Excerpt from Encyclopedia Brittanica article: Pyramids, Giza © 1997
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Arabic AHRAMAT AL-JIZAH, three 4th-dynasty (c. 2575-c. 2465
BC) pyramids erected on a rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile
River near al-Jizah (Giza), Egypt; they are included among the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World. The northernmost and the oldest
pyramid of the group was built by Khufu (Greek: Cheops), the second
king of the 4th dynasty. Called the Great Pyramid, it is the largest of the
three, the length of each side at the base averaging 755 3/4 feet (230.4
m) and its original height being 481 2/5 feet (147 m). The middle pyramid
was built by Khafre (Greek: Chephren), the fourth of the eight kings of
the 4th dynasty; the structure measures 707 3/4 feet (216 m) on each
side and was originally 471 feet (143 m) high. The southernmost and last
pyramid to be built was that of Menkaure (Greek: Mycerinus), the sixth
king of the 4th dynasty. Each side measures 356 1/2 feet (109 m), and
the structure's completed height was 218 feet (66 m).
The question of how the pyramids were built has not received a wholly
satisfactory answer. The most plausible one is that the Egyptians, who
lacked tackle and pulleys for lifting heavy weights, employed a sloping
embankment of brick, earth, and sand, which was increased in height and
in length as the pyramid rose and up which the stone blocks were hauled
by means of sledges, rollers, and levers. According to the ancient Greek
historian Herodotus, the Great Pyramid took 20 years to construct and
demanded the labour of 100,000 men. This figure is believable given the
assumption that these men, who were agricultural labourers, worked on
the pyramids only (or primarily) while the Nile River was in flood and
hence when there was little work to be done in the fields.
A structure of peculiar shape called the Blunted, Bent, False, or
Rhomboidal Pyramid, which stands at Dahshur a short distance south of
Saqqarah, marks an advance in development toward the strictly
pyramidal tomb. Built by Snefru, of the 4th dynasty, it is 188 m square at
the base and approximately 98 m high. Peculiar in that it has a double
slope, it changes inclination about halfway up, the lower portion being
steeper than the upper. It comes nearer than Djoser's terraced tomb to
being a true pyramid. A monumental structure at Maydum, also ascribed
to Snefru, was a true pyramid, though not originally planned as such. The
initial structure was gradually enlarged until it became a gigantic
eight-terraced mass of masonry; then the steps were filled in with a
packing of stone to form a continuous slope. The entire structure was
eventually covered with a smooth facing of limestone; a geometrically true
pyramid was the final result. In its ruined condition, however, it has the
appearance of a three-stepped pyramid rising to a height of about 70 m.
The earliest tomb known to have been designed and executed throughout
as a true pyramid is the North Stone Pyramid at Dahshur, thought by
some to have also been erected by Snefru. It is about 220 m wide at the
base and 104 m high. The greatest of the Egyptian pyramids are those of
the pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkure at Giza (see Giza, Pyramids
of). (see also Index: Giza, Pyramids of)
Snefru built two large pyramids at Dahshur. The first pyramid, called the
Bent Pyramid, was begun with steep sides. When structural faults
became evident, the angle was sharply reduced, producing the bent
appearance of the structure. This monument was the first attempt to build
a true pyramid. Some years later Snefru built a true pyramid north of the
first, which perhaps became the king's burial place. Both monuments
stand today.
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