What are pyramids? A brief description. Egyptian pyramids - who really built them? Alien civilization. Giant on the Nile

general information

Among the Egyptian pyramids there are huge and smaller ones, with a smooth surface and stepped ones, very well preserved and reminiscent of a pile of ruins. They can be observed in Saqqara and Memphis, Hawar and Upper Egypt, Medum and Abusir, El Lahun and Abu Rawash. However, only a few are considered the main tourist sites, namely the pyramids in Giza, a suburb of the Egyptian capital, built, as is commonly believed, during the reign of the IV-VI dynasties of the pharaohs, which occurred in the XXVI-XXIII centuries BC. e.

Looking at these grandiose creations of human hands, you can’t help but wonder: how much effort and time was spent on the construction of such structures that seem, at least in their scale, to be absolutely useless. Either the pharaohs who ruled 45 centuries ago thereby wanted to emphasize their own divinity and the greatness of their era, or these buildings contain some hidden meaning that is still inaccessible to our understanding. But it is difficult to comprehend it, because the secrets are securely hidden under a layer of millennia, and we have no choice but to make guesses and versions, hoping that sooner or later everything secret will definitely become clear...

Secrets of the Egyptian pyramids

Egyptian pyramids shrouded in an aura of myths and secrets, and with the passage of time and the development of science, there are still more questions than answers. As the proverb says: “Everything in the world is afraid of time, but time itself is afraid of the pyramids.” Interest is also fueled by various theories about the appearance of these majestic monuments. Lovers of the mystical consider pyramids to be powerful sources of energy and believe that the pharaohs spent time in them not only after death, but also during life, in order to draw strength. There are also completely incredible ideas: for example, some believe that the Egyptian pyramids were built by aliens, and others that the blocks were moved by people who owned a magic crystal. Let's look at the generally accepted and most likely scenario.

Religion occupied a dominant position in the life of Ancient Egypt. It shaped both the worldview of the people and their entire culture. Death was perceived only as a transition to another world, so preparation for it had to take place in advance, even during earthly life. However, the privilege of remaining “immortal” was, as it was believed, only with the pharaoh and his family members. And he, at his discretion, could bestow it on those around him. Commoners were deprived of the right to an afterlife, with the exception of servants and slaves, whom the powerful ruler “took” with him. Nothing should have interfered with the comfortable “existence” of a high-ranking deceased, so he was provided with everything necessary - food supplies, household utensils, weapons, servants.

At first, rulers were buried in special “afterlife houses”, and in order for the pharaoh’s body to be preserved for centuries, it was embalmed. These early funerary buildings - mastabas - appeared during the period of the first dynasties. They consisted of an underground burial chamber and an above-ground part in the form of a stone structure, where prayer rooms were equipped and burial goods were located. In cross-section, these tombs resembled a trapezoid. They were built in Abydos, Nagadea, and Upper Egypt. The main necropolis of the then capital of the first dynasties - the city of Memphis - was located in Saqqara.

Actually, pyramid-shaped tombs began to be built about 5 thousand years ago. The initiator of their construction was Pharaoh Djoser (or Necherikhet), the first in the III dynasty of the Old Kingdom. The construction of the necropolis named after this ruler was led by the supreme dignitary and famous architect of his time, Imhotep, who was almost equated to a deity. If we discard all the fantastic versions about the contacts of the then rulers with aliens and proceed from the fact that these structures were built by people on their own, then the scale of the work and their labor intensity cannot but impress. Experts tried to establish their chronology and nature, and this is the results they came to. Since the pyramids are made of stone blocks, the question immediately arose: where and how were they mined? It turned out to be in the rocks...

Having marked out a shape in the rock and hollowed out grooves, they inserted dry trees into them and watered them with water. They expanded from moisture and created cracks in the rock, facilitating the process of extracting blocks. Then they were immediately processed on the spot with tools and, having been given the desired shape, were sent by river to the construction site. But how did the Egyptians lift these heavy masses to the top? First, they were loaded onto wooden sleds and pulled along gentle embankments. By modern standards, such technologies look backward. However, the quality of work is at the highest level! The megaliths are so closely adjacent to each other that there are practically no discrepancies.

The Pyramid of Djoser, located in Saqqara, is considered the very first pyramid in Egypt and the oldest surviving such large stone structure in the world (its size is 125 by 115 meters with a height of 62 meters). It was built in 2670 BC. e. and has the appearance of a structure with six huge tiled steps. Because of such an unusual shape, in those distant times it was called a “false pyramid.” The pyramid of Djoser began to attract the attention of travelers since the Middle Ages, and this interest has not dried up to this day.

The architect did not initially plan to build such a pyramid. The tomb became stepped during construction. The presence of steps clearly reveals a symbolic meaning: it was along them that the deceased pharaoh had to ascend to heaven. This structure also differed from previous necropolises in that it was built of stone rather than brick. And one more feature: the presence of a very wide and deep vertical shaft, covered with a dome on top. There is nothing like this in the pyramids built later. Of no less interest to archaeologists and Egyptologists are the marble fragments under the sarcophagus, on which carved images resembling stars can be seen. These are clearly fragments of some unknown structure, but no one knows which one.

