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| The Queens Pyramids next to Khufu pyramid |
The Queens Pyramids at Giza
The Great Pyramid of Khufu
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| Great Pyramid of Khufu |
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| Entrance of the great pyramid |
Many casual observers wear that the Great Pyramid is in the middle of the three major pyramids on the Giza Plateau but it is really the pyramid linked with Khafre that is the center pyramid of the three. Exactly south-west of the Great Pyramid is the pyramid associated with Khafre. This pyramid is only 2 ms lower in height and still has quite a number of its special limestone casing stones left towards the top of it.
There were nearly 120 000 encasing stones made of gleaming white tura limestone that in the beginning incase the pyramids at Giza before they were stripped wide to construct edifices in the city of Cairo. They would have been dazzling bright from many miles outside and made the pyramids shine like white jewels in the sunshine.
Pyramid Complex of Khufu
The complex pyramid of Khufu has all of the elements of the traditional pyramid, though many are now long gone. Around the pyramid's walls there are 5 huge boat-shaped pits. In 1954 the pit on the south-eastern side was found to contain a completely dismantled wooden boat, the 'Solar Boat', thought to be used in the king's funerary procession. This boat has now been rebuilt and is now on display in a businesslike museum near where it was found. Although it has not yet been excavated, in 1987 the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation tried the second boat pit on the south-east, using a special probe. This was also found to arrest a boat similar to the first. The mortuary temple on the oriental side of the pyramid today comprises only of the clay of a large perpendicular courtyard covered with basalt paving material, which must have been over 50m wide. It was destroyed in antiquity and its plan is now tough to reconstruct, but of the few fragments of reliefs got there, motives include the sed-festival and the festival of the white Hippopotamus Amphibius. Khufu's causeway has now Almost disappeared and has only been partly tested. Its original length has been guessed at around 810m, abruptly changing direction before it gave the valley temple. The destroys of the valley temple, which was mostly burned in antiquity, are now engrossed by the modern village of Nazlet es-Simman to the north-east. Recent diggings by the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation in 1990 have revealed the remains of a dark green basalt pavage and the continuance of the causeway at the base of the escarpment. At the edge of the pavement a mudbrick wall meant to be 8m thick, proposes that a pyramid-town may have existed near the valley temple.
Better continued are Khufu's 3 small queens' pyramids on the eastern side of the Great Pyramid and across the road running or so the monument. The first pyramid to the north (G1-a), goes to Khufu's mother Hetepheres which was turned up by American Egyptologist George A Reisner in 1925. Hetepheres was the wife of Sneferu and probably the mother of Khufu. Reisner's team found Hetpheres's pretty funerary furniture and other inhumation equipment in a shaft tomb (G7000x) to the north of the queen's pyramid. Her empty coffin, gold jewellery and covered canopic chest was observed with broken wooden furniture now rebuilt and on show in Cairo Museum. The queen's remains were missing, however, and this has puzzled Egyptologists and has led to many hypotheses about the location of her latest sepulture. The second queen's pyramid (G1-b) plausibly belongs to to Meretites who lived during the dominates of Sneferu, Khufu and Khafre reported to an inscription in the nearby mastaba of Kawab, Khufu's son. The third small pyramid (G1-c) may have belonged to Henutsen, daughter of Sneferu and Khufu's half-sister. Her name is known only from an dedication in the pyramid's chapel which was converted to a Temple of Isis during Dynasties XXI to XXVI. The goddess Isis (or Isi) was wanted as 'Lady of the Pyramids' at Giza until Roman times. The pyramids of Khufu's queens gave for the first time ever in 1998 after the restoration of the exterior masonry and the removal of black situations and salt stains from the chamber walls, by the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation. Wooden staircases, new lighting and respiration were installed. Recent archeological sites at the south-east corner of Khufu's pyramid have revealed a destroyed satellite pyramid with T-shaped inner chambers and a descending corridor ending in a rectangular vaulted burial chamber. A larger limestone block with three sloping sides was found on the satellite pyramid's south side which proved to be the base of its pyramidion. Other stones of the pyramidion were found a year later on the north side of the pyramid. Not a single image of King Khufu has been observed in the total of his pyramid complex. The only known figure of the builder of one of the world's greatest monuments is a small ivory statuette only 7.6 cm high, which was got at Abydos. The statuette of the king on his throne has the Horus make of Khufu, Hor-Mejedu.
