Great Pyramid of Giza – The Pyramids of Giza– Pyramid of King Khufu in Cairo, Egypt
Discover The Secrets of Pyramid Construction, the Curse of the Pharaohs associated with it, how the stones were moved and transported, the architectural design of the pyramid from the inside, historical facts you never knew before about Architecture in ancient Egypt, and more about the history of the Pharaonic civilization “Ancient Egypt History“.
Facts about Ancient Egypt civilization, history, secrets, and what are the wonders of the pyramid of King Khufu, one of the three pyramids of Giza, the most famous Egyptian Tombs, visiting times, entry ticket prices, and more to start your tourist tour in Egypt.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu is one of the architectural masterpieces that still retains its beauty to this day, indicating the development of Astronomy in ancient Egypt and Sculpture in Ancient Egypt.
It is one of the most famous of the three huge and magnificent pyramids located in Giza, which is also considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World due to its size and the precision of its construction. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the largest pyramid in the world.
Great Pyramid of Giza Facts – the pyramid of King Khufu
The reason for choosing the Giza Plateau:
After a careful study of all the sites in the Giza, Dahshur and Saqqara region by Architect Hemiunu, he proposed to King Khufu, the most famous Egyptian Pharaohs kings of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt in the era of the ancient Egyptian kingdom “Old Kingdom of Egypt“, to build the Ben Ben pyramid, or the eternal hill, according to the religious beliefs in Ancient Egyptian religion of the ancient Egyptians for several reasons, which are:…
- The rocky plateau high above the surface of the earth, which is located in a distinguished location close to the pyramids of King Sneferu, the most famous king of the Pharaohs, the capital, and the royal buildings and palaces of the Fourth Pharaonic Egyptian Dynasty..
- It was close to the Bahr Youssef Mina Canal from the east, which sends the waters of the Nile River with the flood, so that huge rocks can then be transported. King Hor-Aha, the most famous king of the Pharaohs in the First Dynasty of Egypt, cut them along the Nile River for a length of 200 kilometers and then took a path. Towards the city of Fayoum, then another path towards the Libyan Sea, finally flowing into the Mediterranean Sea near the coastal city of Alexandria..
- It is close to a mountainous area, so that it is easy to cut stones and transport them to the Great Pyramid.
- The floor of the plateau is characterized by the emergence of solid, high-quality limestone formations “Mokattam Formations” to withstand weights, pressure and climatic conditions, which indicates the development of Ancient Egyptian science, as more than one surrounding site was studied by ancient engineers, until this ideal place was chosen to build the pyramid..
- The plot of land located at the end of the northern direction was taken to build the pyramid, while the southern plot was used to build tombs for the workers of the pyramid builders “Tombs of the Pyramid Builders“, the nobles, and the successors of King Khufu..
Facts about the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza:
- The architectural drawing was designed on Ancient Egyptian Papyrus or large limestone stone slabs, and small figures and models were built of the geometric shape of the burial chambers, corridors, and architectural design inside and outside the Great Pyramid and presented to King Khufu. “A model of a burial chamber was discovered inside the Leaning Pyramid Temple of Sneferu “Bent Pyramid“, which belonged to one of the kings of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt Pharaonic Beginning of the Third Age of Decay “Third Intermediate Period of Egypt“.
- Architects were chosen from among men with qualifications, experience, and knowledge and study of astronomy, engineering, arithmetic, physics, and natural sciences, to follow up and supervise the stages of building the pyramid..
How to build the Great Pyramid of Giza?
The stage of determining the northern direction:
The first theory:
The base area of the pyramid was determined with all its sides at an angle of inclination of one degree. The method of building a circular wall made of mud brick with a height of approximately 1 meter was used.
Then a person stood in the middle and used astronomical calculations and determined the level using a channel of water and a loose measuring device.
Then he began to draw Explanatory marks on the ground, then drawing lines connecting the points of the pyramid’s sides and the middle of the previously defined circle, then dividing the geometric angles in the north direction..
The second theory:
English Egyptologists and archaeologist Kate Spence suggested that astronomical measurement methods were used in 2476 BC to track the polar stars in the sky and when the stars met and draw a line between them to intersect in the direction of true north..
It was the religious belief of the ancient Egyptians in the Old Kingdom era, and it was discovered in the Pyramid Texts, that after the death of the king, the king’s soul would ascend to the sky and join the polar stars that would guide him on the way to join the God Ra, “the symbol of the sun and the most famous ancient Egyptian deities – Ancient Egyptian gods and Goddesses”“.
It was discovered that the angles of inclination of the pyramids of Giza are slightly different, but they are all towards the true north of the position of the polar stars in the sky.
The third theory:
To determine the direction of true north, a long rod was placed vertically on the surface of the earth, then the shadow was determined 3 hours before noon time, then a circle was drawn with the same length as the shadow, then another 3 hours after noon time, the length of the sun’s shadow became the appropriate measure to begin drawing lines to intersect with the circle. By drawing the angles, we begin to know the direction of true north.
