WHO BUILT THE PYRAMIDS?
The
question of who built the pyramids, and how, has long been debated
by Egyptologists and historians. Standing at the base of the pyramids
at Giza, it is hard to believe that any of these enormous monuments
could have been built in one pharaoh's lifetime. Herodotus, the
Greek historian who wrote in the 5th century B.C., 500 years before
Christ, is the earliest known chronicler and historian of the
Egyptian Pyramid Age. By his accounts, the labor force that built
Khufu totaled more than 100,000 people. But Herodotus visited
the pyramids 2,700 years after they were built and his impressive
figure was an educated guess, based on hearsay. Modern Egyptologists
believe the real number is closer to 20,000.
Description of Giza
When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75
m (481 ft) high. Over the years, it lost 10 m (30 ft) off its
top. It ranked as the tallest structure on Earth for more than
43 centuries, only to be surpassed in height in the nineteenth
century AD. It was covered with a casing of stones to smooth its
surface. The sloping angle of its sides is 51 degrees and 51 minutes.
Each side is carefully oriented with one of the cardinal points
of the compass, that is, north, south, east, and west. The horizontal
cross section of the pyramid is square at any level, with each
side measuring 229 m (751 ft) in length. The maximum error between
side lengths is astonishingly less than 0.1%.
The structure consists of approximately 2 million
blocks of stone, each weighing more than two tons. On the north
face, is the pyramid's entrance. A number of corridors, galleries,
and escape shafts either lead to the King's burial chamber, or
were intended to serve other functions. The King's chamber is
located at the heart of the pyramid, only accessible through the
Great Gallery and an ascending corridor. The King's sarcophagus
is made of red granite, as are the interior walls of the King's
Chamber. Most impressive is the sharp-edged stone over the doorway,
which is over 3 m (10 ft) long, 2.4 m (8 feet) high and 1.3 m
(4 ft) thick. The sarcophagus is oriented in accordance with the
compass directions, and is only about 1 cm smaller in dimensions
than the chamber entrance.
Courtesy: Mayur Jain (Corporate)