great Pyramid of Khufu—the fi rst pyramid built on the Giza
Plateau—became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Today it is the only one of those structures still standing. Individu-
als who have visited the Giza pyramids, marveling at their existence,
include Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt circa 449 to
430 BC; Arab caliph Abdullah al-Mam’ūn, the fi rst person to enter
the Great Pyramid of Khufu, in AD 832; Napoleon and his invad-
ing army, who gazed upon the pyramids and the Sphinx in 1798; and
American author and humorist Mark Twain in 1867. Countless oth-
ers have wondered at the sight.
Immense Structures Built by Human Hands
Today thousands visit the Giza Plateau each year. No matter who the
visitors are, when they approach the pyramids for the fi rst time, they
are awestruck at the sheer immensity of the ancient structures. Th e
pyramids exude power and authority and engender disbelief that such
monuments actually could have been built by ordinary human beings.
And yet they were. Craig B. Smith, an engineer and expert in con-
struction techniques, became fascinated by the enormity of the task of
building the Giza pyramids. Smith writes:
Th e majesty of the ancient Egyptians’ thinking and the magnifi -
cence of their achievements are quite simply breathtaking. Could
we have accomplished what they did without modern technol-
ogy and equipment? Could we have done it without the pulley,
the compass, or the wheel? . . . I simply must fi nd out how these
structures were built. . . . My mind keeps asking: how? How?1
7
It was once commonly believed that
Did You Know?
these incredible monuments were built
Th e term pharaoh was
by Hebrew slaves, but that theory is
not used to describe the
false. It is now known that these pyra-
rulers of Egypt until it
mids were built by Egyptian work crews
became popular during
the Eighteenth Dynasty, centuries before the Hebrews were en-
roughly between 1550 slaved in Egypt. It is also known today
BC and 1292 BC. Before that the workers who built the pyramids
that time, Egyptian
at Giza lived in a city near the construc-
rulers were called kings.
tion site, were well fed and well cared
for, and were proud to play an essential
role in the preparation for their king’s afterlife. After all, Egyptian pha-
raohs were considered living gods.
Pyramids were built as tombs for Egyptian kings—pharaohs, liv-
ing manifestations of the sun god—when they departed the earth to
dwell for eternity in a carefully planned afterlife. According to Zahi
Hawass, Egypt’s best-known and most prominent archaeologist:
Th e building of the pyramids was the national project of
Egypt. Every household in Upper and Lower Egypt partici-
pated in the building of the king’s pyramid by sending work-
forces, food, and supplies. Th ey did this to help the king be a
god; the pyramid was the ladder that the king would climb to
the afterlife on his quest for immortality.2
Ladder to Eternity
Constructed between approximately 2551 and 2528 BC, the Great
Pyramid stands today as testimony to the vision of its creator, Khufu,
and to the skills and artistry of Hemiunu, Khufu’s vizier—his high-
est adviser and the overseer of all the pharaoh’s projects. Th e pyra-
mids of Khufu’s son, Khafre, and of his grandson, Menkaure, built
during their reigns, stand nearby. Together they demonstrate the
continued excellence of Egyptian construction techniques that had
been refi ned and perfected since the building of the fi rst pyramid by
King Djoser, who ruled Egypt from about 2630 to 2611 BC. Exactly
8
Mediterranean Sea
Alexandria
Nile Delta
N
Cairo
Giza
Lower Memphis Sinai
Saqqara
Egypt
Dashur
Meidum
Red
Nil Sea
EGYPT e
Ri
v
ya er
b
Li
Valley of the Kings
Thebes
(Luxor, Karnak)
Upper
Egypt
Aswan
0 50 100 150 200 250 KM
Sudan Fertile Area
how these incredible structures were conceived and built is still be-
ing deciphered through careful excavation, examination, and study.
Archaeologists and other scientists have found clues to how their
construction was accomplished, but nothing has come to light that
explains defi nitively how thousands of gigantic stones, each weighing
tons, were moved from nearby quarries, then raised and positioned with
mathematical precision into the geometric fi gure known as a pyramid.
9
And yet the fact that it was accomplished cannot be disputed, since the
pyramids themselves stand as testimony to their builders’ skills.
Th e story of the pyramids of Giza is the story of the grandeur of
ancient Egypt, a civilization that endured for over 3,000 years. Egypt’s
stone monuments still stand nearly 4,500 years after they were built—
a virtual eternity for Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. Smith writes:
Go back forty-fi ve centuries . . . for the story of people whose
lives were guided by an elaborate set of religious beliefs that
formed the underpinnings of one of the greatest civilizations
of all time—people who crafted their statement to history in
spectacular form, creating the greatest structure[s] on earth
and celebrating the human mind and spirit in the process.3
Th e Egyptians’ religious beliefs led to an evolution of building
techniques that grew from simple burial mounds of mud and stones
into stone benches called mastabas, and fi nally into larger and grander
monuments that evolved into the classic pyramid shape. By the time the
Giza pyramids were built, the Egyp-
Did You Know? tians had mastered the construction
skills necessary to build the three
In biblical times, Joseph
convinced the Egyptian massive monuments on the outskirts
king to fi ll huge granaries of modern Cairo—monuments that
with grain because he felt
may well stand for the rest of time.
Egypt should have enough
In 1980 noted broadcast journal-
food stored to feed Egypt
during seven years of ist Walter Cronkite summed up the
famine. Some believed that astonishing impact of ancient Egypt
the pyramids of Giza were
in general, and of the pyramids of
Joseph’s granaries.
Giza in particular, on history. He
also tried to put the extraordinary
age of the pyramids into perspective: “When Moses was alive, these
pyramids were a thousand years old. Here began the history of architec-
ture. Here people learned to measure time by a calendar, to plot the stars
by astronomy and chart the earth by geometry. And here they developed
that most awesome of all ideas—the idea of eternity.”4
10
