Ancient Egypt: The Age of the Pyramids (Part 2)

Sneferu's first (unfinished) pyramid at Meidum

Last time we talked about Djoser’s step pyramid, the prototype of all pyramids to come. This time we meet the ‘real’ pyramids, the talk of the era, which have continued to dazzle the beholders till this day from Julius Caesar, Napoleon to archaeologists of our days.

It is none other than the Great Pyramid Complex of Giza, the most famous present-day tourist attraction of Egypt and only one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world still standing. The complex comprises of three pyramids, the largest and most well-known of which is the Great Pyramid of Khufu, a Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh.

Sneferu's second (bent) pyramid at Dahshur 

So before going any further, it is important for us to get to know the family who started the great and glorious Egyptian Pyramid Era. It all began with King Sneferu, the first Pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty (remember, King Djoser was a Phaorah of the Third Dynasty, the dynasty directly preceding that of Sneferu and Khufu), who attempted to erect a 300 feet high eight-step pyramid 30 miles distant at Meidum. This pyramid incorporated a significant feature. For the first time, the steps that used to be the hallmark of Djoser’s pyramid were filled with polished stone to form smooth slanting sides – the archetype of all subsequent Egyptian pyramids. Unluckily, this first pyramid of his proved structurally unstable (the angle was too steep!). He continued experiments with his second pyramid and failed yet again, the angle of the sides of the pyramid having been abruptly changed from 54 degrees to 43 degrees about half way to the top. The result was the bent pyramid. However, the change in the angle caused cracks in the burial chamber, and the construction was yet again abandoned. Sneferu’s third attempt was eventually successful, the pyramid having a new 43-degree slope that ascended 343 feet from a base 722 feet on each side. It is the first intact pyramid that survives to this day.

Sneferu's third (red) pyramid at Dahshur 

Sneferu’s son, Khufu, whom the Greeks (the world’s first historians believe it or not!) commonly mis-referred to as “Cheops”. This son must have somehow inherited his father’s craze for pyramids for near Cairo on a dessert plateau of Giza he built the most splendid, glorious and enduring stone structure the world had ever witnessed. The pyramid originally rose 481 feet and was the tallest building until it was surpassed by the Eiffel Tower 4500 years later. The base is 756 feet square – large enough to contain the cathedrals of Milan, Florence and Saint Peter’s in Rome as well as Westminster Abby and Saint Paul’s in London.  Altogether 2,000,000 stones were used and average two and a half tonnes each. It was estimated from the duration of Khufu’s reign (23 years in total) that his pyramid must have been completed in about 20 years. Sadly, only an empty sarcophagus remains. The complex traps and anti-burglary system proved no might against tomb robbers. The tomb was cleansed of its treasure in ancient times. Also any statues of Khufu himself have all vanished save for a tiny statuette found by Flinders Petrie at Abydos. In fact, the only link between Khufu and the Great Pyramid was established by his cartouche in his burial chamber.

Great Pyramid of Khufu

Statuette of Khufu

Read on in our blog where we go on to tell stories of other pyramids of the famous Giza Pyramid Complex constructed by the successive Fourth Dynasty Pharaohs!!  

Ancient Egypt: The Age of the Pyramids (Part 1)

King Djoser

When we mention Egypt, inevitably the first thing that leaps to our mind is no doubt the pyramids; that triangular structure serving as great burial places for glorious Pharaohs of the long lost eras. Pyramids continue to enthrall and enrapture countless generations of people from the Greeks, Romans to modern day tourists visiting Egypt. But when did pyramids enter Egypt’s great history? Who started the construction of such a marvel that helps immortalise Egypt and its culture?

The answer lies about 24 km south of Cairo, the current Egyptian capital. Memphis had served as the Egyptian capital during the old kingdom period, the first capital when Egypt became united by the famous and enigmatic Narmer. It remained an important religious and administrative centre of Egypt through the Pharaonic Period.