Better continued are Khufu's 3 small queens' pyramids on the eastern side of the Great Pyramid and across the road running or so the monument. The first pyramid to the north (G1-a), goes to Khufu's mother Hetepheres which was turned up by American Egyptologist George A Reisner in 1925. Hetepheres was the wife of Sneferu and probably the mother of Khufu. Reisner's team found Hetpheres's pretty funerary furniture and other inhumation equipment in a shaft tomb (G7000x) to the north of the queen's pyramid. Her empty coffin, gold jewellery and covered canopic chest was observed with broken wooden furniture now rebuilt and on show in Cairo Museum. The queen's remains were missing, however, and this has puzzled Egyptologists and has led to many hypotheses about the location of her latest sepulture. The second queen's pyramid (G1-b) plausibly belongs to to Meretites who lived during the dominates of Sneferu, Khufu and Khafre reported to an inscription in the nearby mastaba of Kawab, Khufu's son. The third small pyramid (G1-c) may have belonged to Henutsen, daughter of Sneferu and Khufu's half-sister. Her name is known only from an dedication in the pyramid's chapel which was converted to a Temple of Isis during Dynasties XXI to XXVI. The goddess Isis (or Isi) was wanted as 'Lady of the Pyramids' at Giza until Roman times. The pyramids of Khufu's queens gave for the first time ever in 1998 after the restoration of the exterior masonry and the removal of black situations and salt stains from the chamber walls, by the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation. Wooden staircases, new lighting and respiration were installed. Recent archeological sites at the south-east corner of Khufu's pyramid have revealed a destroyed satellite pyramid with T-shaped inner chambers and a descending corridor ending in a rectangular vaulted burial chamber. A larger limestone block with three sloping sides was found on the satellite pyramid's south side which proved to be the base of its pyramidion. Other stones of the pyramidion were found a year later on the north side of the pyramid. Not a single image of King Khufu has been observed in the total of his pyramid complex. The only known figure of the builder of one of the world's greatest monuments is a small ivory statuette only 7.6 cm high, which was got at Abydos. The statuette of the king on his throne has the Horus make of Khufu, Hor-Mejedu.
Granite Head of Khufu
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| Granite Head of Khufu |
The close eyes, broad nose and big mouth, still, are idea to resemble the facial has of the only experienced statue of Keops that bears his titular.
The Ivory Statue of Khufu
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| The Ivory Statue of Khufu |
The king wears the Red Crown, associated with Lower Egypt. In his right hand, he is holding a flail, symbol of his royal power, while his forgot hand is resting on his left knee. This small statue is currently on show in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
King Khufu (Cheops) (2551-2528)
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| Cartouche of Khufu |
Khufus offspring took as well Djedefhor, Khumbaef, Merysankh (2), Minkhaf, Nefermaat, Khamerernebti (1), Djedef Aha, and others. The gentle family was actually shared into two political and clan groups, with rivalries and disputes that subject the dynasty after Khufus demise. The reputation of Khufu was not good, as a effect. Greek historians claimed they were informed of the points by Egyptian records and wrote ill of him. The raising of the Great Pyramid, which used corvee labor, not slaves, was an almost overwhelming task. The Greeks linked that Khufus daughter had to sell herself in order to raise the essential money to total the project. The accusation is void, as Egypt did not have a currency until centuries later.
