The only one of the 7 wonders of the world of the Ancient World that has survived to this day is the Great Pyramid of Giza - the Pyramid of Cheops. In the suburbs of the capital of Egypt, Cairo, this ancient monument was designed and built as the tomb of the most famous pharaoh Cheops (Khufu) and is recognized as the tallest building of its time. It's hard to believe, but the height of this miracle of art is almost 147 meters (imagine five nine-story buildings stacked on top of each other). Initially, the pyramid occupied an area larger than seven football fields, and the length of one of the sides of its base was over 230 meters.
Source: version. infoThe construction of the Great Pyramid, according to the official version of Egyptologists, was completed in 2540 BC. It took the combined efforts of 100,000 people to create this truly extraordinary miracle. According to the calculations of archaeologists, the work lasted about 20 years.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
It is generally accepted that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which, according to one of the many versions, were built around 600 BC by order of the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife, the Median princess Amitis. In the future, the daughter of King Cyaxares began to be called the name of the Assyrian queen.
Source: wikipedia.org
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was a four-story building resembling a pyramid in shape, the tiers of which, held by powerful columns, were both balconies and terraces. Hanging unique plants, combined with fountains and ponds, turned the Babylonian structure into a real oasis.
To supply the gardens with water, a special irrigation system was designed: hundreds of slaves turned wheels with buckets for days on end. When Babylon fell into decay, there was no one to irrigate, the unique flora of the hanging gardens perished. Finished the job - finally destroyed the palace - frequent earthquakes. Babylon disappeared from the face of the earth, and with it the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the most beautiful monuments of antiquity, disappeared into oblivion.
Zeus statue in Olympia
In the 5th century BC, the sports and religious center of ancient Greece was Olympia, where the god Zeus was most revered. It was to him, the head of the ancient Greek Pantheon, that the Olympians unanimously decided to build a majestic temple. To implement the plan, the Athenian sculptor Phidias, known for his sculptures, was invited to Olympia. The task before the master was not easy: to create a structure that surpasses all his previous creations in its monumentality. Phidias gave the go-ahead. Work has begun.
It took ten years for the sculptor and his apprentices to Ancient world saw this wonder of the world. The temple was entirely made of marble. Columns made of limestone were installed along its perimeter. On the walls of the temple there were picturesque bas-reliefs depicting Zeus and the twelve labors of Hercules.
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The thunder god himself, called "the embodiment of male beauty", was made of ivory and reached a height of 13 meters. He sat majestically on a throne carved from ebony and covered with chased gold plates, and almost touched the ceiling of the temple.
The masterpiece of Phidias did not go unnoticed. For many years, writers and philosophers admired him, referring the statue of Olympian Zeus to the best creations of mankind. But in 476 there was a fire during which this wonder of the world was lost.
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Initiator and sponsor latest version Artemision, the temple of Artemis of Ephesus, was. The construction of this wonder of the world, which began in 323 BC, from limestone and marble, continued for many years. The "highlight" of the temple, its main distinguishing feature, was 127 giant columns installed in nine rows. The interior decoration of Artemision was fascinating. Everything was here: marvelous statues made by the best architects of that time, and beautiful paintings by famous artists. And in the center of this splendor stood a statue of the goddess Artemis - the patroness of love relationships and the family hearth.
Source: journal. tapigo.ru
Artemision, rebuilt by Alexander, lasted six centuries. It was robbed and destroyed by the Goths, flooded by numerous floods. Today, the existence of this wonder of the world is evidenced by only one single column, restored from the wreckage.
mausoleum in Halicarnassus
Ancient Halicarnassus, in which the "father of history" Herodotus was born, was known for its architectural beauties. White marble temples built in honor of Ares and Aphrodite, Salmakin's fountain, theaters and palaces attracted foreign guests to the city. But the real "pearl" of Halicarnassus, a wonder of the world, was the tomb of the despotic king, which he began to build during his lifetime.
Pytheas and Satyros, the best architects of that time, worked on the tomb, which consisted of three tiers and reached a height of 46 meters. Decorating the building - creating marble figures of gods, animals and horsemen - was entrusted to Leohar and Skopas.
"Everything in the world is afraid of time, and time is afraid of the pyramids."
Arabic proverb
The greatest monuments of architecture
The most famous architectural wonder of the world is the pyramid complex of Giza in Egypt. The largest pyramids of this complex are the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure. They were built in the period from 2540 BC. e. to 2450 BC e. on the left western bank of the Nile in the city of El Giza. To this day, these pyramids amaze with their magnificence, power, and are a reflection of human strength and courage.
The first pyramid builder
The pyramids were built as the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. They were supposed to testify to the power and greatness of the country and the ruler. The rulers doomed the people of Egypt to exhausting construction, which entailed many casualties, claiming thousands of lives. About 2600 B.C. e. architect Imhotep designed a stepped pyramid for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser, the founder of the III dynasty. This pyramid is considered the most ancient. Initially, Imhotep planned to build an ordinary mastaba, but already in the process of construction it turned into a six-step pyramid.
