Egyptian pyramids
The earliest known Egyptian pyramids stand at Saqqara, west of Memphis. Step-pyramid-like structures like Mastaba 3808 attributed to pharaoh Anedjib may predate the Pyramid of Djoser built during the Third Dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding complex are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry. The first historically documented Egyptian pyramid is attributed by Egyptologists to the 3rd Dynasty pharaoh Djoser. Although Egyptologists often credit his vizier Imhotep as its architect, the dynastic Egyptians themselves did not credit him with either designing Djoser's pyramid or the invention of stone architecture. The Pyramid of Djoser was first built as a square mastaba-like structure which was expanded several times by way of a series of accretion layers to produce the stepped pyramid structure we see today. Egyptologists believe this design served as a gigantic stairway by which the soul of the deceased pharaoh could ascend to the heavens. Though other pyramids were attempted in the 3rd Dynasty after Djoser it was the 4th Dynasty transitioning from the step pyramid to true pyramid shape that gave rise to the great pyramids of Meidum Dahshur and Giza. The last pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty Shepseskaf did not build a pyramid and beginning in the 5th Dynasty for various reasons the massive scale and precision of construction decreased significantly leaving these later pyramids smaller less well-built and often hastily constructed. By the end of the 6th Dynasty pyramid building had largely ended and it was not until the Middle Kingdom that large pyramids were built again though instead of stone mudbrick was the main construction material.
Recent archeological research at Giza suggests that Fourth Dynasty pyramid construction was heavily dependent on Nile-based transport. Sediment cores show evidence of a Nile-connected harbor functioning along the Giza plateau during Khufu's reign. Researchers argue this port system helped large scale movement of limestone blocks and other materials highlighting the importance of waterways in Old Kingdom building strategies. Constructing the pyramids involved moving huge quantities of stone while most blocks came from nearby quarries special stones were transported on great barges from distant locations for instance white limestone from Tura and granite from Aswan. In 2013 papyri named Diary of Merer were discovered at an ancient Egyptian harbor at the Red Sea coast. They are logbooks written over 4,500 years ago by an official with the title inspector who documented the transport of white limestone from the Tura quarries along the Nile River to the Great Pyramid of Giza the tomb of the Pharaoh Khufu. It is possible that quarried blocks were then transported to the construction site by wooden sleds with sand in front of the sled wetted to reduce friction. Droplets of water created bridges between the grains of sand helping them stick together. Workers cut the stones close to the construction site as indicated by the numerous finds of cutting tools. The finished blocks were placed on the pre-prepared foundations which were levelled using a rough square level water trenches and experienced surveyors.
The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. The shape of a pyramid is also thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun and most pyramids were faced with polished highly reflective white limestone in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a distance. Pyramids were often also named in ways that referred to solar luminescence for example the formal name of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur was The Southern Shining Pyramid and that of Senusret II at El Lahun was Senusret Shines. While it is generally agreed that pyramids were burial monuments there is continued disagreement on the particular theological principles that might have given rise to them. One suggestion is that they were designed as a type of resurrection machine. The Egyptians believed the dark area of the night sky around which the stars appear to revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens. One of the narrow shafts that extend from the main burial chamber through the entire body of the Great Pyramid points directly towards the center of this part of the sky. This suggests the pyramid may have been designed to serve as a means to magically launch the deceased pharaoh's soul directly into the abode of the gods. All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile which as the site of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology.
The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza on the outskirts of Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures ever built. The Pyramid of Khufu is the largest Egyptian pyramid and the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence despite being the oldest by about 2,000 years. Abu Rawash is the site of Egypt's most northerly pyramid other than the ruins of Lepsius pyramid number one the mostly ruined Pyramid of Djedefre son and successor of Khufu. Originally it was thought that this pyramid had never been completed but the current archaeological consensus is that not only was it completed but that it was originally about the same size as the Pyramid of Menkaure which would have placed it among the half-dozen or so largest pyramids in Egypt. Saqqara contains major pyramids including the Pyramid of Djoser generally identified as the world's oldest substantial monumental structure to be built of dressed stone the Pyramid of Userkaf the Pyramid of Teti and the Pyramid of Merikare dating to the First Intermediate Period of Egypt. Dahshur is arguably the most important pyramid field in Egypt outside Giza and Saqqara although until 1996 the site was inaccessible due to its location within a military base and was relatively unknown outside archaeological circles.
Long after the end of Egypt's own pyramid-building period a burst of pyramid-building occurred in what is present-day Sudan after much of Egypt came under the rule of the Kingdom of Kush which was then based at Napata. Napatan rule known as the 25th Dynasty lasted from 750 BCE to 664 BCE. The Meroitic period of Kushite history when the kingdom was centered on Meroe approximately in the period between 300 BCE and 300 CE experienced a full-blown pyramid-building revival which saw about 180 Egyptian-inspired indigenous royal pyramid-tombs constructed in the vicinity of the kingdom's capital cities. Piye the king of Kush who became the first ruler of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty built a pyramid at El-Kurru. He was the first Egyptian pharaoh to be buried in a pyramid in centuries. Taharqa a Kushite ruler of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty built his pyramid at Nuri. It was the largest in the area North Sudan. At least 80 pyramids were built within the Kingdom of Kush now located in the modern country of Sudan.
In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius produced the first modern list of pyramids now known as the Lepsius list of pyramids in which he counted 67. A great many more have since been discovered. At least 118 Egyptian pyramids have been identified. The location of Pyramid 29 which Lepsius called the Headless Pyramid was lost for a second time when the structure was buried by desert sands after Lepsius's survey. It was found again only during an archaeological dig conducted in 2008. Many pyramids are in a poor state of preservation or buried by desert sands. If visible at all they may appear as little more than mounds of rubble. As a consequence archaeologists are continuing to identify and study previously unknown pyramid structures. The most recent pyramid to be discovered was that of Neith a wife of Teti. Al-Aziz Uthman 1171, 1198 the second Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt tried to destroy the Giza pyramid complex. He gave up after only damaging the Pyramid of Menkaure because the task proved too large. Today it is the only one of those wonders still in existence.
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Common questions
What is the earliest known Egyptian pyramid and where is it located?
The earliest known Egyptian pyramids stand at Saqqara west of Memphis. Step-pyramid-like structures like Mastaba 3808 attributed to pharaoh Anedjib may predate the Pyramid of Djoser built during the Third Dynasty.
Who designed the Pyramid of Djoser and when was it constructed?
Egyptologists attribute the first historically documented Egyptian pyramid to the 3rd Dynasty pharaoh Djoser. Although Egyptologists often credit his vizier Imhotep as its architect, the dynastic Egyptians themselves did not credit him with either designing Djoser's pyramid or the invention of stone architecture.
How were materials transported to build the Great Pyramid of Giza?
Recent archeological research suggests Fourth Dynasty pyramid construction was heavily dependent on Nile-based transport. Sediment cores show evidence of a Nile-connected harbor functioning along the Giza plateau during Khufu's reign that helped large scale movement of limestone blocks and other materials.
Why are all Egyptian pyramids built on the west bank of the Nile?
All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile which as the site of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology. The shape of a pyramid is also thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun and most pyramids were faced with polished highly reflective white limestone.
When did pyramid building resume in Sudan after Egypt stopped constructing them?
A burst of pyramid-building occurred in what is present-day Sudan after much of Egypt came under the rule of the Kingdom of Kush which was then based at Napata. Napatan rule known as the 25th Dynasty lasted from 750 BCE to 664 BCE and the Meroitic period experienced a full-blown pyramid-building revival between 300 BCE and 300 CE.