The pyramid of Djoser was not intended only for himself, and this also differs from other similar structures. The ruler and members of his family were buried in the burial chambers, 12 in total. Archaeologists have discovered the mummy of an 8-9-year-old boy, apparently a son. But the body of the pharaoh himself could not be found. Perhaps the mummified heel found here belonged to him. Even in ancient times, it is believed that robbers entered the tomb, probably kidnapping its dead “owner.”

However, the version of the robbery does not seem so clear. When examining the internal galleries, gold jewelry, porphyry bowls, clay and stone jugs and other valuables were discovered. Why didn't the thieves take away all this wealth? Historians were also interested in the seals affixed to small clay vessels. The name “Sekemhet” was inscribed on them, translated as “mighty in body.” It clearly belonged to an unknown pharaoh of one of the powerful dynasties. Everything indicated that in ancient times the construction of another pyramid had begun here, but for some reason it was not completed. They even discovered an empty sarcophagus, the internal state of which led to the conclusion that no one was buried here...

As for the Pyramid of Djoser itself, the attraction has been well preserved to this day and is open to tourists. The entrance to it, like to other buildings on the territory, is located on the north side. A tunnel equipped with columns leads inside. The northern temple, the location of which is clear from the name itself, forms a single structure with the pyramid. architectural ensemble. Funeral services were held there and sacrifices were made in the name of the pharaoh.

Egyptian pyramids in Giza

The most famous among all the Egyptian pyramids are the so-called great pyramids located in Giza - the third largest city in the modern Arab Republic of Egypt, with a population of almost 3 million people. The metropolis is located on the western bank of the Nile, about 20 km from Cairo and is a virtual suburb of the capital.

The Great Pyramids of Giza are today the most popular ancient monuments in the country. Over the years, visiting them has become almost a ritual for tourists. Fly to Egypt and not see these majestic buildings with your own eyes? This is impossible to imagine! Many travelers even consider this place to be spiritual, connected to space, and visiting here becomes akin to some kind of healing. Recent studies have shown that the builders of the necropolises surprisingly accurately directed them to the belt of the constellation Orion, which has an as yet unsolved meaning. It is also interesting that their edges are oriented to the sides of the sun, and this is done with the same precision.

The Egyptian pyramids at Giza are undoubtedly an extremely impressive sight. Their sandstone facades reflect the sunlight: they are pink in the morning, golden during the day and turn dark purple at dusk. It is impossible not to admire the feat of engineering and organization that resulted in millions of stone blocks being transported from one place to another and precisely stacked on top of each other without power plants and lifting equipment.

The complex of the great pyramids consists of the tombs of three ancient rulers - Cheops, Khafre and Mikerin. Unlike the previous “houses after life” (macabs), these necropolises have a strict pyramidal shape. Moreover, the first of them is the only one of the seven wonders of the world that has survived to this day.

Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu)

You can talk about the pyramid of Cheops (or Khufu) for a long time and a lot, but the story in any case will be incomplete, because it continues to keep many unsolved secrets. One of them is the focus on North Pole exactly along the meridian: with its top, the monumental structure “looks” at the North Star. It is amazing how ancient architects could make such accurate calculations without having modern astronomical instruments in their hands. This accuracy has an even smaller margin of error than the famous Paris Observatory.

Cheops, the second pharaoh of the fourth dynasty of Ancient Egypt, who reigned for 27 years, has the reputation of a cruel and despotic ruler. He literally exhausted the resources of his kingdom, directing them to the construction of the pyramid. He was also merciless towards his people, forcing them to do back-breaking work to build their posthumous “dwelling.” Great Pyramid was built in three stages, as evidenced by the corresponding number of cameras. The first, its area is 8 by 14 meters, was carved deep into the rock, the second (5.7 x 5.2 m) - under the top of the pyramid. The third chamber - it is the only one of them completed - became the tomb of the pharaoh. Special mention should be made about her. It stretches 10.4 m from west to east, and 5.2 m from south to north. The granite slabs that line the room fit together flawlessly. Nine monolithic blocks form the ceiling, their total weight is 400 tons.

Each cell has its own “hallway”, connected to neighboring corridors-shafts. At first, the entrance to the tomb was on the north side and was located above the base at a height of 25 meters. Currently, you can enter the pyramid from another place, and this entrance is not so high. The builders could hardly have imagined that after several thousand years their creation would become a tourist attraction, so the 40-meter corridor was made not only narrow, but also low. Numerous tourists have to cross it crouching down. The corridor ends with a wooden staircase. It leads to the same low room, which is the center of the entire necropolis.

The height of the Cheops pyramid is more than 146 meters - this is the “height” of a 50-story skyscraper. After the Great Chinese wall it is precisely this that is the largest structure ever erected in human history. The attraction is not “alone”; there are several other buildings around it. Of these, only three companion pyramids and the ruins of a mortuary temple have survived to this day. It is obvious that no less effort was put into their construction. According to the most common version, the companion pyramids were intended for the wives of the ruler.