El Giza is located 8 km from Cairo on the west bank of the Nile. On the outskirts of El Giza, large and small pyramids rise out of the desert.
The Sphinx is located there.
The solar boat was built of cedar without a single nail.
This pyramid also differed from previous tombs in the building material - stone was used for the first time. After his death, Pharaoh Djoser was placed in a tomb erected for him, but later his mummy was stolen.
solar boat
In 1954, archaeologist Kamal al-Malakh found a wooden solar boat on the south side of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Why it was created is unknown. Judging by the traces of silt found on it, shortly before the death of the pharaoh, she sailed along the Nile. According to the Egyptians, on such a boat, the pharaoh after death could travel through the sky with the sun god Ra, which is why the boat is called “solar”.
sacred pyramid
The supreme deity of the ancient Egyptians was the sun god Ra, he was revered as the king and father of the gods. The pharaohs who worshiped him built pyramids in order to ascend to heaven after death and gain eternal life. They believed that their souls would rush to the top of the pyramid, where the god Ra would be waiting for them on his solar ship.
The funeral mask of Tutankhamen is made of pure gold, decorated with lapis lazuli and colored faience.
The vulture and cobra crowning the headdress are considered symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt.
The pyramid of Menkaure, the grandson of Cheops, is 66 m high. Three small pyramids next to it were erected for three women - members of the pharaoh's family.
Pyramid of Khafre, son of Cheops. The pyramid is several meters lower than the pyramid of Cheops, but due to its location it seems higher.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops is one of the oldest heritages of architecture, one of the seven wonders of the world.
Research scientists
Based on the study of astronomers, the location of the pyramids corresponds to the position of the stars in the sky. Some scientists note the similarity of their location with the constellation Orion. The four corners of the Great Pyramid of Cheops are called the four cardinal points. The entrance to it, in accordance with religious prescriptions, is located on the north side.
Great Pyramid of Cheops
The Great Pyramid of Cheops is almost a monolithic structure, with the exception of burial chambers, corridors leading to them and narrow ventilation shafts, as well as unloading chambers above the so-called "king's chamber". Its length is 10.5 m, width - 5.3 m and height - 5.8 m. It is made of granite and has no decorations. This chamber contains a huge empty granite sarcophagus without a lid. Another burial chamber, located below, is traditionally called the "Queen's Chamber".
- Pyramidon
- air duct
- Unloading chambers
- "King's Chamber"
- "Queen's Chamber"
- Grand gallery
- Entrance to the pyramid
- granite blocks
- Road made of beams
- Block cladding
Movement of stones
During the construction of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, granite monoliths and limestone blocks were used. Most of the stone was mined in quarries near Cairo and floated on barges during the high water period, when the water extended to the edge of the desert. Heavy stones unloaded onto the pier were transferred to wooden sleds, which were dragged by numerous workers to the construction site with the help of ropes. It took about 50 people to move one medium-sized block (weighing up to 2.5 tons) in this way. The main building device was a ramp, an inclined plane that lined up on opposite sides of the pyramids. With the help of such ramps, the blocks were raised.
Masonry
From hard rocks, stonemasons made blocks using bronze or copper saws, heavy hammers and dolerite balls. Using quartz sand, the sides of the blocks were polished. Stone blocks were adjusted so that even a knife blade could not pass between them. Initially, the pyramid was lined with white limestone, harder than the main blocks. The top of the pyramid was crowned with a gilded stone - a pyramidon. In the XII century, Cairo was sacked, the inhabitants of the city removed the lining from the pyramid in order to build new houses for themselves.
Temple of the Lost
The Temple of the Dead was located to the east of the main pyramid.
It consisted of two parts: external (with entrance gates and a courtyard surrounded by columns) and internal (with niches for statues of the pharaoh).
From the Temple of the Dead, a long road led to the Nile.
Here, on the bank of the river, there was a temple with a mooring for ships, in which the deceased was embalmed.
The ruins of the Temple of the Dead were discovered in 1939.
Life after death
The Egyptians believed that the soul after the death of the body continues to live as long as it is in its "home" - in the body. Therefore, they attached great importance to the preservation of the body after death - mummification. After death, the body of the ruler was carefully embalmed, preparing him for life in the afterlife, the insides, the brain were removed and wrapped in linen bandages.
The insides of the deceased were placed in tightly sealed vessels (canopes).
SARCOPHAGUS
This is a coffin-shaped stone box in which the mummy was placed. The covering of the sarcophagus, made of gypsum, repeated the figure of the deceased.
Who are the pharaohs?
Pharaoh in earthly existence personified the god Horus. It was believed that after ruling on earth, he would return to the gods. Power completely belonged to the pharaoh. He conducted state affairs, resolved military issues, disposed of the state treasury, was the chief priest, the Supreme Judge. The Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was responsible even for the fertility of the land, so the pharaoh always went to collect the first harvest. The Egyptian pharaoh was crowned with a crown, which symbolized the strength and power of the ruler.
Who built the pyramids?