Khufu also covered in magic, reported to the legends, using a magician from Meidum, Djedi, who navigated on the Nile in a barge full of women coated only in fishnets. The Tale of Khufu and the Magicians, a Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.E.) papyrus, relates this fantastic tale. The real Khufu was vigorous and active. He used the diorite targets near Abu Simbel, advertised campaigns in the Sinai, and originated building projects around Memphis. His name was found on stamps of jars and vases in Beit Khallaf, north of Abydos, and the Westcar Papyrus details his reign. Only a small figurine was discovered as his portrait, nowadays in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
His Great Pyramid in Giza was earlier 753 square feet, rising 478 feet, and it is the only subsister of the Seven Wonders of the World. It took two decades of continuous labor, using corve levies of workers in the land. Five boat scores were taken in the complex on the south and east. The mortuary cult of Khufu was modern in Egypt, still observed in the country during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (6645-25 B.C.E.) and straight into the Roman
Period in some fields.
The Red Pyramid of Sneferu
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| Red Pyramid of Sneferu |
Red Pyramid of Sneferu is the second biggest pyramid 722 feet per side in Egypt. However, it is leaning much less (43 degrees 22 ) and shorter at 343 feet. Fourth tightest pyramid built, with 160 layers of stone. First prosperous true pyramid (not established around steps, etc) in Egypt and is the root of the Giza pyramids.
Built by Khufus father, Sneferu, who built three pyramids (at least). Also referred to as the Shining Pyramid or Northwest Pyramid. Layers of white limestone were laid for the foot, and tura limestone was used as casing. Nearly of the casing stones had letterings on the back in red paint appointment crews and cartouches. There are no identifying in scrfiptions in side the pyramid. Some of the stones are dated giving us an idea of how long it read to build the pyramid and the episode of work. Around 30 pct of the pyramid had been completed and the entire pyramid was bright in 17 years. A mortuary temple remains to the east, and a pyramid was got and reconstructed. Not much continues of the temple, but it showed in the east-west preference of later temples. Entrance in the north side, leads to a 206 foot down passage (27 degrees) to the first chamber with a corbelled ceiling about 40 tall. All chambers have a corbelled ceiling, with between 11 and 14 layers in each. This is a very strong ceiling design. A transition on the south side results to the second chamber (whatever of the ehse are at ground level) and a third chamber (entered by a staircase) is last up in the pyarmid.
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| Inside the red pyramid of Sneferu |
The work on this pyramid plausibly started when functional problems found when ramping up the Bent Pyramid affected the builders to temporarily break this project. The Red Pyramid was built with a slope of only 4322'. Its base length is 220 metres, that is 32 metres more than the Bent Pyramid. Its height is the very as the Bent Pyramid in its final state: 105 metres. The broader base and lower slope were meant to better spread the mass of this pyramid and therefore avoid the structural jobs that had temporarily blocked works on the Bent Pyramid. The national structure of this pyramid is a further continuation of the pyramid at Meidum and the Bent Pyramid. Contrary to this latter monument, however, there is only one internal structure, making it a lot more smooth. The entering is located high up in the Northern face of the pyramid. A descending passage leads down for 62.63 ms to a short level corridor. This is followed by two about identical antechambers with corbelled roofs. Both antechambers measure 3.65 by 8.36 meters and are 12.31 metres high. The burying chamber can only be reached via a short passage which opens high up in the wall of the second lobby. The burial chamber measures 4.18 by 8.55 ms. Its corbelled roof goes up to a peak of 14.67 meters. It is located well above groundlevel, in the effect of the pyramid.
The Bent Pyramid of Sneferu
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| Bent Pyramid of Sneferu |
The lower part of the pyramid rises from the desert at a 54-degree lean, but the top segment is built at the shallower angle of 43 points, lending the pyramid its very plain "bent" visual aspect. Archaeologists now believe that the Bent Pyramid being a transitional form between step-sided and smooth-sided pyramids. It has been indicated that due to the steepness of the particular angle of leaning the construction may have got to show signs of instability during construction, forcing the builders to adopt a shallower angle to avert the social system's collapse. This theory comes out to be borne out by the fact that the adjacent Red Pyramid, built immediately afterwards by the same Pharaoh, was constructed at an angle of 43 degrees from its base.