Pyramid of Khafre (Khafre)

A pharaoh named Khafre was either the son or brother of Cheops and reigned after him. His pyramid, located nearby, is somewhat smaller, however, at first glance, it is perceived as more significant. And all because it stands on some elevation. The Pyramid of Khafre was found during archaeological excavations in 1860. The tomb of this ancient Egyptian ruler is “guarded” by the famous Sphinx, which looks like a lion lying on the sand, whose face may have been given the features of Khafre himself. Being the oldest monumental sculpture preserved on our planet (its length is 72 m, height is 20 m), it is interesting in itself. Egyptologists are inclined to think that the tombs of the two pharaohs, together with the sphinx, constitute a single burial complex. Slaves, it is believed, were not involved in the construction of this pyramid: free workers were hired for this purpose...

Pyramid of Mikerin (Menkaure)

And finally, the Pyramid of Mikerin is the third in the complex of great monuments of Giza. It is also known as the Pyramid of Menkaure, named after the fifth pharaoh of the fourth ancient Egyptian dynasty. Little is known about this ruler - only that he was the son of Cheops (at least, this is what the ancient Greek historian Herodotus claimed). This necropolis is called " younger brother» of the two above-mentioned tombs: it was built later than the others and the lowest of them, its height is slightly more than 65 meters. Such modest sizes indicate the decline of the ancient kingdom and the lack of resources necessary for construction.

However, the monumentality of the structure as such did not suffer from this. For example, the weight of one of the blocks used in the construction of the mortuary temple exceeds 200 tons, making it the heaviest on the Giza plateau. Just imagine what superhuman efforts had to be made to hoist this colossus into place. And the majestic statue of the pharaoh himself, seated inside the temple! It is one of the largest sculptures that personify that mysterious era... The pyramid of Mykerinus, as the smallest one, could have begun the destruction of the entire historical and architectural complex in Giza, conceived by Sultan al-Malik al-Aziza, who ruled at the end of the 12th century. Work to dismantle the necropolis lasted about a year, but the practical result was minimal. The Sultan was ultimately forced to curtail them, since his, frankly speaking, stupid and unjustified undertaking entailed exorbitant expenses.

Sphinx

At the base of the sacred causeway that once connected the pyramid of Khafre with the Nile, there is the Sphinx - a mysterious sculpture with the head of Khafre attached to the body of a lion. In Egyptian mythology, sphinxes were guardian deities, and this sculpture is a protective monument 73 m long and 20 m high. After the death of the pharaoh, the body of the Sphinx was gradually covered by the desert sands. Thutmose IV believed that the statue spoke to him and told him that he would become pharaoh if he cleared the sand, which he hastened to do. Since then, the ancient Egyptians believed that the monument had prophetic powers.

Solar Boat Museum

Behind the Pyramid of Cheops is the Museum of the Solar Boat, which houses a beautifully restored cedar boat on which the body of the dead pharaoh was transported from the east to the west bank of the Nile.

Useful information for tourists

The Great Pyramid complex of Giza is open to the public from 8:00 to 17:00 daily. The exceptions are the winter months (opening hours until 16:30) and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when access closes at 15:00.

Some travelers believe that if the pyramids are located under open air and are not a museum in the literal sense of the word, then here you can feel free to climb and climb onto these structures. Remember: doing this is strictly prohibited - in the interests of your own safety!

Before you agree to enter the pyramids, objectively assess your psychological state and physical health. People who have a fear of closed spaces (claustrophobia) should skip this part of the tour. Due to the fact that the inside of the tombs is usually dry, hot and a little dusty, it is not recommended for asthmatics, hypertensive patients and those suffering from other diseases of the cardiovascular and nervous system to enter here.

How much will an excursion to the area of ​​the Egyptian pyramids cost a tourist? Cost has several components. Admission ticket it will cost you 60 Egyptian pounds, which is equivalent to about 8 euros. Do you want to go to the Cheops pyramid? For this you will have to pay 100 pounds or 13 euros. A tour from the inside of the Pyramid of Khafre is much cheaper - £20 or €2.60.

A visit to the Solar Boat Museum, which is located south of the pyramid Cheops (40 pounds or 5 euros). Photography is allowed in the pyramid area, but you will have to pay 1 euro for the right to take pictures. Visiting other pyramids in Giza - for example, the mother and wife of Pharaoh Khafre - is not paid.

Many tourists admit that, after getting to know the main attractions, they leave it amazing place, literally imbued with the spirit of antiquity, I don’t want it at all. In such cases, you can rent camels for leisurely walks. Their owners wait for clients right at the foot of the pyramids. They may charge an inflated price for their services. Don’t agree to it right away, bargain and you’ll get a discount.