The pyramids were built by the peasants of Egypt, who, during the annual floods of the Nile, were free from agricultural work. They worked in quarries, participated in the movement of stones. For their work, the peasants received housing, clothing, food and a modest salary. Skilled craftsmen (architects, masons) worked at the construction site throughout the year. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus claimed that the construction of the Great Pyramid of Cheops lasted 20 years, however, according to modern scientists, less than 10 years were enough to build the pyramid.
The Sphinx was built by Pharaoh Khafre. This monumental sculpture represents a lion with a human head lying on the sand. The task of the Sphinx is to guard the burial place of the pharaoh. The headdress of the Sphinx is similar to the headdress of the pharaohs. Once upon a time, the Sphinx even wore a regal pharaoh's beard.
FACTS & GLOSSARY
The rulers of ancient Egypt built about 60 pyramids. The most famous of them are the pyramids of Giza: the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure.
The largest of them is the Great Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops.
Its height: 137 m (originally 146 m).
Side edge length: 230.4 m.
Volume of stone mass: 2.5 million m³.
Weight: Approx. 7 million tons
Number of stone blocks: 2.3 million
Average weight of a stone block: 2.5 tons (there are blocks weighing 15 tons).
The exits from the mines of the Great Pyramid of Cheops are oriented towards the constellations Orion, Sirius, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, which undoubtedly has a secret meaning.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops has a large base area, which could easily accommodate five of the largest cathedrals in the world at the same time: St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London, as well as Florence and Milan Cathedrals.
Mastaba- a rectangular burial building with sloping walls and a flat top with an underground burial chamber. Mastabas appeared during the period of the first dynasties as special "houses after life".
Dolerite- volcanic rock.
Pharaoh's crown. After the unification, Egypt was considered a dual kingdom, it had two crowns: White - a symbol of power over Upper Egypt, Red - a symbol of power over Lower Egypt. As rulers of "both countries", the pharaohs wore a double crown on solemn occasions.
On the inner walls of the pyramid, you can see images of gods and Egyptian hieroglyphs.
In addition, the collection of religious texts "The Book of the Dead" was placed in the tomb.
Pyramid Mystery
For more than 3,500 years, no one has penetrated into the Great Pyramid of Cheops: all the entrances to it were carefully walled up. The first to enter the pyramid in 831 was the Baghdad caliph al-Mamun. He decided to look for treasures in this pyramid. At the same time, he did not take into account the warnings of local residents who claimed that "the pyramid is guarded by spirits" that kill the robbers. However, the Caliph did not find any treasures in the Great Pyramid of Cheops, perhaps because the tomb of Cheops was plundered even before him by the ancient Egyptians.
Seven Wonders of the World These words have become part of everyday life. They are used when they want to emphasize the outstanding merits of either a work of art, or a grand structure, or a scientific discovery. But why are there seven miracles? Is this number randomly chosen? The number "seven" has been revered since ancient times. Since the lunar month was taken as the basis of the calendar. There are 28 days in a lunar month. During this period, the Moon waxes and wanes, passing through 4 phases (quarter moon, half moon, full moon, new moon). These phases of the moon change every seven days. Seven heavenly bodies, including the Sun and the Moon, were associated with certain heavenly deities of the ancient Babylonians. In their honor, a seven-tiered tower was built in Babylon. The same Babylonians believed that a dead person passes through 7 gates in the kingdom of the dead. The ancient Greeks also attached great importance to the number 7. In the legends of the Minotaur, the Athenians were required to sacrifice 7 boys and 7 girls. Seven is the sacred number of Apollo. There were also 7 sages, whom the Greeks revered. With the number 7, the ancient Greeks associated the idea of something complete and perfect. More often than others, among the seven wonders of the world, ancient authors attributed:
Everyone knows how many interesting, sometimes amazing scientific discoveries were made by scientists on ancient Egyptian land. A lot of wonderful finds were given by her tombs and temples. But the greatest miracle of Egypt, which amazed people in ancient times, were the pyramids - these amazing artificial mountains - the tombs of the ancient Egyptian kings. Travelers sailing along the yellow waters of the Nile have always been struck by a sharp line where the Nile valley with its green fields and date groves is replaced by the hot sands of the dead Libyan desert.
Even further to the west, amazing mountains are visible. They are of the correct form and stretch for tens of kilometers - from the modern city of Cairo to the Fayum oasis.
It - Pyramids of Egypt. They seem to grow out of the sands of the desert - colossal, majestic, overwhelming a person with their extraordinary size and severity of outlines. Standing at the foot of the pyramid, it is hard to imagine that these huge stone mountains were created by human hands. Meanwhile, they were really built from separate stone blocks, as children today build pyramids from cubes. Thousands of hands of slaves and Egyptians subject to the pharaoh were busy with hard and useless work - the creation of a huge stone mountain, which was supposed to hide the dead body of the Egyptian king in its bowels. By creating an eternal tomb, the pharaoh provided his immortal spirit with an eternal home.
The first of the Egyptian kings to erect a pyramid over his tomb was Pharaoh Djoser. This ancient Egyptian pyramid consists of six huge steps. Before the construction of the first pyramid in Egypt, tombs were erected with a massive rectangular above-ground part made of stone. In shape, they resemble Arabic benches - mastabas - and under this name they entered science. The Pyramid of Djoser essentially consisted of six such mastabas, placed one on top of the other, decreasing upwards. The creation of the world's first stone structure of such significant size (about 60 m high) is attributed to Imhotep, a remarkable medical scientist, mathematician and architect, the former vizier of King Djoser. The fame of Imhotep was so great that after several centuries his name was surrounded by legends. From a later time, statuettes depicting this remarkable architect have been preserved. Apparently, Pharaoh Djoser himself was so pleased with the unprecedented tomb built by Imhotep that he allowed the name of the architect to be carved on the base of his statue - an honor completely unheard of in ancient Egypt. During excavations of the mortuary temple, located near the pyramid of Djoser, scientists found fragments of several statues of the pharaoh and among them a pedestal on which the name of Imhotep was written.
Excavations near the pyramid of Djoser have opened a whole "city of the dead" that surrounded the tomb of the pharaoh. Mastabas were built around - the tombs of members of the royal family and nobles close to the pharaoh. There was also a memorial temple where sacrifices were made in honor of the deceased pharaoh. During the excavations of the temple, archaeologists discovered a hall decorated with the oldest columns in the world. True, these were not yet ordinary round columns, they only half protruded from the walls, but Imhotep, long before the Greek architects, created the prototype of a strict and slender Dorian colonnade.
The mortuary temple and the pyramid were surrounded by a wall of white limestone and, according to the architect, formed a single architectural ensemble.
The largest pyramid was built by Pharaoh Khufu (or Cheops in Greek), who lived in the XXVIII century. BC.
This huge pyramid has been standing for almost five thousand years. Its height reached 147 m (now, due to the collapse of the peak, its height is 137 m), and each of the sides is 233 m long. In order to go around the pyramid of Khufu, you need to walk about a kilometer. Until the end of the XIX century. Khufu's pyramid was the tallest building on earth. Its grandiose size amazed everyone who was in Egypt. No wonder the first Russian travelers who came to Egypt called the pyramids "man-made mountains."
Scientists have calculated that the pyramid of Khufu was built from 2,300,000 huge blocks of limestone, smoothly polished, and each of these blocks weighed more than two tons. The carefully hewn and polished limestone blocks were so skillfully fitted one to the other that it was impossible to stick a knife blade into the gap between the two stones.
The stones were tightly adjacent to each other and held by their own weight. The accuracy of the work of masons and grinders is surprising, especially if you imagine that the ancient artisans who created such grandiose monuments of human labor still used stone tools. In the quarries on the right bank of the Nile, not far from the ancient capital of Egypt, Memphis, thousands of workers mined stone for the construction of the pyramid. According to the boundaries of the stone block marked on the limestone rock, the workers gouged deep furrows in the stone. This work took a lot of effort and work. Having hollowed out depressions in the furrow, the workers hammered wedges of dry wood into them and poured water over them. The wet wood began to swell, the crack widened, and the block broke off from the rock. The chipped stone was pulled out of the quarry shafts with the help of thick ropes woven from papyrus (such ropes were found in ancient quarries). Limestone boulders were then hewn by specialist masons here and there together. Stonemasons worked with a whole range of tools made of wood, stone and copper. This work, of course, was easier than the work of quarrying stone, but even here one had to work from dawn to dusk under the scorching sun. Blocks of white facing limestone were transported on boats to the other side of the Nile. They were brought to the construction site, loaded onto special wooden sleds.
Ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the 5th century BC. BC, was the first scientist who reported in detail the information he had collected about the pyramids. The work of Herodotus was an extensive narrative, consisting of nine books, in one of which he described his journey to Egypt.
According to the story of Herodotus, in order to drag stone blocks up, an inclined embankment was built. Subsequently, it was leveled. Along it, the builders, driven by the sticks of the overseers, pulled heavy stones on ropes, which were set in place with the help of a wooden lever. How many people died under the weight of a broken block of stone, how many were crippled when laying stones, how many died from overwork here, at the still unfinished walls of the pyramid! And this is for twenty long years. When the laying of the pyramid was completed, its steps were laid with facing blocks. They were brought from the quarries located in Upper Egypt, near Aswan. On the ledges of the pyramid, the facing blocks were lifted up and laid from top to bottom. Then they were polished. Under the rays of the southern sun, they shone with a dazzling brilliance against the cloudless Egyptian sky. Herodotus tells that the construction of the pyramid of Khufu lasted about twenty years. Every three months, workers changed, the number of which reached 100,000 people. Scourge of overseers, debilitating heat, inhuman labor did their job. After all, there were no machines for lifting two-ton limestone blocks. Everything was done only with the help of living human power. Even if we accept taking into account that Herodotus made a number of obvious exaggerations and inaccuracies, the figures he cited still give an idea of the grandiose scope of the work undertaken by Cheops to create a colossal tomb.
