in which period of egyptian history were the pyramids built
Egyptian pyramids


The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt. As of November 2008, sources cite either 118 or 138 as the number of identified Egyptian pyramids. Most were built as tombs for the country's pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Saqqara, northwest of Memphis. The earliest among these is the Pyramid of Djoser, which was built  2630–2610 BC during the Third Dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding complex were designed by the architect Imhotep
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Pyramid of Cestius


pyramids of the Nubian type were favoured by the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt that had been brought to an end in the Roman conquest of 30 BC. The pyramid was, in any case, built during a period when Rome was going through a fad for all things Egyptian. The Circus Maximus was adorned by Augustus with an Egyptian obelisk, and pyramids were built elsewhere in the Roman Empire around this time; the Falicon pyramid near Nice in France was suspected by some to have been constructed by Roman legionaries who followed an Egyptian cult
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Egyptian pyramid construction techniques


would have also been built during this time frame of 100 years. In the hundred years prior to Giza—beginning with Djoser, who ruled from 2687–2667 BC, and amongst dozens of other temples, smaller pyramids, and general construction projects—four other massive pyramids were built: the Step pyramid of Saqqara (believed to be the first Egyptian pyramid), the pyramid of Meidum, the Bent Pyramid, and the Red Pyramid. Also during this period (between 2686 and 2498 BC) the Sadd el-Kafara dam,
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Egyptian pyramids


, and are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry. 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 at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence. By the time of the Early Dynastic Period, those with sufficient means were buried in bench-like structures known as
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Egyptian pyramids


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, and during that time Egyptian culture made an indelible impression on the Kushites. The Meroitic period of Kushite history, when the kingdom was centered on Meroë, (approximately in the period between 300 BCE
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Saqqara


complete stone building complex known in history was built: Djoser's step pyramid, built during the Third Dynasty. Another 16 Egyptian kings built pyramids at Saqqara, which are now in various states of preservation or dilapidation. High officials added private funeral monuments to this necropolis during the entire pharaonic period. It remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years, well into Ptolemaic and Roman times. North of the area known as Saqqara lies Abusir; south lies Dahshur. The area running from
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Step pyramid


the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, the Egyptians began to build "true pyramids" with smooth sides. The earliest of these pyramids, located at Meidum, began as a step pyramid built for Sneferu. Sneferu later made other pyramids, the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid at Dahshur, which were the first true pyramids to be built as such from the beginning. With this innovation, the age of Egyptian stepped pyramids came to an end. One of the unique structures of Igboland was the Nsude Pyramids, at the Nigerian town of
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Egyptian astronomy


appearances of stars at dawn, were of special interest in determining when this might occur, and it is no surprise that the 365-day period of the Egyptian calendar was already in use at the beginning of Egyptian history. The constellation system used among the Egyptians also appears to have been essentially of native origin. The precise orientation of the Egyptian pyramids serves as a lasting demonstration of the high degree of technical skill in watching the heavens attained in the 3rd millennium BCE. It has been shown the pyramids were aligned towards the pole star
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Pyramidology


of pseudoarcheological claims on the ancient Egyptian pyramids as follows: "...in the 1880s, Ignatius Donnelly had suggested that the Great Pyramid had been built by the descendants of the Atlanteans. That idea was picked up in the 1920s by Manly Palmer Hall who went on to suggest that they were the focus of the ancient Egyptian wisdom schools. Edgar Cayce built upon Hall's speculations." Ignatius Donnelly and later proponents of the hyperdiffusionist view of history claimed that all pyramid structures across the world had a common origin. Donnelly claimed this
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Egyptian pyramids


" pyramid by having its steps filled in with loose masonry. Major pyramids located here include 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. Also at Saqqara is the Pyramid of Unas, which retains a pyramid causeway that is one of the best-preserved in Egypt. Together with the pyramid of Userkaf, this pyramid was the subject
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Erich von Däniken


pyramids, even though there are pyramids in Egypt that were built before the Great Pyramid. Because he believed that there was no prehistory, von Däniken put forward that there is nothing known about how, when, or why these pyramids were built. Von Däniken also claims that Egyptians built perfect pyramids from the beginning, but numerous pyramid precursors survive, showing the errors made, and corrected, by Egyptian architects while they were perfecting the technique. These include simple mastabas, the Step Pyramid of Djoser, and the so-called
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Egyptian pyramids


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. 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. As of
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History of Egypt


pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. A unified kingdom was founded 3150 BC by King Menes, leading to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period ("c". 2700–2200 BC), which constructed many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza
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Egyptian temple


each pyramid complex was a town that supplied its needs, as towns would support temples throughout Egyptian history. Other changes came in the reign of Sneferu who, beginning with his first pyramid at Meidum, built pyramid complexes symmetrically along an east-west axis, with a valley temple on the banks of the Nile linked to a pyramid temple at the foot of the pyramid. Sneferu's immediate successors followed this pattern, but beginning in the late Old Kingdom, pyramid complexes combined different elements from the axial plan and from the rectangular
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Pyramid


However the later temples built in Java were influenced by Indian Hindu architecture, as displayed by the towering spires of Prambanan temple. In the 15th century Java during late Majapahit period saw the revival of Austronesian indigenous elements as displayed by Sukuh temple that somewhat resemble Mesoamerican pyramid, and also stepped pyramids of Mount Penanggungan. Andean cultures had used pyramids in various architectural structures such as the ones in Caral, Túcume and Chavín de Huantar. With the Egyptian Revival movement in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, pyramids were becoming more common in
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Ancient Egyptian architecture