• The Pyramid of Cheops is the only surviving wonder of the world.
• The pyramids took two centuries to build and were erected several at a time. Now, according to research by various scientists, their age ranges from 4 to 10 thousand years.
• In addition to precise mathematical proportions, pyramids have another feature in this area. The stone blocks are arranged in such a way that there are no gaps between them; even the thinnest blade cannot fit through there.
• Each side of the pyramid is located in the direction of one side of the world.
• The Cheops Pyramid, the largest in the world, reaches a height of 146 meters and weighs more than six million tons.
• If you want to know how the Egyptian pyramids were created, Interesting Facts You can learn about construction from the pyramids themselves. Construction scenes are depicted on the walls of the passages. The edges of the pyramids are curved by one meter so that they can accumulate solar energy. Thanks to this, the pyramids could reach thousands of degrees and emit an incomprehensible roar from such heat.
• A perfectly straight foundation was made for the Cheops pyramid, so the edges differ from each other by only five centimeters.
• The first pyramid built dates back to 2670 BC. e. In appearance, it resembles several pyramids located next to each other. The architect created the type of masonry that helped achieve this effect.
• The Cheops Pyramid is made of 2.3 million blocks, perfectly aligned and matching each other.
• Structures similar to the Egyptian pyramids are also found in Sudan, where the tradition was later picked up.
• Archaeologists managed to find the village where the pyramid builders lived. A brewery and bakery were discovered there.

How to get there

Tourists from Russia and the CIS countries usually prefer to spend their holidays in Sharm el-Sheikh or Hurghada and often want to combine a holiday on the magnificent beaches with a visit to the pyramid complex in Giza. Since the resorts are located quite far from the named city, you can only get there in a train excursion group. If you go by bus, you will have to spend 6 to 8 hours on the road. It's faster by plane: you'll get there in just 60 minutes. You can also get there by car with a driver. This is much more comfortable, but it will take a significant hit on your wallet.

Those who are on vacation in Cairo or are in the Egyptian capital on a business trip are in a more advantageous position. They can take the bus (routes no. 900 and 997) or the metro (yellow line no. 2, exit at Giza station). Alternatively, you can call a taxi or catch one in Tahrir Square. The trip will cost more than using public transport, but you will get there faster, in just half an hour. You can go back and forth with the same car, but you will have to pay a little more.

You can get to Giza from the capital by taking a bus in the New Cairo area (aka Heliopolis), which follows one of two routes: No. 355 or No. 357. These comfortable vehicles, running every 20 minutes, are marked with the letters CTA, by which they are easy to recognize. Ending station is located just before the entrance to the pyramid zone, at the crossroads.

The times are long gone when the Egyptian pyramids amazed the observer with unprecedented grandeur and unsurpassed monumentality. About one thousand three hundred years ago, humanity learned to build bigger, higher, more massive and faster than the ancient Egyptians did. But still, for four thousand years, leadership in the field of construction remained with a long-vanished people...

Who, how and when built the Egyptian pyramids? Interest in the Pyramids of Giza has not waned for five millennia in a row. Egyptologists know the answers to most questions.

How and from what the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids – in many cases we only speculate, and among the hypotheses being propagated there is a lot of outright fantasy. Let's try to understand the history of the Egyptian pyramids without prejudice, mysticism and feigned mystery.

How many pyramids are there in Egypt?

And if the pyramids of Giza are famous for their impressive size, perfect shape and good preservation, the pyramids of other ancient Egyptian tombs were less fortunate. Many of them - due to the fragility of the usual adobe clay brick at that time or the urgent need for building materials - collapsed completely or partially, and are more reminiscent of hills than pyramids.

So, in 2013, American archaeologist Angela Micol, examining photo maps high resolution, suggested that several hills on the territory of modern Egypt are nothing more than ancient pyramids, partly eroded under the influence of climatic factors, partly covered with sand and dust.

Inspired by a tip from overseas, Egyptian archaeologists undertook an expedition to specified heights. Cautious statements have appeared in the press regarding the fairness of the judgments of the American scientist, however, the finds of Angela Micol have not yet been included in the official register of Egyptian pyramids - as well as the remains of 17 more pyramids, similarly discovered by Sarah Parcak from the University of Birmingham, Alabama.

Mastaba - the modest tomb of the pharaoh

The imperfection of the then construction technologies forced the Egyptians to create buildings with inclined edges of the outer walls. The intuitive assimilation of the artificial structure to a natural embankment made of stone ensured the stability of the erected structure no worse than that of a conical pile of debris of different sizes at the foot of the mountain.

In Arab Egypt, the first tombs of the pharaohs were called “mastaba”, which means “stool” in Arabic.

In terms of its architectural appearance, the mastaba resembles a slightly expanded ancient Egyptian residential building, and there is not a drop of holiness in the purely utilitarian building. So it is not surprising that every new ruler sought to build his mastaba higher than any buildings in the area, and most importantly, higher than the tomb of his predecessor. Delusions of grandeur are so characteristic of leaders!

The logical result of the growth of the mastaba was a geometrically correct pyramid, but it was not possible to achieve the desired shape immediately.

Tomb of Djoser - the first Egyptian pyramid

Imhotep - a brave innovator

Realizing that adobe clay brick (in Russian tradition the material is known as “adobe”) was not strong enough to create a high-rise structure, Imhotep ordered the use of limestone blocks to construct the tomb body.

