Preview

The Great Pyramid of Giza.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1091 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Great Pyramid of Giza

The greatest accomplishment of all the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World does not need a description by early historians and poets. It does not require conjectures regarding its appearance, size, and shape. This wonder is the oldest of them all and the only surviving one. This great wonder of the ancient world is the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is located on the outskirts of today, Cairo, Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile River. It was built by the Egyptian pharaoh, Khufu, of the Fourth Dynasty, around 2585-2560 BC. The main purpose of this monument was to serve as a tomb when he died and a source of transportation to his afterlife. The pyramids were built to protect the embalmed, mummified bodies of the Egypt pharaohs for eternity. To build such a great accomplishment for a pharaoh is a grand achievement of the ancient civilization of Egypt.

The building of the pyramid took a total of less than 30 years. On average, 2.3 million blocks of stone were used to build Khufu's pyramid, weighed 2.5 tons, and the heaviest blocks, used as the ceiling of Khufu's burial chamber, weighed in an estimate of 40-60 tons. The pyramid was most likely constructed by approximately 4,000 craftsmen. The question of exactly who built the pyramids, and how, has long been debated by Egyptologists and historians. Theory has it that the stones were hauled up by ramps using ropes of papyrus twine. The gradually sloping ramps, built out of mud, stone, and wood were used as transportation causeways for moving the large stones to their positions up and around the four sides of the pyramid. The minds of the ancient Egyptians are very impressive considering their advanced engineering skills at such an early stage in time. Even the people of the 21st century still can not determine how they built the Great Pyramid of Giza.

One of the reasons why the Great Pyramid is so overwhelming once it's seen is because of it's size and shape. Khufu's

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The granite slabs the Egyptians used to build the pyramids weighed forty tons apiece. They were able to move these blocks without the invention of the wheel or cart. It is amazing how the Egyptians built such big structures with such little technology because they were perfect in almost every dimension, it was all done by the physical strength of men, and many of the pyramids still stand today.…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Sphinx located in Giza, Egypt is an enormous monument measuring 20.0 m x 6.0 m x 73.5 m. It was commissioned by Pharaoh Chefren. It is constructed with the body of a lion and the head of a human.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The early Egyptians also built their own religious structures. Egyptians believed that the life continues unchanged after death; therefore they built large pyramids in honor of their pharaohs. Pyramids were monumental tombs that were built to contain the bodies of the pharaohs. The great pyramids at Giza were made of limestone blocks, the largest covering thirteen acres at the base, and were built with more than two million stone blocks. They would often put the pharaoh's belongings in with him so he could be happy after death.…

    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Pyramids of Giza - A Landmark In The History Of Architecture. (2010). Retrieved September 19, 2010, from Travlang Travel Guide: http://www.travlang.com/blog/pyramids-of-giza-a-landmark-in-the-history-of-architecture/…