The entire burial structure was almost solid masonry. The entrance to the pyramid was always located on its northern face, at a height of about 14 m from the ground. There were several chambers inside the pyramid, of which only two were burial chambers. One, the lower one, as scientists suggest, was intended for the wife of the king. The second, somewhat larger (10.6 X 5.7 m), located at a height of 42.5 m from the base of the pyramid, served as the tomb of the pharaoh himself. It contained a sarcophagus of polished red granite. Above the burial chamber of the king, one above the other, there are five deaf chambers, apparently designed to distribute pressure over the chamber. Several narrow and long passages were laid in the thickness of the pyramid, leading to the chambers located inside the pyramid, and to the chamber dug under its base. Scientists also traced two ventilation slots that penetrated the thickness of the masonry and went from the chamber of Cheops himself. When clearing the surface of the pyramid, many blocks were found to have marks made with red paint and containing the name of Pharaoh Khufu. Parts of the ancient lining were discovered by archaeologists when clearing the lower part of the pyramid, covered with sand. The fit of the facing stones was so perfect that it was impossible to immediately determine the places of their connection. And when photographing this cladding, the researchers had to specially paint around the seams where the blocks closed. We can safely say that none of the kings who ruled after Khufu could surpass his tomb in size and grandeur, but the name of the pharaoh, who decided to glorify himself by building an unprecedentedly magnificent pyramid, was hated by the people of Egypt for many centuries.
The second largest after the tomb of Khufu is the pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre (Chephren). It is 8 m lower, but less destroyed. The top of the pyramid retained part of the polished facing. The rest of the pyramids are much smaller, and many of them have been badly damaged.
Near the pyramid of Khafre, a hill rises from the sand of the desert. Its height is about 20 m, length is about 60 m. Approaching the hill, travelers see a huge statue carved almost entirely from the rock. This is the famous Great Sphinx - the figure of a reclining lion with a human head. His face was cracked, his nose and chin were beaten off. So Muslim Arabs crippled a statue that stood for millennia. The Arabs believed that evil spirits lived in the statues of the ancient Egyptian gods, and therefore they tried to destroy as many of their images as possible. With such a giant as a great sphinx, they could not cope, but they mutilated it thoroughly.
"Father of horror" - this is how the inhabitants of the desert call the great sphinx. He instills the greatest fear in them at night, illuminated by the bright moon, when deep shadows give his features a special expressiveness.
In ancient Egypt, not every mortal had the right to approach the pyramid - this "eternal horizon" beyond which the pharaoh "went" (they did not say about the pharaoh that he died - he "set" beyond the horizon, like the sun; Egyptian kings called themselves sons sun). So that those who wish could honor the memory of the deceased pharaoh without offending his greatness, a mortuary temple was erected at some distance from the pyramid - something like the reception hall of the deceased king. Massive rectangular pillars of polished granite supported the ceiling. The granite walls and floor of the building were carefully polished.
In order to keep the body of the king, which was the abode of his soul (among the Egyptians, it was called Ka), from decay, he was embalmed.
The pharaoh's relatives and priests made sure that the deceased was not in danger in the afterlife, that he could move freely inside his tomb and that the gods would accept him as an equal. Therefore, often the walls of the premises inside the pyramids are dotted with prayers and spells. Doors that led from one room to another or from a corridor to a cell were subjected to a particularly thorough curse. On the walls adjacent to the doors, there are images of the door guards - baboons, wolves, lions, and spells against them and evil demons threatening the deceased pharaoh. These texts, found in large numbers, are among the most ancient works of religious literature. Scholars named them after the place of discovery "Pyramid Texts".
Caring for the safety of the spirit of the deceased in the afterlife, his relatives did not forget about vital things. Jewels and various items belonging to the pharaoh were kept in special rooms. After all, the ancient Egyptians believed that the deceased continues to live after death, that he needs all those things that he needed during his lifetime. And the splendid tomb of the king served as his home, just as during his lifetime the house was a magnificent palace.
On holidays in memory of the deceased pharaoh, a solemn procession went to his pyramid. In the hall with columns in front of the image of the pharaoh, "sitting next to Ra", prayers were made and sacrifices were made. These days in the "city of the dead" near the great pyramids it was noisy and lively.
To the pyramid - the consecrated resting place of the pharaoh, who became a deity - a mere mortal did not dare to approach. However, the riches that filled the pantries of the royal tomb were a great temptation for the robbers. The builders of the pyramids foresaw this. The entrance to the crypt was closed from the inside with a heavy keystone. After the end of the funeral ceremonies, supports were knocked out from under the stone and the entrance to the central chamber of the pyramid, where there was a magnificent granite sarcophagus with the body of the pharaoh, was closed forever.
The same huge stone, lowered down the sloping passage into the crypt, closed the passage to the corridor.
The well, along which people descended, after all the entrances and exits were walled up, fell asleep. The royal grave was inaccessible to people and demons. The pharaoh could rest peacefully under the hundred-meter-high pyramid, hanging over the vaulted crypt.