Ingenious technology for constructing Djoser's pyramid

A thick clay composition was used as a binding solution, designed not so much to hold the blocks together as to fill the voids. Nature itself could have suggested the idea of ​​such a building material to Imhotep. Egyptians traveling around the surrounding world probably came across objects formed by mudflows and quickly turning into dense and durable material.

The clay was dug in the Nile Valley, soaked and mixed with some sand (to prevent cracking during the drying process). The wall stone was laid at an angle inside the building so that the wall line deviated from the vertical by 15˚. Thus, the walls of each of the tiers of the tomb formed an angle of 75˚ with the conventional plane of the firmament.

The critical components of the internal structures of Djoser's pyramid were made of two-ton blocks, delivered from afar by water, and coarsely hewn limestone. The cementing gypsum mortar, used by the Egyptians more often than lime, held the elements together only in some places. In particular, the blue tiles in the lining of the interior of the tomb were held on the walls thanks to gypsum binders.

Imhotep - the deified pioneer of perestroika

The pharaoh's consent was not long in coming. The uninterrupted continuation of work allowed the outstanding architect of Ancient Egypt to increase the height of the pyramid to 62 meters. Becoming six-tiered in 2649 BC, the pyramid of Djoser crowned huge complex ritual buildings and for a long time became a record building in Egypt and the entire world of that time.

It is estimated that 850 thousand tons of limestone were spent on the construction of the Djoser pyramid. According to the unanimous opinion of the builders of our time, there are no technological mysteries in the construction of the first Egyptian pyramid. However, Imhotep's contemporaries treated the outstanding architect with much greater reverence. After his death, the architect, engineer and scientist Imhotep was deified, and the Egyptian pyramids, according to the behest of the founder, were built in steps for a long time.

The Pyramids of Giza are the center of secrets and mysteries

The pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Mikerin represent the pinnacle of the building art of Ancient Egypt. The studies carried out did not provide a clear and reliable picture of the stages and methods of construction. Of the historical documents, the description of Herodotus is considered the most detailed - however, we must remember that Herodotus made his notes 2000 years after the construction of the Cheops pyramid...

Hemiun – hero of pyramid-building work

Perhaps the task was posed in some other way - but it doesn’t matter. Hemiun managed to create a pyramid that contained millions of tons of natural stone, rose almost to the skies (147 meters in height), concealed several secret rooms, and amazed (and amazes) the observer with the perfection of its forms and the grandeur of the idea.

The first secret plus the main secret

This is the first mystery of the main Egyptian pyramid. However, there may be several answers:

• a) researchers were simply unlucky to find required document;
• b) there was a ban on documenting and disclosing methods for constructing the pyramid;
• c) design documentation was not drawn up, construction recording was not carried out - as unnecessary.

How the greatest of the Egyptian pyramids was built

Egyptian builders did just that. The limestone blocks of the pyramid are smaller the closer to the top they lie. Which, by the way, refutes the fashionable theory about building a structure from concrete blocks.

Is the concrete idea false?

The time factor is also important. Curing of concrete requires the cast part to rest for a long time. Initial setting does not equate to full strength development. A multi-ton load cannot be immediately piled on a freshly cast and already hardened stone. You can speed up the hardening of the casting with organic additives - at least egg white - but then the mountain of shells will exceed the size of the pyramid. Is such a monument acceptable to the pharaoh?

The production of binder for concrete requires high-temperature dehydration of the raw material - in the case of Ancient Egypt. The country's resources made it possible to produce a certain amount of gypsum mortar painlessly, but not the millions of cubic meters required for a complete transition to artificial building stone! There simply wasn’t that much firewood in the state!

Concrete is not only a binder, it is also a mineral filler of several fractions. Modern concrete is created from cement mortar, sand and crushed granite. The blocks of the Egyptian pyramids are entirely limestone. One can, of course, imagine how thousands of slaves spend years crushing natural limestone to obtain crumbs, other thousands drag stretchers with limestone chips to a construction site, still others carry water in wineskins, and still others trample wet concrete - because without compaction it will turn out to be fragile.

But isn't it easier to carve ready-made blocks from stone? Moreover, all qualified mineralogists are unanimous in their assessment of the main material of the Cheops pyramid and consider it natural limestone.

However, individual structural elements of the pyramids could indeed be made of artificial stone. But not the most responsible and loaded with astronomical masses of overlying materials.

The granite mystery of the Cheops pyramid

Meanwhile, granite columns, obelisks and other “megaliths” were produced in Ancient Egypt without much difficulty. Our French contemporaries reproduced all stages of granite mining and processing, and were quite satisfied with the experience gained.

The following method was used to split off a large workpiece from a natural massif.

• 1. Along the contour of the proposed workpiece, a low fireplace was built from clay bricks.
• 2. Firewood was loaded into the hearth and a fire was lit. Hot coals heated the underlying granite to a shallow depth.
• 3. Water was poured onto the heated granite. The stone was cracking.
• 4. After removing the brick, ash and exfoliated rock, the heating zone was subjected to impact treatment with dolerite (dolerite is a type) hammers. As a result, a groove 10–15 cm deep was formed in the monolithic granite massif.
• 5. To deepen the contour groove, the operation was repeated.