"Great Pyramid" and the "Pyramid of Cheops"), the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Kephren/Chefren), and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinus/Mycerinus), along with a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as "queens" pyramids, the Great Sphinx as well as a few hundred mastabas, and chapels. The pyramids, which were built in the Fourth Dynasty, testify to the power of the pharaonic religion and state. They were built to serve both
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Egyptian pyramids


Such was the importance of Imhotep's achievement that he was deified by later Egyptians. The most prolific pyramid-building phase coincided with the greatest degree of absolutist rule. It was during this time of the Old Kingdom of Egypt that the most famous pyramids, the Giza pyramid complex, were built. Over time, as authority became less centralized, the ability and willingness to harness the resources required for construction on this massive scale decreased, and later pyramids were smaller, less well-built and often hastily constructed. Long after
14873193
History of science and technology in Africa


circle located in the Nabta Playa basin may be one of the world's oldest known archeoastronomical devices. Built by the ancient Nubians about 4800 BCE, the device may have approximately marked the summer solstice. Since the first modern measurements of the precise cardinal orientations of the Egyptian pyramids were taken by Flinders Petrie, various astronomical methods have been proposed as to how these orientations were originally established. Ancient Egyptians may have observed, for example, the positions of two stars in the Plough / Big Dipper which was known to Egyptians as the
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Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs


evolved, becoming more complex and extensive in nature. The Pyramid Texts were the first religious spells to be carved into the walls of royal ancient Egyptian pyramids. Beginning in the Old Kingdom period, these texts were used exclusively by the Egyptian pharaohs to decorate the walls of their tombs. However, Egyptian Queens and high-ranking government officials soon began to use Pyramid Texts in their burial tombs as well. The purpose of these texts were to help the pharaoh successfully complete his journey through the afterlife, by conveying knowledge to the
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Egyptian pyramids


limestone. The three major pyramids are those of Niuserre, which is also the best preserved, Neferirkare Kakai and Sahure. The site is also home to the incomplete Pyramid of Neferefre. Most of the major pyramids at Abusir were built using similar construction techniques, comprising a rubble core surrounded by steps of mud bricks with a limestone outer casing. The largest of these Fifth Dynasty pyramids, the Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai, is believed to have been built originally as a step pyramid some high and then later transformed into a "true
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Pyramidology


Great Pyramid has advanced numerological properties which could not have been known to the ancient Egyptians and so must have been passed down by extraterrestrials: "...the height of the pyramid of Cheops, multiplied by a thousand million—98,000,000 miles—corresponds approximately to the distance between the Earth and the sun". Robert Bauval and Graham Hancock (1996) have both suggested that the 'ground plan' of the three main Egyptian pyramids was physically established in c. 10,500 BC, but that the pyramids were built around 2,500 BC. This theory was
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History of technology


from the Bronze Age were expanded and enlarged. The pace of land clearance using the more effective iron axes increased, providing more farmland to support the growing population. The Egyptians, known for building pyramids centuries before the creation of modern tools, invented and used many simple machines, such as the ramp to aid construction processes. Historians and archaeologists have found evidence that the pyramids were built using three of what is called the Six Simple Machines, from which all machines are based. These machines are the inclined plane, the wedge
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Ancient Egyptian technology


the world with its architectural monuments, which include the pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx—among the largest and most famous buildings in the world. The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids—huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the largest constructions by humans. Pyramids functioned as tombs for pharaohs. In Ancient Egypt, a pyramid was referred to as "mer", literally "place of ascendance." The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest
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Great Pyramid of Giza


one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "satellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small mastaba tombs for nobles surrounding the pyramid. Egyptologists believe the pyramid was built as a tomb for the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu (often Hellenized as "Cheops") and was constructed over a 20-year period. Khufu's vizier, Hemiunu (also called Hemon), is believed by some to be the architect of the Great
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Pyramid Texts


The Pyramid Texts are the oldest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts dating to the Old Kingdom. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterranean walls and sarcophagi of pyramids at Saqqara from the end of the Fifth Dynasty, and throughout the Sixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, and into the Eighth Dynasty of the First Intermediate Period. The oldest of the texts have been dated to c. 2400–2300 BC. Unlike the later Coffin Texts and Book of the Dead, the pyramid texts were reserved only for the
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Ancient Egyptian architecture


Spanning over two thousand years in total, what is called ancient Egypt was not one stable civilization, but instead a civilization in constant change and upheaval commonly split into periods by historians. Likewise, ancient Egyptian architecture is not one style, but a set of styles with commonalities used during each period of ancient Egyptian history. The most well known example of ancient Egyptian architecture are the Egyptian pyramids; yet, excavated temples, palaces, tombs and fortresses have all been studied by architects. Due to location, most ancient Egyptian buildings
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Pyramid of Reherishefnakht


The Pyramid of Reherishefnakht is the tomb of the ancient Egyptian official Reherishefnakht. It is located in south Saqqara and was built right next to the Pyramid of the 6th Dynasty Pharaoh Pepi I. Reherishefnakht's pyramid however was probably built at the end of the 11th Dynasty or the beginning of the 12th Dynasty. It is the oldest Egyptian pyramid built for a person who was not a member of the royal family. The pyramid was discovered a few years before it was first excavated by Audran Labrousse and the "Mission Archéologique Française de Saqqâra
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Egypt


Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old Kingdom period, c. 2700–2200 BCE, which constructed many pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza pyramids. The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilisation of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom
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History of science and technology in Africa


Maghreb and al-Andalus. The Egyptian step pyramid built at Saqqara is the oldest major stone building in the world. The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. The earliest style of Nubian architecture included the speos, structures carved out of solid rock, an A-Group (3700–3250 BCE) achievement. Egyptians made extensive use of the process at Speos Artemidos and Abu Simbel. Sudan, site of ancient Nubia, has more pyramids than anywhere in the world, even more
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Nubian pyramids


Meroitic period, over forty queens and kings were buried there. Between 2009 and 2012 the new group of pyramids was discovered near the village Sedeinga. The physical proportions of Nubian pyramids differ markedly from the Egyptian edifices: they are built of stepped courses of horizontally positioned stone blocks and range approximately in height, but rise from fairly small foundation footprints that rarely exceed in width, resulting in tall, narrow structures inclined at approximately 70°. Most also have offering temple structures abutting their base with unique Kushite characteristics. By comparison,
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Pyramid of Pepi I


The Pyramid of Pepi I (in ancient Egyptian Men-nefer-Pepi meaning Pepi's splendour is enduring) is the pyramid complex built for the Egyptian pharaoh Pepi I of the Sixth Dynasty in the 24th or 23rd century BC. The complex gave it's name to the capital city of Egypt, Memphis. As in the pyramids of his predecessor's, Pepi I's substructure was filled with vertical columns of hieroglyphic texts, Pyramid Texts. It was in Pepi I's pyramid that these texts were initially discovered in 1880 by
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Egyptian pyramids


and most successful – of the three pyramids constructed during the reign of Sneferu; the Red Pyramid is the world's first successfully completed smooth-sided pyramid. The structure is also the third largest pyramid in Egypt – after the pyramids of Khufu and Khafra at Giza. Also at Dahshur is one of two pyramids built by Amenemhat III, known as the Black Pyramid, as well as a number of small, mostly ruined subsidiary pyramids. Located to the south of Dahshur, several mudbrick pyramids were built in this area in the
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Old Kingdom of Egypt


In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2686–2181 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid builders of the Fourth Dynasty— among them King Sneferu, who perfected the art of pyramid-building, and the kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, who constructed the pyramids at Giza. Egypt attained its first sustained peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom—the first of three
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Egyptian pyramid construction techniques


built of sloping courses while in its upper section the stones are laid horizontally. During the Middle Kingdom, pyramid construction techniques changed again. Most pyramids built then were little more than mountains of mud brick encased in a veneer of polished limestone. In several cases, later pyramids were built on top of natural hills to further reduce the volume of material needed in their construction. The materials and methods of construction used in the earliest pyramids have ensured their survival in a generally much better state of preservation than for the pyramid monuments of
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Egyptian temple


the age, and several Old Kingdom pharaohs built large sun temples in his honor near their pyramids. Meanwhile, the small provincial temples retained a variety of local styles from Predynastic times, unaffected by the royal cult sites. The expansion of funerary monuments began in the reign of Djoser, who built his complex entirely of stone and placed in the enclosure a step pyramid under which he was buried: the Pyramid of Djoser. For the rest of the Old Kingdom, tomb and temple were joined in elaborate stone pyramid complexes. Near
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Egyptian pyramids


-high natural limestone hill. Piye, the king of Kush who became the first ruler of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, 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). The following table lays out the chronology of the construction of most of the major pyramids mentioned here. Each pyramid
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Pyramid of Sahure


The Pyramid of Sahure (in ancient Egyptian Kha-ba Sahura meaning The rising of the "ba" spirit of Sahure) was built in the 24th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Sahure, the second king of the Fifth Dynasty. It the first pyramid built in the necropolis of Abusir, Egypt. Sahure's pyramid is part of a larger mortuary complex comprising a temple on the shores of Abusir lake, a causeway from this temple to the mortuary temple located against the main pyramid and a separate cult pyramid for the Ka
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Northern Mazghuna pyramid


The Northern Mazghuna Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian royal tomb which was built during the 12th or 13th Dynasty in Mazghuna, 5 km south of Dahshur. The building remained unfinished, and it is still unknown which pharaoh was really intended to be buried here since no appropriate inscription has been found.br The pyramid was rediscovered in 1910 by Ernest Mackay and excavated in the following year by Flinders Petrie. When the two Mazghuna pyramids were rediscovered, scholars noticed many structural similarities between those two and Amenemhat III's pyramid at Hawara; for this reason
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Pyramidology


mathematician, astronomer and antiquarian, first took precise measurements of the Great Pyramid at Giza using the best mathematical instruments of the day. His data was published in "Pyramidographia" (1646) which theorized a geometric cubit was used by the builders of the Great Pyramid (see: Egyptian royal cubit). While Greave's measurements were objective, his metrological data was later misused by numerologists: In his work "The great pyramid; why was it built: & who built it?" (1859) John Taylor described a
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Pyramidion


A pyramidion (plural: pyramidia) is the uppermost piece or capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or obelisk, in archaeological parlance. Speakers of the Ancient Egyptian language referred to pyramidia as "benbenet" and associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred benben stone. During Egypt's Old Kingdom, pyramidia were generally made of diorite, granite, or fine limestone, then covered in gold or electrum; during the Middle Kingdom and through the end of the pyramid-building era, they were built from granite. A pyramidion was
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The Indestructibles


pharaoh and his family could ascend to heaven. As Pharaohs were buried in pyramids there were implications for their afterlife and their immortality and consequently the structures were deliberately aligned astronomically. Believing that their kings became stars in the Northern sky after death, Egyptians aligned their pyramids and temples due north toward the "indestructible" stars, giving the departed pharaohs direct access to the northern sky. As the Egyptians believed that the unmovable area the stars circled was heaven, the pyramids were built to align north with a single, perfectly aligned vent
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Khufu