    • 1637 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Egyptian Pyramids

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The ancient pyramids had very prominent roles in preserving the Egyptian culture. They were especially important in both the death and afterlife of the ruling pharaoh. The construction of the pyramids began around 4,000 years ago during a time period when the Egyptian civilization was at its peak (“Egyptian”). Their main purpose was to protect the spirit of the pharaoh once he passed away and lead him to…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza is one of the greatest mysteries in history. They are the largest and most elaborate structures built in the ancient world, which is what considers them to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Great Pyramids of Giza are made up of three separate pyramids for three different pharaohs: Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure who were all pharaohs during the Fourth Dynasty (2,575-2,450 BCE), also known as the Old Kingdom. Khufu’s pyramid was built first and is known as the Great Pyramid. It took over 20 years to build his pyramid with the help of hundreds of thousands of peasants. Khafre, Khufu’s son, built his own pyramid a few years later and this pyramid appears to be larger than Khufu’s, however,…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Just to pound out the stone 60 to 70 men were needed. To get the stones to the pyramid, the men had to cut slot in the stone then ram pegs in the holes and put water in them. That was the only way they could split the stones with the limited tools they had. They had to lubricate an area to slide the stones to the pyramid by either the men or oxen pulling dragging them. When the stones got to the pyramid site, then the men had to build ramps to be able to get all the stones to the top. The ramps were "wrap-around" style. They couldn’t be straight because you needed wrap around for the upper layers of the great pyramid. They were made of mud brick and had pieces of plaster mixed in to make them harder.…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The pyramids took a little more than twenty years to build. It was very hard to built pyramids. First, they had to prepare the place it was going to be built. Then, they had to take blocks of stone transport them and then place them. Each block was about two to eighteen tons. After that they had to put a casing to smooth the surface. But sadly over the years the casing has disappeared over the years. One really knows how the blocks were put there but there were theories.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many theories as to how the pyramids at Giza were constructed. Most experts agree that they were constructed as burial monuments for pharaohs, but “how” these ancient people constructed monuments of such great size without modern machinery is a mystery which is still being debated.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There have been many theories regarding how the pyramids at Giza and how they were constructed. Scientist believe that they were constructed as burial monuments for pharaohs, but “how” these ancient people constructed monuments of such great size without modern machinery is a mystery which is still being debated. Some say that the great pyramids of Giza were made by aliens. A few claim that Egyptians used slaves to build the pyramids for them. Said Redford, the image most people have of slaves being forced to build the pyramids against their will is incorrect. Some believe that they were made with technology that the Egyptians created but may have lost through the ages.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the key structures listed in the seven wonders of the ancient world. It is important to notice that what makes this structure supreme and memorable? This wonder was the tallest man made composition in 3800 years which is not only a will to its robustness but to mark it as the most remarkable structures. This monument exemplifies the accomplishments and advancements of architecture in Egypt (www.personal.psu.edu))t. There are many mysteries that are raised for its construction and also introduce different theories. It is important to notice that it is not the pyramid that is eye capturing but the method and process of creating it is certainly fascinating. There are two particular theories such as transport theory which is presented by engineer and inventor, Andrzej Bochnacki and Limestone concrete theory by Materials scientist, Joseph Davidovits that hold the focus of many historians and scientists…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pyramids and Ziggurats

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Great Pyramids are quite interesting. The stones are so tight that you cannot even put a knife in between the stones. It makes you think how could this be possible? It makes you think how did these pyramids get built? Some might say that they were moved on wooden sleds, but it is quite hard to imagine how they constructed something on this scale. While it is true that the forced labor of war prisoners was a common practice at the time, most people agree that the humongous labor force used in building the pyramids consisted of workers from throughout Egypt as it states in our book. Another interesting fact is that they are also perfectly square and they are aligned almost precisely with a compass. So really the main purposes of these pyramids were to have a resting place for their Pharaohs as they entered the…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Pyramids of Giza are located in Giza, Egypt. Three of the largest pyramids located there are Menkaura, Khafra, and Khufu. “The three pyramids at Giza are visible from space (“Great Pyramid” Data 44)” “These pyramids of Giza, Egypt, famous not only for their stupendous size and dramatic shape, but also for the astonishing skill with which they were built thousands of years ago (“Pyramids of Giza”42)”. The purpose of these pyramids was to function as monument tombs for pharaohs. The construction of the pyramids was elaborate. Stones weighing an average of two-and-a-half tons were pulled to their place on sleds with the help of at least thirty men. No powered equipment was available to them. Not to mention, the pyramid was hard to get around.…

    • 673 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aliens Built the Pyramids

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Archeologists suggest that the large stones used in building the pyramids were transported by rolling them over logs or a wet, slippery, clay surface. These methods may have been effective in moving the blocks close to the building site, but do not explain how the massive bricks, weighing as much as a Ford F250 truck, were lifted on top of each other.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that is still standing. The known earliest pyramid is the Pyramid of Djoser, which was constructed from around 2630 BC to 2611 BC. Then, about 35 years later, the largest pyramid, the Great Pyramid of Giza, began…

    • 54 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays