Great Pyramid Of Khufu Essay, Research Paper
Imagine yourself back in time, 4500 years ago to a time of
discovery and a time of development. Imagine being so loyal to the
ruler of your land that you struggle build great monuments, and later
burial sites. Monuments and burial sites of such great design and size
that to attempt to replicate them today would never equal the great
meaning behind them. Back in the area of around 2575 B.C.-2134
BC, in what is known as the old kingdom, the Egyptians built one of
the greatest monuments and burial sites ever constructed, The Great
Pyramid of Khufu (Harris 6). The Great Pyramid is one of the greatest
accomplishments of ancient Egypt. In this paper we will research: the
construction of the Great Pyramid, the surroundings of the Great
Pyramid, and the effect of time on the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
In the Old Kingdom sometime between the years of 2575 BC
and 2134 BC the Egyptians constructed The Great Pyramid. The
Pharaoh Khufu ordered the building of a pyramid of greater
dimensions than any other pyramid ever constructed. Allegedly
Khufu’s pyramid was built to outdo the massive tombs built under
Snefru’s, his father, reign over the Egyptian Empire. In hope to
increase interest in the building of his pyramid Khufu shut down other
temples to divert the interest to his site (Egypt 52). Khufu chose to
build on the Giza plateau on the East side of the Nile river (Casson
132).
Many sources say that the Egyptians used slave labor to
construct the huge pyramid for the pharaoh Khufu, or Cheops as he
was also called, this was not so. The pyramid was built by about
4,000 free citizens of Egypt drafted for public work. The men were
divided up into gangs of laborers and masons. The laborers “gangs”
consisted of approximately 18 to 20 individuals (Casson 134). The
laborers would personalize the blocks of stone in which they moved
with their groups name, such as: “Vigorous Gang”, or “Enduring
Gang”. The laborers also included important instructions like, “This
side up”, or even got a little risque’ by inscribing things like, “How
drunk is the King?” (ibid. 130)
Using stone cut mostly form a quarry right on the Giza plateau
the laborers quarried and hauled the massive blocks of stone to and
later even up the pyramid (Egypt 55). More on the upward
progression later, for now let us concentrate on the materials. Fine
white limestone was taken from Tura across the Nile river. The
granite used for the kings burial chamber was quarried from Aswan,
400 miles upriver form Giza (Egypt 58). The blocks of stone weighed
as much as 15 tons as the granite stones were the heaviest (Casson
131). The total weight of the pyramid 6.25 million long tons of stone
(Harris 86). The Great Pyramid has a total of about 2,250,000 blocks
of stone (Woods 16) This feat is almost unheard of today with the use
of new machines and techniques for hauling and moving incredibly
heavy objects.
The construction of the pyramid was flowing smoothly until
either Khufu or one of his architects changed his mind and moved the
burial chamber from the under ground to the center of the pyramid.
Archaeologists suggest that the shifting of the burial chambers took
place after Khufu started to be revered as Re, the sun god. Since Re’s
symbol was the “ben-ben” which was the shape of a pyramid it would
only seem appropriate for Khufu-Re to be placed for eternity in the
pyramid itself instead of under it as originally planned (Egypt 52-53).
The Egyptians used some rather ingenious ways to keep their
building project on the perfect side. The crews would dig connected
trenches around the building site and fill the trenches with water.
After filling the trenches with water they would tie a length of rope at
equal height onto two sticks. Thus stretching the rope taunt they could
see any unleveled points to fill or level off to keep their base even
all-around (Casson 133). The laborers used log rollers to aid in the
moving of the massive blocks of stone. Before tipping the stone onto
the rollers the side that is to be faced down on the logs is finished early
to ensure a “smooth” ride (ibid. 131). Seeing how organized the
ancient civilization was proving itself to be we are not shocked to find
that they used a four-way ramp system to haul the blocks of rock to the
upper most places of Khufu’s pyramid. The system used three ramps
that formed
three squared off spirals to the top, and one ramp that followed the
same form down and off the formation (ibid. 134). This gives us four
tiers of ramps, a sort of Egyptian highway system of on and off ramps.
French architect Henri Chevrier tested the ramp theory with 50 men
and a one ton block of limestone set on a track of wet mud from the
Nile river. The results showed that one man harnessed to a rope could
move the block on a level surface, 1 not all 50 (Egypt 58).
After possibly what might have taken the entire twenty-three
year reign of Khufu the structure was complete. The entrance lead
down around 60 feet. The next obstacle to be faced is three stone
sealing plugs that slid in front of the entrance to prevent grave robbers
from entering. The sealing blocks kept robbers out for about 400 years
till finally they got through and stole the contents of the pyramid
(Casson 136). Then advancing upward to a second burial chamber
that was left incomplete, this chamber is commonly misnamed the
Queen’s Chamber. Then we fall upon a 153 foot long 28 foot high
tunnel called The Grand Gallery. The Grand Gallery is noted for its
ceiling made with tiers and braces (ibid. 136). After traveling through
The Grand Gallery we find ourselves in the actual burial chamber of
Khufu. The sarcophagus still stands at the west end of the chamber, of
course it has been empty for some time now. This chamber was
actually the third placement designated by Khufu. Each time his
aspirations grew he
wanted the pyramid bigger, and his tomb higher. The burial chamber
was designed with six stress relieving roofs made of granite to support
the tons of block over head (ibid. 136). This monument of Egyptian
architecture and technique covers a land mass of 13.1 acres. At the
top of the once gold capstone the pyramid stands 482 feet high, now it
is 31 feet shorter due to other projects taking stone from the handy
source. The sides at the base are an astounding 756 feet long. (Egypt
53).
There is even strange tales and theories about the Egyptians
being able to see the future. One theory is from the Scottish
astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth. Smyth believed that the pyramid
reflected measures of time and distance that could have then been only
from a divine source. The pyramid showed the distance of the sun to
the earth when its height in inches is multiplied by 10 to the 9th
power. Ten to nine being the proportion of height to width of the
pyramid. Smyth also said that the perimeter of the pyramid equaled
1000 times 365.2, the number of days in a solar year. Unfortunately
Smyth’s measurements were proven wrong by British archaeologist
Flinders Petrie (Egypt 55).
Even thought the construction of the pyramid still has its doubts
and theories, we find that the Egyptians used such great accuracy in
their techniques that some spots in the pyramid have gaps only about
.0001 inch (.0003 cm) wide (woods 23). This is about large enough to
squeeze a postcard through. This Brings us to the outside
surroundings of the Great Pyramid.
There are two other major pyramids at the Giza site. The second
biggest is the pyramid of Khafre, and the smaller of the three is the
pyramid of Menkaure (Egypt 56). These other pyramids were built
after Khufu’s death. The second largest was built by his son, (Khafre),
and his grandson, (Menkaure). In he surroundings of the Great
Pyramid the Great Sphinx is found. This 240 foot long and 66 foot
high Guardian ordered by King Khafre was carved out of an
outcropping left behind at the limestone quarry that supplied the stone
for the Great Pyramid (ibid. 60).
Perhaps one of the greatest discoveries found around the
perimeter of the Great Pyramid is the twin pits that contain funeral
boats for Khufu. During a routine clearing of the base of the pyramid
in 1954 Egyptian archeologist Kamal el Mallakh uncovered what he at
first thought to be a part of the enclosure wall. Then Mallakh noticed
that this section was closer than on the other sides. Thinking of a
possible find he instructed to dig deeper until a row of 81 huge
limestone blocks in separate sets were apparently covering the twin
pits. After careful work Mallakh opened a hole in one of the
six-foot-thick slabs. Under that slab he saw an oar and realized he had
come upon a historical relic, a cedar funeral boat of Khufu. It took
about sixteen years to remove the boat from the pit. Not wanting to
risk the loss they left the second pit untouched (ibid. 61). Today the
boat is on display in a special museum along side of the Great Pyramid
of Khufu (ibid. 59).