It is the Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt that began the culture of pyramid-building at Memphis. King Djoser was the son of king Khasekhemwy and queen Nimaathap, the last king and queen of the Second Dynasty of Egypt. One of the most famous contemporaries of king Djoser was his vizier, "head of the royal shipyard" and "overseer of all stone works", Imhotep, who of such importance and fame that he was honoured by being mentioned on statues of king Djoser in his necropolis. Indeed, it was Imhotep, who designed the famous step pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, the first forerunner of a myriad of later pyramids to come (including the famous Pyramids of Giza). The pyramid was originally built as a nearly quadratic mastaba, but then five further mastabas were literally piled upon the first, each new mastaba smaller than the ones below, until the monument became Egypt's first step pyramid. The monument was clad in polished white limestone and considered the earliest large-scale cut stone construction.

The Pyramid Complex

King Djoser was the first Pharaoh to set a celebrated precedent for the later cohorts. His step pyramid truly represented a novel departure from the previous architecture since people were often entombed in mastabas of a relatively small-to-medium size. So why not just stack one mastable on top of one another to create something different? This must be an awe-inspiring idea Imhotep put forward to king Djoser nearly 5000 years ago. The process of building such a structure would be far more labor-intensive than previous monuments small scale, suggesting that the state and the royal government had a new level of control over resources, both material and human. From this point onward, never again would kings of the Old Kingdom would be buried in Abydos, but instead the north.

Imhotep

Given the ingenuity of her architecture and the craftiness of her people, Egypt’s prosperity indeed becomes inevitable….  

The Humble Beginning of the Two-Land Jewel of the Nile: Egypt

When talking about great civilisations of ages past, one can never fail to mention ancient Egypt. For thousands of years, this civilisation has continued to captivate and enthrall countless generations of historians, professional and laymen alike. But how did such civilisation with a humble beginning thrive so well for several thousands of years since its unification?

It is definitely true that all great cities and empires start with a good water source, and what could be better than an undying river which flows all year around and floods the land with its fertile water once a year. The famous Nile River has been providing the ancient Egypt with all she needed to survive and to prosper, and in effect has served as the back-bone of a great civilisation that would last for more than 3,000 years. It is no exaggeration to say that Egypt is the ‘gift of the Nile’, upon which her very existence depends.

As Egypt polarised into South and North, into Upper and Lower Egypt, the two parts were eventually divided further into regional capital or nome, with its own leaders, deities, and flag-like standards. To complicate the matters further, Lower Egypt is actually Northern Egypt which borders the Mediterranean and where the Nile stretches out into several branches to the form the Nile Delta, while Upper Egypt refers to Southern Egypt. Hence, the terms “Lower” and “Upper refers to the flow of the Nile from the East African highlands to the Mediterranean (opposite of North-to-South). These two parts of Egypt were originally ruled by their own Pharaohs, who wore different colour crowns: White Crown for Upper Egypt (hedjet) and Red Crown for Lower Egypt (deshret). Thus, Egypt was known as the Two Lands, and the Pharaohs as rulers of the Two Lands.

Pharaoh Narmer, who unified Upper and Lower Egypt

Then at around 3000 BC, the two lands of Egypt underwent a great transformation with the arrival of a great figure, the mysterious Narmer, who was credited with unifying Upper and Lower Egypt, thus becoming the first Pharaoh of the unified Egypt, and the first Pharaoh of the first dynasty.  Even now, the enigmatic Narmer’s identity remains a subject of an ongoing debate, but a general consensus seems to identify Narmer with Nemes, the first dynasty Pharaoh who is also credited with unifying Egypt.  

The Narmer Palette

How did we know all this? Through the Narmer Palette, which contains some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found, and is thought by some to depict the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the king Narmer, told us so. On it, the king is depicted with the White Crown of Upper (southern) Egypt, and the other side depicts the king wearing the Red Crown of Lower (northern) Egypt, while smiting his enemies. Some scholars argue that the Palette does depict a historical event, however, and claimed that it serves merely a symbolic purpose. Whatever the theories, the truth is that the Palette is one of most ancient historical artifacts which contains writing.

Thus, from Narmer sprang the successive generations and dynasties of Pharaohs that would continue to glorify the land of Egypt through its marvelous innovations, mesmerising and breath-taking architecture, wonderful art, and superb military achievement that will overshadow its neighbours for millennia to come.