The handmade technique with a rounded dolerite hammer requires endurance and perseverance of the performer. An hour's (even not very dexterous) beating of dolerite on granite allows you to remove a layer 6 - 8 mm thick over an area of ​​​​several square decimeters.

A dolerite nodule split in half served as the main tool for grinding granite. The abundance of dolerite in the eastern regions of Egypt allowed ancient craftsmen to use this hard stone in unlimited quantities.

Lifting heavy objects without a crane

Modern inventors talk about the possibility of covering a stone product with three-dimensional wooden structures that bring the shape of the packaged part closer to a cylinder. Such containers really make transportation easier, but require a solid road.

Inclined ramp or spiral road?

Researchers believe that this is how access roads to the Egyptian pyramids were built. An extendable inclined (7˚-8˚) ramp, made of bulk materials, compacted and reinforced with imported timber, could really help deliver massive stone blocks to their installation site.

However, the volume of earthworks in this case turns out to be comparable to the volume of the entire construction, and the pace of work is limited by the frequency of reconstructions transport route. The bulk spiral road laid around the pyramid makes it impossible to check the geometry of the edges and faces of the entire structure.

It would be another matter, suggested the French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin, if the spiral road was laid in the body of the pyramid along its outer edges. You can walk along such a road like a gentle staircase, dragging limestone blocks up along the way. True, this path is replete with right-angle turns. But if you make open areas with simple lifts at turning points, the difficulties will disappear.

Houdin's hypothesis is flawed in many respects. However, turning platforms were discovered in the corners of the structure, as well as some inclined passages along the perimeter of the pyramid. However, the Egyptian authorities have not yet given permission for large-scale hardware research of the historical structure.

Final process reconstruction

• - the most massive parts of the base of the pyramid and the interior of the tomb were delivered to the installation site along surface roads and a low bulk ramp;
• - the blocks composing the body of the pyramid rose along spiral scaffolding built outside;
• - a white limestone top - pyramidion - was installed immediately after the completion of the masonry;
• - facing blocks of white limestone, which in cross-section were right triangle, were laid from top to bottom, flush with the edges of the pyramidion.

And although individual details of the construction are not fully clarified, the overall picture is quite clear and plausible. However, the secrets of the Egyptian pyramids lay not only in the design and construction of Cyclopean structures.

"Unsolved" secrets of the Egyptian pyramids

As a result, today scientists do not have a complete plan of the cavities and rooms of the Cheops pyramid - which is why assumptions about the purpose of rooms, corridors and channels are based on insufficient information.

This situation gives food for idle thoughts about the presence of secret treasuries under the Egyptian pyramids and the Sphinx. The tabloid press is all about the idea of ​​the hiddenness of samples of ancient knowledge, stored either under the paws of the Sphinx, or under the burial chamber of Khufu, or even deeper.

However, historians and archaeologists do not expect any special revelations from hypothetical treasuries. Yes, if repositories that were not looted in the past are discovered, museum collections around the world will be significantly replenished with works of ancient Egyptian art - but one cannot expect advanced technologies among the surviving artifacts. Alas…

Is the pyramid a working device?

Echoes of the excitement that arose during the perestroika years regarding the miraculous properties of pyramidal structures are still alive. Allegedly, the blades in them self-sharpen, bacteria self-destruct, water self-sanctifies - and in great pyramids Plus, time slows down, organisms get younger and fools get wiser.

The experiments are still ongoing, but the statistics of the results are disappointing. Nothing special happens either in the ancient Egyptian pyramids or in their modern counterparts.

“In addition,” object the esotericists, “that contact is made with the higher mind!”

The influence of the Egyptian pyramids on the mind

True, psychiatrists, having learned about the voices and visions, begin to nervously trample and stroke bags of medicine. Psychologists talk about the similarity of individual reactions to darkness, silence and complete solitude. To save money, they say, instead of a sarcophagus, you can lie down in a wooden box with a lid, and instead of an Egyptian pyramid, use any dungeon - even a shallow hole.

The sum of sensations and thoughts that arise in the subjects is typical. In such solitude, every person thinks about the transience of life, the vanity of all things and the inevitability of the end. Pyramids have nothing to do with it!

Astronomical factor

The check showed that the coincidence of directions and proportions is very conditional. Defending his point of view, Bauval suggested: the position of the pyramids corresponds to the picture of the starry sky during the third dynasty of the pharaohs.

The development of computer technology has made it possible to restore the position of stars in the past. The simulated picture of the starry sky of 2500 BC turned out to be close to the location of the pyramids at Giza, but only approximately...

Further research led astronomers to the conclusion: the relative position of the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure (Cheops, Khafre and Mikerin) fully corresponds to the location of Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintak (stars of the “Orion’s Belt” asterism) in 10500 BC.

Idle thinkers immediately came to the conclusion that the initial marking of the construction site was completed in 10500, and they decided to postpone the actual construction for 8 thousand years.