But all the precautions were in vain. The royal tombs were robbed in antiquity, and only empty halls and complex passages inside the pyramids have survived to this day.
But although the texts of the pyramids praised the divine power of the pharaoh, although the powerful walls of the pyramid reliably hid the burial of the king, the huge granite sarcophagi in the pyramids of the kings Khufu and Khafre are empty. Even in ancient times, the temples at the pyramid of Khafre were destroyed. Huge statues of pharaoh Khafre were smashed and thrown into a well, from where they were excavated by archaeologists during excavations. It was clear that these magnificent statues of dark hard stone had not suffered from time. They were deliberately spoiled, broken into pieces, mutilated.
In Egypt, even the most noble person did not dare to think about building such a funerary structure as a pyramid. Only the pharaoh, the son of the Sun, could have such a grandiose tomb. The tombs of noble Egyptians were either carved into the rock or built of stone or brick. These were low rectangular structures built over the crypt. The tombs of the Egyptian nobility are usually crowded around the pyramids, as if the nobles wanted to be closer to the pharaoh even after death.
These mastaba tombs usually had several rooms. In the main was a sarcophagus with the body of the deceased. In one of the rooms were stacked things that belonged to the owner of the tomb. In a small room, there was usually a statue of the deceased. The walls of mastabas were decorated with paintings or painted reliefs. The colors of the paintings amaze with their brightness and freshness. The liveliness and subtlety of the drawing were amazing. But the Egyptian artists worked with rather rough brushes made from pieces of fibrous wood. At one end, such a piece was broken with a stone until it was ground, forming a rough fringe. With such primitive brushes (several brushes with remnants of paint on them were found in the tombs), the artists created elegant, picturesque images that adorned the walls of the tombs.
Here you can see scenes of everyday life - harvesting, sowing, artisans and farmers at work, hunting, boating on the Nile, dancing girls, dancing warriors. Ordinary people, industrious and talented - such were the Egyptian workers, depicted in their usual occupations.
And not the nobles - the owners of rich mastabas decorated with paintings, who boastfully listed their services to the pharaoh, immortalized themselves by building these tombs, but modest workers, whose names are not named in the inscriptions.
They built irrigation canals and dams, they carved magnificent statues, erected beautiful temples, decorated the walls of the building with wonderful reliefs full of life's truth. And in these pictures of everyday life, they immortalized themselves, their inconspicuous work, without which the entire thousand-year-old culture of Egypt could not exist. Without knowing it themselves, they have preserved to this day on the stone pages of the walls stories about their hard working life, about the forced existence of some and the prosperity of others, about their sorrows, amusements and entertainments.
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The Pyramid of Cheops is a legacy of the ancient Egyptian civilization; all tourists who come to Egypt try to see it. It strikes the imagination with its grandiose size. The weight of the pyramid is about 4 million tons, its height is 139 meters, and its age is 4.5 thousand years. It still remains a mystery how people built the pyramids in those ancient times. It is not known for certain why these majestic structures were erected.
Legends of the pyramid of Cheops
Shrouded in mystery, ancient Egypt was once the most powerful country on earth. Perhaps his people knew secrets that are still inaccessible to modern humanity. Looking at the huge stone blocks of the pyramid, which are stacked with perfect accuracy, you begin to believe in miracles. 
According to one of the legends, the pyramid served as a storehouse of grain during the great famine. These events are described in the Bible (Book of Exodus). Pharaoh had a prophetic dream that warned of a series of lean years. Joseph, son of Jacob, sold into slavery by his brothers, managed to unravel Pharaoh's dream. The ruler of Egypt instructed Joseph to organize the harvesting of grain, appointing him as his first adviser. The storehouses must have been huge, given that many peoples were fed from them for seven years when there was a famine on Earth. A slight discrepancy in dates - about 1 thousand years, the adherents of this theory explain by the inaccuracy of carbon analysis, thanks to which archaeologists determine the age of ancient buildings. 
According to another legend, the pyramid served to transfer the material body of the pharaoh to the higher world of the Gods. An amazing fact is that inside the pyramid, where the sarcophagus for the body stands, the pharaoh's mummy was not found, which the robbers could not take away. Why did the rulers of Egypt build such huge tombs for themselves? Was it really their goal to build a beautiful mausoleum that testified to greatness and power? If the construction process took several decades and required huge labor costs, then the ultimate goal of building a pyramid was vital to the pharaoh. Some researchers believe that we know very little about the level of development ancient civilization, the mysteries of which are yet to be discovered. The Egyptians knew the secret of eternal life. It was acquired by the pharaohs after death, thanks to the technology that was hidden inside the pyramids. 
Some researchers believe that the pyramid of Cheops was built by a great civilization even older than the Egyptian one, about which we know nothing. And the Egyptians only restored the existing ancient buildings, and used them at their own discretion. They themselves did not know the intention of the forerunners who built the pyramids. The Forerunners could be the giants of the Antediluvian civilization or the inhabitants of other planets who arrived on Earth in search of a new homeland. The gigantic size of the blocks from which the pyramid is built is easier to imagine as a convenient building material for ten-meter giants than for ordinary people. 