Another great discovery was found around the Great Pyramid by
accident. In 1925 a photographer while setting up his tripod to take
photos of The Great Pyramid nicked a piece of plaster from a hidden
opening cut into the rock. Archaeologists removed stones and
revealed a 100 foot shaft that lead down to a tomb. The tomb
belonged to Queen Hetepheres, Khufu’s mother. After a total of
three-hundred-twenty-one days of work it became apparent that 4500
years had taken its toll on the tomb. Most objects were already
decayed almost to nothing. Using 1701 pages of sketches and 1057
pictures of the site most items were able to be reconstructed (Egypt
54).
In front of the pyramid was what is known as the Great
Causeway. The Great Causeway led to a rectangular mortuary temple.
From this point the coffin was taken to a spot below the tomb entrance
and then hauled up 56 feet to the opening of the pyramid (Casson
138). Also next to the pyramid are three satellite pyramids that
belonged to the ruler’s three queens. There were also several fields of
mastaba tombs and two temples, all connected by The Great Causeway
(Egypt 59). Until recently it was thought that we had little chance of
finding all of the missing sections of Khufu’s pyramid. In 1990
workmen installing sewer lines under the streets of hit upon a part of
the Great Causeway. After this finding the original path of the
Causeway was easily mapped. The government of Egypt wants to
move the residents of Nazlet el Simman and excavate the site (ibid.
59).
The location of the Great Pyramid at Giza has been a popular
place throughout time. This leaves me not shocked to see the modern
town of Nazlet el Simman sitting on the ruins of the once powerful
empire’s “hot spot”. This city is just one of the effects of time on the
pyramid structure. Time has taken its toll on the Great Pyramid.
Unfortunately we have almost no tombs from the old kingdom left
with artifacts and treasures from the nobility that once inhabited them.
Khufu’s Great Pyramid is unfortunately one that made in the old
kingdom, hence it was not well preserved and artifacts are rare (Harris
88). Another fear is that as man progresses the pollution will cause
the
rocks on the pyramid to erode at a much more rapid pace. Possible
tourism someday will take a toll and start to make the wonderful site
deteriorate much more rapidly than it would if we were to just admire
from a distance. The pyramids at Giza remain the only of the seven
wonders of the ancient world that is still here (ibid. 85). The future
holds the truth of what time will do to the Great Pyramid. If it is
treated like the sphinx has been we may be in danger of some idiot
shooting a cannon at it. If history continues on the path it is set on
now there is nothing to stop the Egyptians from using the blocks as a
handy source for outer building projects. Time has been responsible
for the changes in the pyramid: the contents have disappeared,
outcroppings have been buried and possibly lost forever, and the
environment has taken it toll on the massive structure.
In conclusion. The Great Pyramid has open eyes on the
techniques and loyalty of the ancient Egyptian empire. The Egyptians
have constructed a piece of history that can only sit on a list of seven,
the other six are no longer in existence. This makes the pyramid the
last of the seven wonders of the ancient world. There will probably
never be anything constructed with such raw accuracy and detail
without computers and machines. This makes you stop to wonder,
“How did they do it?”. The answer to this question can only be
partially answered
with the information I have given you. Unfortunately there is not
much more known about the mysterious formations given to us by the
ancient Egyptians. Perhaps there will never be. The world can only
hope and pray for more information on this civilization’s wonderful
architecture to emerge and fill our appetites to learn about them.
Hopefully now your knowledge of the ancient wonder, The Great
Pyramid, is supplemented with the information I have given you on:
the construction of the Great Pyramid, the surroundings of the Great
Pyramid, and the effect of time on the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The
Great Pyramid is one of the greatest accomplishments of ancient
Egypt. The icon of Egyptian architecture and design might not be
with us forever, but it will always be an important part of the worlds
history. The Great Pyramid will never be forgotten.
“May Set and Thoth guide my way.”
Bibliography
Harris, Geraldine. Anchient Egypt. New York, New York: Facts on
File inc., 1990
Casson, Lionel. Anchient Egypt. Canada: Time-Life Books, 1965
Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books,
1992
Woods, Geraldine. Science in Anchient Egypt. New York, New York:
Franklin Watts, 1988