It was discovered that it was an inaccurate and unprofessional method, as it did not give accurate geometric details of the true north direction.
The stage of laying the foundations of the Great Pyramid:
String-string celebration:
In ancient Egypt, meat and food “Food in ancient Egypt” were distributed to the general public on the occasion of the beginning of the Israa of the four bases of the pyramid, and celebrations of singing and dancing were held to indicate the development of Music in Ancient Egypt throughout the regions of Upper and Lower Egypt, as in the Geography of ancient Egypt.
In addition to ancient religious ritual ceremonies, where a cow was slaughtered or Livestock, the meat is distributed to the four corners of the Great Pyramid, then covered with sand, then offering sacrifices to the ancient Egyptian goddess..
King Khufu was present at the “Pharaonic Holidays – Festivals in Ancient Egypt” celebration near the construction work of the Great Pyramid.
God Seshat, “the symbol of writing and measuring,” who had titles in the Pharaonic civilization such as “The Lady of Construction,” was present with him.“.
It was discovered from the ancient Egyptian Pharaonic papyri found in the pyramid that the architects in the era of the Pharaonic Old Kingdom had a high level of proficiency in accounting and mathematics, as the ancient Egyptian was able to master the calculation of the area of a square, a circle, a triangle, and what is the number one in modern mathematics now, in addition to mastering engineering methods and theories. Complex and simple, it enabled them to professionally plan the construction of this huge building with such high precision.
Identify the axes:
After determining the north-south axis along the western side of the Great Pyramid and the demarcation lines for the eastern, western, and southern sides accurately, and at one of the corners of the pyramid, a square is made at an angle of 90 degrees using the method of arcs and intersecting lines, so that the four sides are equal by about 20 cm..
The architectural planning of the Great Pyramid was done so that the area of the base = 230 square meters and the angle of inclination = 51 degrees, so that its height upon completion would reach 147 meters, and it would consist of 30 floors above each other..
The first pyramid building stage:
How to transport huge stones:
Soon secrets and facts will be written….
Where is the Great Pyramid located?
The Great Pyramid is located in the pyramids area in Giza Governorate. The Pyramid of Khufu was built on a rocky bank on the west bank of the Nile River.
What do you know about the pyramid of King Khufu?
The Great Pyramid was built during the Fourth Pharaonic Dynasty between 2600 and 2500 BC.
The Great Pyramid was built over a period of more than twenty years. It was built with the aim of being a tomb for King Khufu, due to the ancient Egyptians’ belief in life after death, as in the legends of the Pharaohs “Egyptian Mythology“.
They were preparing to build luxurious tombs equipped with everything the king would need in life after resurrection again..
Engineer Ham-Iono was the king’s engineer responsible for building the Great Pyramid. The height of the Great Pyramid is 481 feet, which is equivalent to 147 meters, and its base extends over an area of about 53,000 square meters..
How was this Great Pyramid built in such a great shape?
About 2 million and 600 thousand stone pieces were used to build the Great Pyramid, and the weight of each stone ranges from 2 and a half tons to 70 tons. They are all made of red granite. All of these stones have been held together for thousands of years without cement.
To build the Great Pyramid, approximately 100,000 workers were used, including permanent and seasonal workers. Originally they were farmers “Agriculture in Ancient Egypt” who joined the work in building the pyramids during periods of Nile flooding. The dwellings of these workers were discovered next to the pyramids.
What are the contents of King Khufu’s pyramid from the inside?
Inside the pyramid of King Khufu there are three burial chambers: the queen’s chamber, the king’s chamber, and a secret underground chamber.
They are reached through a tunnel called the Tunnel of the Thieves of the Pharaonic Tombs “Ancient Egyptian Grave Robbers“, and this tunnel leads to a slanted corridor called the Grand Gallery..
All of these rooms are made of red granite in a symmetrical way, indicating the development of Industry in ancient Egypt. The weight of some granite slabs reaches more than 400 tons..
All the walls of the room are decorated with numerous religious texts written in Ancient Egyptian Language hieroglyphs.
Once they reach the King’s Chamber, visitors see the luxurious Pharaonic sarcophagus “Ancient Egyptian Coffins“, but this sarcophagus is now empty.
What is the price of an entry ticket to the Pyramid of King Khufu for Egyptians?
Entrance fee to the Pyramid of Khufu for adult Egyptians: only 80 pounds.
The entrance fee for Egyptian students is only 40 pounds.
What is the price of an entry ticket to the Pyramid of King Khufu for foreigners?
Entrance fees to the Amby Pyramid of Khufu are 400 Egyptian pounds.
If the student is a foreigner, the entry fee is only 200 pounds.
Note: Facts and secrets of the history will be added soon…
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Great Pyramid of Giza Egypt | Facts, History, Secrets Pyramid of King Khufu “Cheops”