I would like to mention one more interesting legend about the pyramid of Cheops. It is said that a secret room is hidden inside the monolithic structure, in which there is a portal that opens paths to other dimensions. Thanks to the portal, you can instantly find yourself at a selected point in time or on another inhabited planet in the Universe. It was carefully hidden by the builders for the benefit of the people, but will soon be found. The question remains whether modern scientists will understand ancient technologies in order to take advantage of the discovery. In the meantime, archaeological research in the pyramid continues. 
In the era of antiquity, when the heyday of the Greco-Roman civilization began, ancient philosophers compiled a description of the most outstanding architectural monuments on Earth. They were called "Seven Wonders of the World". They included the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Ear of Rhodes and other majestic buildings built before our era. The Pyramid of Cheops, as the oldest, is in the first place in this list. This wonder of the world is the only one that has survived to this day, all the rest were destroyed many centuries ago. 
According to the descriptions of ancient Greek historians, a large pyramid shone in the rays of the sun, casting a warm golden sheen. It was lined with meter-thick limestone slabs. The smooth white limestone, decorated with hieroglyphs and drawings, reflected the sands of the surrounding desert. Later, local residents dismantled the lining for their homes, which they lost as a result of devastating fires. Perhaps the top of the pyramid was decorated with a special triangular block made of precious material. 
Around the pyramid of Cheops in the valley is a whole city of the dead. Dilapidated buildings of the mortuary temples, two other large pyramids and several smaller tombs. A huge statue of a sphinx with a broken nose, which has recently been restored, is carved from a gigantic monolithic block. It comes from the same quarry as the stones used to build the tombs. Once upon a time, ten meters from the pyramid was a wall three meters thick. Perhaps it was intended to protect the royal treasures, but could not stop the robbers. 
Construction history
Scientists still cannot come to a consensus on how the ancient people built the pyramid of Cheops from huge boulders. According to the drawings found on the walls of others, it was suggested that workers cut each block in the rocks, and then dragged it to the construction site along a ramp made of cedar. History does not have a single opinion about who was involved in the work - the peasants for whom there was no other work during the flood of the Nile, the pharaoh's slaves or hired workers. 
The difficulty lies in the fact that the blocks had to be not only delivered to the construction site, but also raised to a great height. The Pyramid of Cheops before construction was the tallest building on Earth. Modern architects see the solution to this problem in different ways. According to the official version, primitive mechanical blocks were used for lifting. It is terrible to imagine how many people died during the construction by this method. When the ropes and straps holding the block broke, it could crush dozens of people with its weight. It was especially difficult to install the upper building block at a height of 140 meters above the ground. 
Some scientists suggest that ancient people had the technology to control the earth's gravity. Blocks weighing more than 2 tons, from which the pyramid of Cheops was built, could be moved with this method with ease. The construction was carried out by hired workers who knew all the secrets of the craft, led by the nephew of Pharaoh Cheops. There were no human casualties, backbreaking labor of slaves, only building art that reached the highest technologies that are inaccessible to our civilization. 
The pyramid has the same base on each side. Its length is 230 meters and 40 centimeters. Amazing accuracy for ancient uneducated builders. The density of the masonry stones is so great that it is impossible to stick a razor blade between them. An area of five hectares is occupied by one monolithic structure, the blocks of which are connected by a special solution. There are several passages and chambers inside the pyramid. There are ventilation openings facing different directions of the world. The purpose of many interior spaces remains a mystery. The robbers took out everything of value long before the first archaeologists entered the tomb. 
Currently, the pyramid is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Her photo adorns many Egyptian tourist brochures. In the 19th century, the Egyptian authorities wanted to disassemble the huge monolithic blocks of ancient structures for the construction of dams on the Nile River. But the costs of labor far outweighed the benefits of work, so the monuments of ancient architecture still stand today, delighting the pilgrims of the Giza Valley.
The Egyptian pyramids are the only one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" that has survived to this day. Ancient Egyptian architecture, even today, amazes with the power of its huge stone structures. Among the huge columns of ancient temples, rising to the sky and often standing like trees in a forest, you can get lost. At the entrance to these temples, like a formidable guard, there are huge statues of pharaohs, stone sphinxes lie. Sphinx - in ancient Egypt - the embodiment of royal power, a statue depicting a fantastic creature with the body of a lion and the head of a person or a sacred animal.
About 5 thousand years ago, the first small slave-owning states appeared in the valley along the lower reaches of the Nile. At the end of the IV millennium BC. e. the rulers of one of them subjugated the whole country, creating a single kingdom with the center in the city of Memphis, located on the left bank of the Nile, south of the place where the city of Cairo is now located. Around 2800 BC e. Pharaoh Khufu became the ruler of this state. Subsequently, Greek historians changed his name to Cheops. That is what they call it today. Huge wealth and unlimited power were concentrated in the hands of the pharaohs.