"only tells fairy tales and entertaining fiction". Diodorus claims that the Egyptians of his lifetime were unable to tell him with certainty who actually built the pyramids. He also states that he didn't really trust the interpreters and that the true builder might have been someone different: the Khufu pyramid was -according to him- built by a king named "Harmais", the Khafre pyramid was thought to be built by king Amasis II and the Menkaura pyramid was allegedly the work of king Inaros I. Diodorus states that the Khufu pyramid was
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Pyramid of Senusret I


seen in an Egyptian pyramid; four stone walls radiated from the center built of rough-hewn blocks that decreased in size the higher their placement. The eight sections formed by these walls were then subdivided by three more walls, splitting the pyramid into 32 different units which were then filled with slabs of stone as well as debris. An exoskeleton of fine limestone then covered the structure.[1] This new method of construction was not particularly efficient, however, and the completed pyramid suffered from stability problems. Unusually, clear evidence for the
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Beni Suef


revolution by the Egyptians led by Saad Zaghloul, locals of the city cut nearby railway lines, resulting in the deaths of a few British soldiers. The city annually holds March 15 in high regards, as a great honor to its citizens. Beni Suef is a historical site occupied during all eras of Egyptian history. The Medom pyramid - the second-oldest pyramid was built here by "King Hony", the last king of the third family. Construction was completed by his son King Senefro, the first king of the
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Lisht


to 1934 the Egyptian Expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, continued to work on el-Lisht. In this time period Egyptologists were able to excavate for fourteen seasons. The Metropolitan Museum of Art returned to el-Lisht between 1984 and 1991. The pyramid of Amenemhet I was about 55 meters tall when originally built but because of poor construction, quarrying and tomb robberies, it now stands at approximately 20m in height. Apart from poor construction, the material used to build the pyramid was not durable
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Pyramid


While pyramids are associated with Egypt, the nation of Sudan has 220 extant pyramids, the most numerous in the world. Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 240 of them) at three sites in Sudan to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë. The pyramids of Kush, also known as Nubian Pyramids, have different characteristics than the pyramids of Egypt. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a steeper angle than Egyptian ones. Pyramids were still being built in Sudan as late as 200 AD. One of
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Egyptians


living personification of Horus, could claim the throne after burying his predecessor, who was typically his father. When the role of the king waned, the country became more susceptible to foreign influence and invasion. The attention paid to the dead, and the veneration with which they were held, were one of the hallmarks of ancient Egyptian society. Egyptians built tombs for their dead that were meant to last for eternity. This was most prominently expressed by the Great Pyramids. The ancient Egyptian word for tomb " means 'House of
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Tora, Egypt


and whitest of all the Egyptian quarries, so it was used for facing stones for the richest tombs, as well as for the floors and ceilings of mastabas which were otherwise made of mudbrick. It was used during the Old Kingdom and was the source of the limestone used for the "Rhomboidal Pyramid" or Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the sarcophagi of many old kingdom nobles, the pyramids of the Middle Kingdom, and certain temples of the New Kingdom built by at least Ahmose I, who
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Monolith of Silwan


The Monolith of Silwan, also known as the Tomb of Pharaoh's Daughter, is a cuboid rock-cut tomb located in Silwan, Jerusalem dating from the period of the Kingdom of Judah; the latter name refers to a 19th-century hypothesis that the tomb was built by Solomon for his Egyptian wife. The structure, a typical Israelite rock-cut tomb, was previously capped by a pyramid structure like the Tomb of Zechariah. It is one of the more complete and distinctive First Temple-period structures. The pyramidal
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Ancient Egyptian solar ships


Several Ancient Egyptian solar ships and boat pits were found in many Ancient Egyptian sites. The most famous is the Khufu ship now preserved in the Giza Solar boat museum beside the Great pyramid at Giza. The full-sized ships or boats were buried near Ancient Egyptians' Pyramids or Temples at many sites. The history and function of the ships are not precisely known. They might be of the type known as a "solar barge", a ritual vessel to carry the resurrected king with the sun god Ra across the heavens
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Slavery in ancient Egypt


or Noble. Many slaves who worked for temple estates lived under punitive conditions, but on average the Ancient Egyptian slave led a life similar to a serf. They were capable of negotiating transactions and owning personal property. Chattel and debt slaves were given food but probably not given wages. There is a consensus among Egyptologists that the Great Pyramids were not built by slaves. Rather, it was peasants who built the pyramids during flooding, when they could not work in their lands. Egyptian slaves, specifically during the New Kingdom era
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Pyramid of Nyuserre