Moreover! At the beginning, namely 14 thousand years before the birth of Christ, on the site of the future Giza and all its tombs there was a pyramid - to all pyramids a pyramid, the size of a real mountain! True, the ancestor of the pyramids was monolithic and cracked during the earthquake. It was decided to demolish the colossus, and in its place, after cleaning up the debris, to build a new pyramidal complex.

The thinkers do not say who and why made such unexpected decisions.

Numerological heresy of the Cheops pyramid

The data obtained became the subject of scientific discussions that continue to this day. Over two hundred years of speculation, particularly advanced experts have established a relationship between the linear parameters of the Cheops pyramid and:

• - the size of the Earth and the Solar system;
• - the number "pi";
• - past and future events;
• - physical constants that determine the balance of interaction of forces in the Universe.

Hey, psychiatrists!..

So, does this mean that there are no secrets in the Egyptian pyramids?

So far, there is no clear picture of the complex of technologies used almost 5,000 years ago. It is not clear why the Pyramid of Cheops, the most monumental of all the monuments of Ancient Egypt, is devoid of wall inscriptions and images. There is no confidence in understanding the purpose of the discovered objects, premises, buildings...

It is important, however, that only those studies of the Egyptian pyramids that are conducted within the framework of materialist theory become fruitful. The search for the extraordinary forces that took part in the creation of the Egyptian pyramids is fantastically funny - that’s all.

Elevation Egyptian civilization occurred approximately 5 thousand years ago and lasted three thousand years. At this time, the first pyramids appeared, at first imperfect, and then very skillful. In the ancient world they were considered one of the seven wonders of the world. The Egyptian pyramids keep their mysteries to this day. Interesting facts about them are collected in this article.

Why were the pyramids created?

The Lord, wanting to show his greatness and power, built a majestic creation in memory of himself. He filled individual rooms and the burial chamber with precious utensils that were supposed to serve him after death.

History of the creation of the pyramids

Mastaba was the name of the king's first tomb. Low rectangular buildings were built from clay bricks. The burial itself was underground. This is how the first Egyptian pyramids were created. We have selected interesting facts for children below.

The first “house of eternity” was built by the architect Imhotep for Pharaoh Djoser. He placed several mastabas one on top of the other. The largest was the base, then the mastabas became smaller.

This is how the world's first step pyramid was built, the top of which reaches into the sky. It was a very impressive and monumental structure. They liked it, and soon the kings began to build themselves houses for the afterlife - the Egyptian pyramids. Interesting facts about the world's first pyramid are as follows:

• A wall is built around it, which is 10 meters high. It has 15 inputs. Only one of them is real.
• On the outside, its walls are made of limestone, which has weathered and become uneven over 4.5 thousand years.

• Inside there are shafts and branched corridors that are easy to get confused in. Of them they end up in one room or another, and there are more than four hundred of them. In these premises the priests performed religious ceremonies. The corridors are very narrow and low. They walk on them, bending their back. This is done so that only the body of the deceased can be carried. The first eleven shafts are very smooth, with right angles. All others are created more primitively.
• The top of the pyramid is directed towards the North Star.

The rituals of the priests that we know about seem strange to us. Their witnesses are the Egyptian pyramids. Interesting facts about them can be collected endlessly. Here, for example, is what we know about the burial of Djoser.

Thanks to triangular shape her head is directed towards the heavens. Therefore, the soul of the pharaoh easily soared to the gods. But first, his body floated along the river of the underworld in a boat in search of his soul. When the priests believed that the soul had ascended to heaven, they returned the heart to the dead body of the ruler, then opened his eyes and mouth so that in the afterlife he could see everything and conduct conversations. After this they began the sacrificial feast. Oils were poured onto the mummy, thin bandages and tiaras were applied. At this point the ritual ended, and the pharaoh was considered resurrected.

Information for schoolchildren

There were Seven Wonders of the World in the Ancient World. They reflected the cultures of different peoples. Among them, ancient people included the pyramids of Egypt. There was even a statement that everyone is afraid of time, but it itself is afraid of the pyramids. It's true - the other wonders did not survive, only the pyramids survived. People have always been interested in what these huge structures hide. They looked for treasures in them, and a lot was looted, despite the fact that systems of traps completely permeated the Egyptian pyramids. Interesting facts about them can be found in numerous books. Children's libraries are rich in them. We will present interesting facts about the Egyptian pyramids for schoolchildren:

• Pyramids do not cast shadows if the sun is high. On the day of the winter solstice, the longest shadow falls on the earth. Using it you can measure the height of the pyramid without instruments.
• Three of them were placed by ancient astronomers and builders in the same way as the belt of the constellation Orion. Today, the stars have shifted a little, and the pyramids do not stand perfectly level under the stars. This situation was not accidental. Orion was united in the minds of the Egyptians with the god Osiris. He was the ruler of the underworld and ruled over the rebirth of life: pharaohs must live forever.

• Pyramids are not only found in North Africa. They are found in South and Central America, India and Mexico, Ethiopia and Cambodia, and Somalia. This leads some scientists to think that there was a single civilization in ancient times.