The grandfather and father of Cheops spent their wealth not only on court luxury and majestic tombs - pyramids, which were supposed to perpetuate the names of formidable rulers. Their slaves erected dams, broke through canals, arranged locks to evenly distribute the waters of the Nile to irrigate the fields. Thanks to this, high yields were taken from the fields of Egypt, which brought new and new incomes to the pharaohs.
Cheops, on the other hand, thought only of glorifying himself. Flattering and cunning priests told him: “Earthly life is short. The houses we live in are hotels. The true dwelling of man is the tomb, the house of eternity, where he will dwell for millions of years. If you want to be immortal, take care of your tomb." And Cheops decided to reduce government spending as much as possible, and spend most of his income on creating a tomb that would be higher and more majestic than all the previous royal tombs.
There were not enough foreign slaves, and Egyptian farmers began to be involved in the work. Pharaoh ordered to choose the strongest and hardiest for work. Each farmer had to work on the construction of the pyramid for a third of the year. In the capital Memphis, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century. BC e., drove up to 100 thousand people. They were fed with stale cakes, dried fish, garlic and radishes. Many died, but more and more were driven to replace them ...
The first ten years were spent on preparatory work. They laid a convenient path to the construction site chosen on the west bank of the Nile (near the suburbs of the modern city of Cairo - Giza), dug underground caches and laid the foundation. And in the quarries, about 600 miles east of the Nile, blocks of limestone were chipped off and transported to the west bank. After that, a giant stone pyramid was built for 20 years. Its construction was completed in the 31st year of the king's reign.
2 million 300 thousand stone blocks weighing 2.5 tons each were smoothly hewn with copper tools (there were no iron tools at that time) and tightly fitted to each other. The height of the pyramid was 280 cubits (about 147 m), i.e., approximately reached the height of a modern forty-story building. The side of the base of the pyramid reaches 230 meters. It occupies more area than 9 football fields. The hewn slabs were laid with such perfection that even a needle could not be inserted into the seam between them. The entrance to the pyramid was on the north side. A narrow corridor led through a large gallery to a burial chamber (10x5x5 m.), in which the royal coffin - a sarcophagus - was placed. Unfortunately, it has not survived to our time, but it is assumed that it was carved from stone. A side corridor led to the queen's crypt.
Cheops achieved his goal, although the working people grumbled and even the slave-owning nobility was dissatisfied with the excessive costs that were depleting the country.
After the death of the king, faithful servants did everything that was prescribed by ancient customs. They opened the corpse of the king, removed the brain and entrails, kept the body for 70 days in salt water, filled it with fragrant resin and wrapped the finished mummy with funeral sheets. The Egyptians believed that the resurrection of the dead was possible. They believed that the soul of the deceased, as long as his body is preserved, can return to it. At first, only the bodies of kings were turned into mummies, and later all noble slave owners. Around the pyramid of the pharaoh were the tombs of nobles and officials. The owners of rich estates and luxurious houses wanted to be different from ordinary people even after death. The poor were simply wrapped in a mat and buried.
The sarcophagus with the king's mummy was placed on a huge sleigh, bulls were harnessed and driven to the west, where, according to the teachings of the priests, there was an entrance to the afterlife. Mourners and mourners filled the air with wild cries. The priests slaughtered bulls and geese as a sacrifice to the soul of the deceased. The royal mummy was placed inside the pyramid and the entrance to the tomb was walled up.
During one of the uprisings, the details of which are unknown to us, the mummy was thrown out of the crypt and disappeared without a trace.
There is no trace of the ruler who built the greatest pyramid for himself, which in ancient times was considered one of the “seven wonders of the world”, but the grandiose building created by the Egyptian people with such labor and suffering has been standing for the fifth millennium and little has changed over time. Only the cracked outer cladding was broken off and plundered for new buildings, so that the pyramid dropped by 9 m.
In 1953, two Egyptian archaeologists dug out among the sands not far from the pyramid a cache at a depth of 17 m, covered with stone blocks. Inside was a huge wooden boat of the pharaoh, 35 meters long, with two rows of oars. The Egyptian priests made this boat so that the royal deceased could sail in it after death along the heavenly waves to the distant kingdom of the dead.
The following year, another Egyptian archaeologist found a new pyramid in the sands - the pharaoh Hesemhet, who lived a hundred years before Cheops. The pyramid, fortunately, was intact! Not a single robber entered it. In the inner chamber was an alabaster coffin, very well preserved, but, to the disappointment of the scientist, it turned out to be empty. The ancient Egyptians had a custom to build false tombs (cenotaphs). It is assumed that the empty coffin was a spare, in case the soul of the deceased wanted to leave the permanent tomb and move to another.
The ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife. The priests inspired the people that even after death the pharaoh would remain the ruler and crowds of servants would work for him. The Egyptian religion taught that the poor and slaves had no hope of a happy life even in the afterlife. Only pharaohs and nobles will be blissful after death as well as during life. In the afterlife, according to the Egyptians, there is the same inequality as on earth: some work, while others enjoy power and wealth.