The Pyramid of Nyuserre (in ancient Egyptian Men-sut Ni-user-re (Enduring are the places of Nyuserre)) is a mid 25th century BC pyramid complex built for the Egyptian pharaoh Nyuserre Ini of the Fifth Dynasty. During his reign, Nyuserre had the unfinished monuments of his father, Neferirkare Kakai, mother, Khentkaus II, and brother, Neferefre, completed. He then commenced work on his personal pyramid complex. He chose a site in the Abusir necropolis between the complexes of Neferirkare and Sahure, which
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Egyptian temple


of the outlying buildings in temple enclosures remained brick-built throughout Egyptian history. The main stones used in temple construction were limestone and sandstone, which are common in Egypt; stones that are harder and more difficult to carve, such as granite, were used in smaller amounts for individual elements like obelisks. The stone might be quarried nearby or shipped on the Nile from quarries elsewhere. Temple structures were built on foundations of stone slabs set into sand-filled trenches. In most periods, walls and other structures were built with
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Pyramid of Pepi II


was built on top of the one below. Once the six steps were completed, a second layer of limestone masonry filled in the gaps between the steps. This was itself covered by a cladding of fine limestone from Tura, which was partially preserved around the base of the pyramid. The pyramid was a little over fifty two metres high and each side was over seventy eight metres long. This corresponds to a hundred Egyptian cubits in height and a hundred and fifty cubits in length. On the north side of the pyramid there
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Pyramid power


dowsing pendulum: I have supposed that Egyptians were already very good dowsers and had oriented their pyramid by means of rod and pendulum. Being unable to go there to experiment and verify the radiations of the Keops Pyramid, I have built with cardboard some pyramids that you can see now, and I was astonished when, having built a regular pyramid and oriented it, I found the positive at the East, the negative at the West, and at the North and the South, dual-positive and dual-negative... A
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Egyptology


the 3rd century BC. The Ptolemies were very interested in the work of the ancient Egyptians, and many of the Egyptian monuments, including the pyramids, were restored by them. The Ptolemies also built many new temples in the Egyptian style. The Romans also carried out restoration work in Egypt. Throughout the Middle Ages travelers on a pilgrimages to the Holy Land would occasionally detour to visit sites in Egypt. Destinations would include Cairo and its environs, where the Holy Family was thought to have fled, and the great Pyramids,
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Ancient Egyptian religion


, and his cult center in the Upper Egyptian city of Nekhen was among the most important religious sites of the period. Another important center was Abydos, where the early rulers built large funerary complexes. During the Old Kingdom, the priesthoods of the major deities attempted to organize the complicated national pantheon into groups linked by their mythology and worshipped in a single cult center, such as the Ennead of Heliopolis which linked important deities such as Atum, Ra, Osiris, and Set in a single creation myth. Meanwhile, pyramids,
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The Indestructibles


. In King Khufu's Pyramid, the shaft itself, built into the structure, started at the chamber of King Khufu and ends at the outside. The shaft was built at an angle, so it could always sight The Indestructibles. The Egyptians built this vent in the pyramids in order to ensure a perfectly aligned path towards heaven (although recent researches have shown them not to be completely perfect). Hancock and Bauval claim these inaccuracies mean that the Great Pyramid and by extension the Sphinx were built "c". 10,500
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Golden ratio


the only right triangle known to the Egyptians and they did not know the Pythagorean theorem, nor any way to reason about irrationals such as or . Example geometric problems of pyramid design in the Rhind papyrus correspond to various rational slopes. Michael Rice asserts that principal authorities on the history of Egyptian architecture have argued that the Egyptians were well acquainted with the golden ratio and that it is part of the mathematics of the pyramids, citing Giedon (1957). Historians of science have long debated whether the Egyptians had any such knowledge,
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Egyptian astronomy


Egyptian astronomy begins in prehistoric times, in the Predynastic Period. In the 5th millennium BCE, the stone circles at Nabta Playa may have made use of astronomical alignments. By the time the historical Dynastic Period began in the 3rd millennium BCE, the 365-day period of the Egyptian calendar was already in use, and the observation of stars was important in determining the annual flooding of the Nile. The Egyptian pyramids were carefully aligned towards the pole star, and the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak was aligned on the rising of
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Memphite Necropolis


The Memphite Necropolis is an ancient Egyptian necropolis located in the city of Memphis, Lower Egypt. It includes the sites of Giza, Saqqara and Dahshur. Most of the pyramids of the Old Kingdom were built here, along with many mastabas and other tombs. Saqqara is the site of the first Egyptian pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser. The size of the necropolis is 2.5 by 6 kilometres, located about 30 kilometres south of Cairo. Burials in the necropolis include the Apis bulls, falcons, ibises, baboons, and boats
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Pyramid of Unas


The Pyramid of Unas (in ancient Egyptian Nefer asut Unas meaning Beautiful are the places of Unas) is a smooth-sided pyramid built in the 24th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Unas, the ninth and final king of the Fifth Dynasty. It is the smallest Old Kingdom pyramid, but significant due to the discovery of Pyramid Texts, spells for the king's afterlife incised into the walls of its subterranean chambers. Inscribed for the first time in Unas's pyramid, the tradition of funerary texts carried on in the pyramids
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House of Eternity (Ancient Egypt)


, from stone slabs or were rock-cut tombs. The mastaba is a type of tomb structure named after the Egyptian-Arabic word for 'stone bench'. Concerning art history, mastabas are part of an evolutionary line that began with the tombs of the elite from the early dynastic period, which lead to the construction of pyramids within royal contexts; and ended at the end of the twelfth dynasty in private contexts. The funeral took place under the building, in a chamber at the end of a shaft. The
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Egyptian pyramids


. This area 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. The southern Pyramid of Sneferu, commonly known as the Bent Pyramid, is believed to be the first Egyptian pyramid intended by its builders to be a "true" smooth-sided pyramid from the outset; the earlier pyramid at Meidum had smooth sides in its finished state – but it was conceived and built as a
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Khufu