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| View in the lower main chamber of bent pyramid |
It is also unique amongst the or so ninety pyramids to be found in Egypt, in that its original processed limestone outer in case remains for the Nearly part intact. British functional engineer Peter James attributes this to larger clearances between the parts of the casing than used in later pyramids; these imperfections would work as expansion joints and preclude the successive wipe-out of the outer in case by thermal expansion.
The Meidum Pyramid of Sneferu
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| The Meidum Pyramid of Sneferu |
A serial of Fourth Dynasty (2575-2465 B.C.E.) Mastaba tombs surroundings the pyramid, some bearing spectacular reliefs and statuary. The famous Meidum geese paintings were part of the reliefs in the grave of Nefermaat and his wife Atet. Near, the mastaba of Prince Rahotep and his wife Nofret disciplined a unique portrait title statue group. The pictures and statues are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. A Fifth Dynasty (2465-2323 B.C.E.) mummy was also observed in Meidum.
King Sneferu (2575-2551)
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| Statue of Sneferu |
Sneferu, the first pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty, likely was the son of his precursor Huni and Meresankh I, one of Hunis secondary married women. His marriage to his half-sister, Hetepheres I, comes out to have legitimised his exact to the throne. Although the kings of the 4th Dynasty are thus descendents of the kings of the 3rd Dynasty, Manetho justifies his placing them in a separate dynasty because Sneferu come from a different line in the royal family. Next to Hetepheres, Sneferu was tied to at least two other but unknown queens, with whom he had different children. A first queen bore him 4 youngsters: one whose discover isanonymous, Nefermaat, Rahotep and Ranofer. Hetepheres only seems to have born him one child, Kheops. With his third wife, Sneferu may have had one or two children: Kanefer and perhaps Ankh-haf. Nefermaat and Rahotep were forgot at the cemetery of Meidum, near the pyramid often incorrectly credited Huni. This looks to suggest that they were an older genesis of Sneferu's young, from before he moved to the newer inhumation grounds of Dashur, some 45 kilometers to the North. According to Manetho, the first king of the 4th Dynasty ruled for 29 years, but Turin King-list column 3, line 9 only notes 24 years. The Palermo Stone mentions a 6th to 8th cattle count, but is unfortunately half at this point. It does point, however, that the cattle counts during Sneferu's rule were not always held at 2-year intervals, making it difficult to cans how long this king very ruled.
According to the said Palermo Stone, Sneferu closed an expedition to Lebanon to hold the high quality true cedar wood needed for the constructing of ships, holy barks and doors of palaces. He besides ordered one or more military expeditions into Nubia, bringing back a large quantity of people and cattle and is believed to be the founder of the fortress Buhen, near the 2nd cataract in Nubia. Although his bearing in the Sinai is no more different as that of his predecessors, he would later be precious as a god in this region. His private policy seems to have been aimed at maintaining royalty and the grand family. Most, but not all, of the high-placed officials and nobles at his court were members of his family. He was also responsible for rearranging the land ownership among his nobles, probably to forbid them from proper too powerful but also to stimulate the cultivation of marshes. It is generally believed that Sneferu was true for the completion of his precursors pyramid at Meidum, although there is no evidence of Huni's engagement in the building of that pyramid. It is therefor possible that Sneferu constructed the pyramid at Meidum, as well two pyramids at Dashur. It is unknown why Sneferu moved the location of the inhumation reasons to Dashur and not back to the more traditional Sakkara. The angle of the sides of the south pyramid at Dashur, believed by some to be the oldest of the two, was changed from 5431 to 4321 somewhere halfway the establishing, leading in the special shape of this so-called "Bent Pyramid". It has been argued that the angle was decreased in order to decrease the mass of the pyramid, fearing it would crumble otherwise, or in order to decrease the workload. The northern pyramid is the first "true" pyramid, with angles of 4336. It is called the "Red Pyramid" because of the colour its stones shine at sunset. The fact that it has nearly the same angle as the top of the Bent Pyramid, has constant the belief that the Bent Pyramid was the latest of the two.