Giant on the Nile

The exact number of pyramids is difficult to determine. There are about seventy or eighty of them. They lined up on a rocky plateau that separates the valley of the life-giving Nile from the desert, at a distance of one hundred kilometers from Cairo to Illauhan. Almost all of them, with the exception of two, have a geometrically regular shape. We have already mentioned one of them - stepped, the other is located in Dashur and has a diamond shape. But the rest of the pyramids are as similar to each other as two peas in a pod. They differ only in size. The Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) is the largest.

If you describe it in numbers, it will awaken your imagination. Its volume is 2,525,000 cubic meters and its area is 54,000 square meters. Such a site can accommodate more than 1,000 two-room apartments. Royal palaces Europe is smaller than it: Versailles in Paris and Buckingham in England, Escorial in Madrid and Winter Palace In Petersburg. The pyramid is taller than the dome over St. Peter's in Rome, St. Paul's in London, Notre Dame in Paris, St. Vita in Prague. If it were empty inside, it would fit a tower for a space rocket and its launch pad. Aren't these interesting facts about the Egyptian pyramids?

Guardians of Eternity

In ancient Egypt, higher than all the temples, dedicated to the gods, towered the works of architects and builders who were supposed to glorify the earthly rulers. In architecture, perhaps, there are no more powerful and more laconic structures than the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Mikerin. These stone “crystals” boldly triumph over the unknowable and the mystery of death. Here are the most interesting facts about the Egyptian pyramids:

• The angle of inclination of the stacked blocks is not too steep. It is only 6 degrees higher than 45°.
• The four sides of the three main pyramids are strictly oriented to the north, south, west and east.
• If five nine-story buildings are stacked on top of each other, we will get the approximate maximum height of the buildings.
• On average, each block weighs 2500 kg, but there are also those whose weight exceeds the average by 32 times, which is approximately eighty tons.
• The stones fit tightly together without mortar. Their pressure is such that it is impossible to squeeze even a piece of paper between them.

• The road that led to the pyramid from the quarry took about ten years to build, and the pyramid itself took about twenty. Therefore, the pharaohs began construction of the tomb from their youth.

Tutankhamun's tomb

In 1922, English researchers found the tomb of the young ruler, almost untouched by thieves, in the area of ​​former Thebes.

Immediately, exciting facts about the Egyptian pyramids began to appear, or rather, about a new sensational one:

• Tutankhamun died at age 19.
• The causes of death have not yet been established: illness, murder, fall from a chariot.
• Treasures were found in the pyramid: a golden chariot and throne, lamps, caskets, vases, writing utensils, gold jewelry, gems, ships. On them the ruler was supposed to sail to afterworld. Gold masks on three coffins and on a mummy.

Mysterious deaths

The excavations took five years, and all this time their participants gradually died. The list of mysterious facts about the Egyptian pyramids includes the “curse of the tomb.” Suggestions have been made about the presence of radioactive elements, poisons, and harmful fungi in it. Here is the list of the dead:

• Lord Carnarvon died in 1923.
• Then Douglas-Reid, who performed the x-rays.
• A. K. Mace, who opened the burial chamber with Lord Carnarvon, dies.
• Colonel Aubrey Herbert, Lord Carnarvon's brother, has died.
• The wife of an Egyptian prince kills her husband right at the excavation site.
• In 1928, deaths continued. First, archaeologist Carter's secretary dies, then his father is thrown out of a window in 1930.
• That same year, Carnarvon's half-brother commits suicide.

Such tragedies, which have not been revealed to this day, ended the work on the tomb of Tutankhamun.

The Egyptian pyramids are one of the greatest attractions in the world. They, according to archaeologists, are the tombs of pharaohs, members of their families and court nobles. This version is generally accepted and its confirmation is considered to be the presence of mummies inside. But is it? What secrets do these buildings keep? Who built them and how? For what? What's inside? You will find answers to your questions in this article.

Pyramids in Egypt: why were they built?

During the period of the Old Kingdom (c. 2707 - 2150 BC, III-VI dynasties), structures began to be created for burials, symbolizing sacred mountain- the desire of humanity to reach heaven.

Pink Pyramid in Dahshur. CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Scientists suggest that the Egyptians' belief in the ascension of the spirit to the gods is fundamental the purpose of their construction. In their opinion, even today, these structures represent man's dream of achieving Higher Consciousness. There are other opinions on this matter, which are given below.

Some occult researchers of the secrets of the Egyptian pyramids spent the night in the inner chambers. They wrote books about their mystical experiences.
“Secrets of the Pyramids (The Secret of Orion)” by R. Bauval, E. Gilbert offers a version about the stellar orientation of the buildings.
The American prophet and medium Edgar Cayce spoke about the significance of the pyramids for the lost civilization of Atlantis. Information is available on the Internet.

Egyptian pyramids: about the secret of construction

Several theories try to explain the technology of their construction, but no one knows exactly how and why these famous buildings were built. architectural monuments. There are only versions and assumptions.

One of the greatest mysteries is how did people move such massive stone blocks using primitive tools? The Egyptians left thousands of illustrations depicting daily life in the Old Kingdom. It is curious that none of them show their construction.