However, modern Egyptologists question whether Khufu was still personally adored as a royal ancestor at this time; they think it more likely that Khufu was already seen as a mere symbolic foundation figure for the history of the Isis temple. The later Egyptian historian Manetho called Khufu "Sûphis" and credited him with a rulership of 63 years. He also mentions that Khufu built the Great Pyramid, then he claims that his contemporary Herodotus says that the pyramid was built by a king "Khéops". Obviously, Manetho thought "Khéops"
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Giza


single entity; the structure may be similar to that of 23 wards of Tokyo in that all local units are simply subordinate to the Prefecture of Tokyo without any intermediate municipal structure. Notes: Giza's most famous landform and archaeological site, the Giza Plateau, holds some major monuments of Egyptian history, and is home to the Great Sphinx. Once thriving with the Nile that flowed right into the Giza Plateau, the pyramids of Giza were built overlooking the ancient Egyptian capital city of Memphis, across the river from modern day Cairo
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Lisht


Lisht or el-Lisht () is an Egyptian village located south of Cairo. It is the site of Middle Kingdom royal and elite burials, including two pyramids built by Amenemhat I and Senusret I. The two main pyramids were surrounded by smaller pyramids of members of the royal family, and many mastaba tombs of high officials and their family members. They were constructed throughout the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties. The site is also known for the tomb of Senebtisi, found undisturbed and from which a set of jewelry has been recovered.
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Ancient Egyptian funerary practices


roomed, rock-cut tombs in the Valley of the Kings and no longer in pyramids. Priests conducted funerary rituals for them in stone temples built on the west bank of the Nile opposite of Thebes. From the current evidence, the Eighteenth Dynasty appears to be the last period in which Egyptians regularly included multiple objects from their daily lives in their tombs; beginning in the Nineteenth Dynasty, tombs contained fewer items from daily life and included objects made especially for the next world. Thus the change from the Eighteenth to the Nineteenth
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Egyptian Revival architecture in the British Isles


for safety reasons leaving just the base. Egyptian features can still be discerned in the ruins of the monument with the Pylon doors and the Hieroglyphic characters on the stonework. Stone pyramids were occasionally used as funerary Mausoleum from the late 17th century onwards. The inspiration is likely to have been a pyramid built in Rome, about 18–12 BC, as a tomb for Gaius Cestius, a magistrate and member of the Septemviri Epulonum. This was well known from the mid-18th century engraving of the pyramid by Piranesi's. The earliest example in
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Pyramid


circa 221 BC, who unified the 7 pre-Imperial Kingdoms) was buried under a large mound outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries about a dozen more Han Dynasty royals were also buried under flat-topped pyramidal earthworks. A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. Constructed from
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Ancient Egyptian funerary practices


afterlife. During the Old Kingdom, only the pharaoh had access to this material, which scholars refer to as the "Pyramid Texts". The Pyramid Texts are a collection of spells to assure the royal resurrection and protect the pharaoh from various malignant influences. The Pharaoh Unas was the first to use this collection of spells, as he and a few subsequent pharaohs had them carved on the walls of their pyramids. These texts were individually chosen from a larger bank of spells. In the First Intermediate Period and in the Middle
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Ancient Egyptian technology


. An inclined plane is one of the commonly-recognized simple machines. Maureen Clemmons subsequently led a team of researchers demonstrating a kite made of natural material and reinforced with shellac (which according to their research pulled with 97% the efficiency of nylon), in a 9 mph wind, would easily pull an average 2-ton pyramid stone up the 1st two courses of a pyramid (in collaboration with Cal Poly, Pomona, on a 53-stone pyramid built in Rosamond, CA). The Ancient Egyptians had knowledge to some extent of
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Funerary art


(much later, from about 1500 BCE) the tombs in the Valley of the Kings were built for royalty and the elite. The Theban Necropolis was later an important site for mortuary temples and mastaba tombs. The Kushite kings who conquered Egypt and ruled as pharaohs during the Twenty-fifth dynasty were greatly influenced by Egyptian funerary customs, employing mummification, canopic jars and "ushabti" funerary figurines. They also built the Nubian pyramids, which in both size and design more closely resemble the smaller Seventeenth dynasty pyramids at Thebes than
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History of mathematics


It also shows how to solve first order linear equations as well as arithmetic and geometric series. Another significant Egyptian mathematical text is the Moscow papyrus, also from the Middle Kingdom period, dated to c. 1890 BC. It consists of what are today called "word problems" or "story problems", which were apparently intended as entertainment. One problem is considered to be of particular importance because it gives a method for finding the volume of a frustum (truncated pyramid). Finally, the Berlin Papyrus 6619 (c. 1800
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Step pyramid


Egyptian pyramids were step pyramids. During the Third Dynasty of Egypt, the architect Imhotep designed Egypt's first step pyramid as a tomb for the pharaoh, Djoser. This structure, the Pyramid of Djoser, was composed of a series of six successively smaller mastabas (an earlier form of tomb), one on top of another thus producing seven levels (including the rooftop) and four sides. Later pharaohs, including Sekhemkhet and Khaba, built similar structures, known as the Buried Pyramid and the Layer Pyramid, respectively. In
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Nubians