Sneferu besides became somewhat of a popular form after his death. His monuments are observed in the Middle Kingdom story of Sinuhe and he himself is identified as a wise and kind ruler in the story on the Westcar Papyrus. The first king of the 4th Dynasty was an open military leader. His campaigns against the Nubians and the Libyans are qualified on the Palermo Stone. He began trade with the Mediterranean nations and initiated a series of building projects throughout Egypt. To supply Egypt with timber, he sent a fleet of forty ships to Lebanon. While there, he put up monuments to commemorate the event. He developed his mortuary complex at Dashur, taking on the Maidum Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid, and the Red Pyramid. The bent pyramid is thought to be an architectural link between the Step Pyramid and the true pyramids. Sneferu was deify by the kings of the 12th Dynasty. Many of the swayer of that time improved their hold mortuary complexes beside his. Sneferu was the break of the 4th dynasty and Nearly likely the son of his herald king Huni and one of his secondary wives - Meresankh I. By marrying one of his half-sister Hetepheres I, Sneferu became the pharaoh over the two countries. His queen appears to have given him but one lasting child - Khufu, but with two secondary checks he had: Nefermaat, Rahotep, Ranofer, Kanofer and Ankh-haf plus one whose name is stranger. The first two were swallowed at Meidum.
His internal policy seems to have been focused on keeping centralised power and keep it to spread among high-placed officials and noblesses. He therefore rearranged the land- ownership nation wide, belike to prevent these families from becoming too powerful. Sneferu completed the big pyramid at Meidum, a monument presumed to have been built by his father Huni. Then he for some strange reason, moved the position of the royal inhumation grounds from the remote southern Meidum to Dashur a trip of 90 km to the north just 10 km south of the old royal burying ground of the capital at Sakkara. At his new founded cemetery he erected two great pyramids.
Famous Monuments in Luxtor
Temple of Khnum at Esna
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| Temple of Khnum at Esna |
The Temple of Khnum at Esna, or Isna,
was constructed about 50
Kilometres south of
ancient Thebes, better knew
today as Luxor. The temple was devoted to the
ram-headed deity Kum or Khnum, a female counterpart, the
goddess Neith, and their son, leaving in a triad
construction similar to Edfu.
It has 3
precept entrance doors and, as
strange as it sounds, with some Inca style construction
of unadorned design, as in earlier
Egyptian times at the
Koricancha temple in
Cuzco, Peru. Although there are
older sophistications, most of the temple was primitively built during the
(Greco - Roman) period, the Greek penchant for this place likely was to do with
the fact that Greeks concerned the Egyptian goddess Neith with their goddess
Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
Dedicated to Khnum, the creator god who fashioned human-kind
on his
potter’s wheel using
Nile clay, the
temple was began
by Ptolemy VI Philometor
(180-145 BC) and
built over the
ruins of previous temples. The hypostyle Hall, as it stands today, was
constructed by Romans. Parts of the
ornaments date from as late as the 3 rd
Century AD.
In the design
of this temple
there were great
astrological imports as Khnum in a way is also a god of the universe on
account that occasionally
he is was
as a ram
with 4 heads. The ram in hieroglyphs acts spirit and as
such each head is thought to represent the spirit of a several Egyptian god,
Ra, Shu, Seb and Osiris as the four elements: "fire, air, earth and
water", all of
which make the
easy universe or
Zodiac. Khnum was also
strongly tied to
Osiris as both
were river gods
that finally got the
Nile, these gods
were eventually merged and
worshiped in a
various way.
The columns at the entry represent lotus flowers, a mythological
symbolism of the birth of Ra, the Sun
god that supposedly
sprang from one
of these flowers
at the beginning
of the creation
of the universe. Likewise in the walls of this temple are
engraved a great number of calendars, and in the cap appears a
great Zodiac agency
with Egyptian and
Roman symbols.
Two pictures of the goddess Hathor at each face of the ceiling
look giving birth to the sun, and the 37 men navigating in a boat representing
the Dekans are depicted at her belly.
Inside of the Dekans (sky divisions) are the 12 Zodiacal symbols very similar
to how they are known today.
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