. Egyptian and Nubian deities alike were worshipped in Nubia for 2,500 years, even while Nubia was under the control of the New Kingdom of Egypt. Nubian kings and queens were buried near Gebel Barkal, in pyramids as the Egyptian pharaohs were. Nubian pyramids were built at Gebel Barkal, at Nuri (across the Nile from Gebel Barkal), at El Kerru, and at Merroe, south of Gebel Barkal. Modern Nubian architecture in Sudan is distinctive, and typically features a large courtyard surrounded by a high wall. A large
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Monks Mound


the Great Pyramid of Giza (13.1 acres / 5.3 hectares). The perimeter of its base is larger than the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan. As a platform mound, the earthwork supported a wooden structure on the summit. Unlike Egyptian pyramids which were built of stone, the platform mound was constructed almost entirely of layers of basket-transported soil and clay. Because of this construction and its flattened top, over the years, it has retained rainwater within the structure. This has caused slumping, the avalanche-like
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Giza


the ancient Egyptian language, and which was the capital city of the first unified Egyptian state from the days of the first pharaoh, Narmer. Giza is most famous as the location of the Giza Plateau: the site of some of the most impressive ancient monuments in the world, including a complex of ancient Egyptian royal mortuary and sacred structures, including the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and a number of other large pyramids and temples. Giza has always been a focal point in Egypt's history due to its
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Lepsius XXIV


The Lepsius XXIV Pyramid is an Egyptian pyramid, which was probably built for a wife of King Nyuserre Ini. The largely destroyed 5th Dynasty structure is located in the pyramid field of Abusir, east of the Pyramid of Neferefre and south of the Pyramid of Khentkaus II. On his (1842-1845), the German archaeologist Karl Richard Lepsius identified a small pyramid site and gave it the number XXIV (24) in his list of pyramids. Ludwig Borchardt, who explored the necropolis of Abusir six years later, considered the
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Obelisk


the ancient Egyptian pyramid and obelisk were derived from natural phenomena associated with the sun (the sun-god Ra being the Egyptians' greatest deity). The pyramid and obelisk's significance have been previously overlooked, especially the astronomical phenomena connected with sunrise and sunset: the zodiacal light and sun pillars respectively. Ancient Nubian kings of the twenty-fifth Dynasty sought to legitimize their rule over Egypt by constructing Egyptianizing monuments in the Middle Nile region. Historical sources mention that king Piye built at least one obelisk. The obelisk was made
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2018–19 Pyramids FC season


The 2018–19 Pyramids season is the 10th season in the football club's history and 2nd consecutive and 3rd overall season in the top flight of Egyptian football, the Egyptian Premier League, having been promoted from the Egyptian Second Division in 2017. It's also the 1st season for the club under their new name, after being sold to new owners and renamed from Al Assiouty Sport to Pyramids Football Club. In addition to the domestic league, Pyramids also are participating in this season's editions of the domestic cup, the Egypt Cup
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Bent Pyramid


The Bent Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located at the royal necropolis of Dahshur, approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo, built under the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Sneferu (c. 2600 BC). A unique example of early pyramid development in Egypt, this was the second pyramid built by Sneferu. The Bent Pyramid rises from the desert at a 54-degree inclination, but the top section (above 47 metres) is built at the shallower angle of 43 degrees, lending the pyramid its very obvious 'bent' appearance. Archaeologists now believe
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Southern South Saqqara pyramid


The Southern South Saqqara Pyramid (also Unfinished Pyramid at South Saqqara; Lepsius XLVI; SAK S 6) is an ancient Egyptian royal tomb which was built during the 13th Dynasty in South Saqqara, and is renowned for having the most elaborate hypogeum since the late 12th Dynasty pyramids. The building remained unfinished and is still unknown which pharaoh was really intended to be buried here since no appropriate inscription has been found. It is located southwest of the pyramid of Khendjer. The pyramid was rediscovered in the 1910–1911 expedition by Ernest Mackay and
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Pyramid of Athribis


The Pyramid of Athribis was a small mudbrick pyramid, which was located at Athribis (Tell Atrib) in the southern Nile Delta, northeast of the modern city of Banha. It was located the furthest north of all the pyramids in ancient Egypt and the only known pyramid to have been built in the Delta. The structure was first noted by scholarship during Napoleon's Egyptian Expedition (1798-1801). No real investigation was undertaken, however, aside from an engraving of the pyramid and a map of the ruins of Athribis
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Pharaoh (video game)


and deaths of notable leaders, and the founding and fall of ancient cities. The game features two modes of play - Campaign and Free-Build. In campaign mode, players focus on establishing cities during different periods of Ancient Egypt, initially working on nomad settlements, before being entrusted with building up trade centres, grand cities, tombs and pyramids, and fabulous monuments for various Ancient Egyptian leaders, earning promotions until they attain the rank of Pharaoh themselves. Players operate in five periods of Ancient Egyptian history (six with the
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Egyptian pyramids


and 300 CE), experienced a full-blown pyramid-building revival, which saw more than two hundred Egyptian-inspired indigenous royal pyramid-tombs constructed in the vicinity of the kingdom's capital cities. 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. The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was
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History of construction


problems involved were chiefly to do with the transport of blocks, sometimes over long distances, their movement into location and exact alignment. It is now generally agreed that the skilled building workers were respected and well treated, but undoubtedly very large numbers of labourers were necessary to provide the brute force. The methods used in the construction of the pyramids have been the subject of considerable research and discussion (see: Egyptian pyramid construction techniques). The ancient Greeks, like the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians, tended to build most of their
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Nofret II


Nofret II (her name means "Beautiful One") was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 12th dynasty. She was a daughter of Amenemhat II and wife of Senusret II. Along with Khenemetneferhedjet I she was one of the two known wives of Senusret II; his other two possible wives were Khenemet and Itaweret. All four were also Senusret's sisters. Two of her statues were found at Tanis and these are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The small pyramid in her husband's Kahun pyramid complex was probably built
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Egyptian mythology


' actions can be gleaned from these sources because they include minimal writing. The Egyptians began using writing more extensively in the Old Kingdom, in which appeared the first major source of Egyptian mythology: the "Pyramid Texts". These texts are a collection of several hundred incantations inscribed in the interiors of pyramids beginning in the 24th century BC. They were the first Egyptian funerary texts, intended to ensure that the kings buried in the pyramid would pass safely through the afterlife. Many of the incantations allude to myths related to the
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Pyramid of Neferirkare


The Pyramid of Neferirkare (in ancient Egyptian the Ba of Neferirkare) was built for the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai referred to as Neferirkare in the 25th century BC. It was the tallest structure located on the highest site at the necropolis of Abusir found between Giza and Saqqara and still towers over the necropolis today. The pyramid is also significant because its evacuation led to the discovery of the Abusir papyri. The Fifth Dynasty marked the end of the great pyramid constructions during the Old Kingdom. Pyramids of the era were smaller and
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Philip A. Hart Plaza


Egyptian gateway structures that resembled a truncated pyramid. These structures were commonly built in significant locations by Egyptian architects. The word came into the western European languages and was used to describe a tall tower, such as those used to support elevated wires. The sculpture was commissioned via Smith, Hinchman and Grylls Associates, Inc. and built in 1981 as a companion piece to the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain. The $402,000 total cost of the sculpture was paid for by funds from the Detroit Capital Gifts Committee, which determines
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Sanakht


like those of most other ancient Egyptians; especially those from the predynastic period. His overall cranial features, however, were closer to those of dynastic period Egyptian skulls. Consequently, the mastaba has been associated with an anecdote related by Manetho in which he tells of a late Second Dynasty king, called "Sesochris", who he describes as being particularly tall. The Egyptologist Wolfgang Helck proposed another hypothesis; namely, that Sanakht's tomb is an unfinished structure west of the pyramid of Djoser. While the case of Sanakht has
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Pyramid of Senusret I


The Pyramid of Senusret I is an Egyptian Pyramid built to be the burial place of the Pharaoh Senusret I. The pyramid was built during the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt at el-Lisht, near the pyramid of his father, Amenemhat I. Its ancient name was "Senusret Petei Tawi" ("Senusret beholds the two lands"). The pyramid was 105 meters on each side with a height of 61.25 meters; the slope of the four faces was 49° 24' degrees. The pyramid used a method of construction never before
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Egyptian pyramids


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
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Nuri


. 15) (about 315 BC) were buried here, some 80 royals. The pyramids at Nuri are, in general, smaller than the Egyptian ones and are today often heavily degraded (caused by both humans and nature), but often still contained substantial parts of the funerary equipment of the Kushite rulers who were buried here. During the Christian era, a church was erected here. The church was built at least in part from reused pyramid stones, including several stelae originally coming from the pyramid chapels. The pyramids
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Unas


). The original Egyptian name of the pyramid was "Nefer Isut Unas", meaning "Beautiful are the places of Unas". The pyramid of Unas is the smallest of the pyramids completed during the Old Kingdom, having a square base of for a height of . The pyramid of Unas is part of a larger mortuary complex built around it. It was approached via an ancient lake on the shores of which Unas' valley temple was located. This temple received the provisions for the cult of the king and the offerings
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Magicians of the Gods


To support his theory, Hancock discusses archaeological sites such as Göbelki Tepe in Turkey, the Roman Heliopolis in Lebanon, and the Egyptian pyramids. He claims that parts of these sites were built more than 10,000 years ago, in some cases much earlier than accepted by orthodox history, and with techniques and technology that were not yet supposed to be in existence. He therefore supposes that they were constructed by theorized civilisations destroyed by the Younger Dryas impact event, or else the survivors of the event and their immediate descendants. In the
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Djedkare Isesi


the walls of a Near Eastern fortress on ladders. More generally, ancient Egyptians seem to have regularly organised punitive raids in Canaan during the later Old Kingdom period but did not attempt to establish a permanent dominion there. Djedkare built his pyramid in South Saqqara. It was called "Nefer Isesi" or "Nefer Djedkare" in Ancient Egyptian, variously translated as "Isesi/Djedkare is beautiful" or "Isesi/Djedkare is perfect". It is known today as "Haram el-Shawwâf" (), because it
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Egyptian Journeys with Dan Cruickshank


ancient Egyptians made things to last forever, fuelled by their belief in eternity. Egyptian belief in an afterlife led to the development of ingenious techniques that have preserved much of their culture to this day. At Saqqara the Pharaoh Zoza built upon the traditional stone monument to create Egypt's first step pyramid as part of a stone complex designed to last forever. Zoza continually expanded his pyramid confirming the importance of size that culminated with the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. Later monuments use granite ferried down the Nile from distant Aswan to
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Pyramid


King Djoser. Early kings such as Snefru built several pyramids, with subsequent kings adding to the number of pyramids until the end of the Middle Kingdom. The last king to build royal pyramids was Ahmose, with later kings hiding their tombs in the hills, such as those in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor's West Bank. In Medinat Habu, or Deir el-Medina, smaller pyramids were built by individuals. Smaller pyramids with steeper sides were also built by the Nubians who ruled Egypt in the Late Period.
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