The Pyramids of Giza This view shows all three pyramid structures: the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure.

The Old Kingdom (2686 BC - 2182 BC) was a period of political stability and economic prosperity, during which great tombs were built for Egyptian Kings in the form of pyramids.

The first king to launch a major pyramid building project was King Djoser, who built his famous Step Pyramid at Saqqara.

The Pyramids of Giza are the greatest architectural achievement of the time, and include three pyramid structures and the Great Sphinx monument.

It would have taken several thousand workers decades to complete just one pyramid. While we know that the stone for the pyramids was quarried, transported and cut from the nearby Nile, we still cannot be sure just how the massive stones were then put into place.

While stone was generally reserved for tombs and temples, sun-baked mud bricks were used in the construction of Egyptian houses, palaces, fortresses, and town walls.

The Pyramids of Giza, also known as the Giza Necropolis, are one of the oldest remaining wonders of the world. The Necropolis includes three pyramid complexes: the Great Pyramid (built by King Khufu of the 4th Dynasty); the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (Khufu’s son); and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure . The Necropolis also includes several cemeteries, a workers’ village, an industrial complex, and a massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx.

The Great Sphinx is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx--a mythical creature with a lion’s body and a human head. It is commonly believed that the head is that of King Khafra, who ruled during the 4th dynasty. It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 241 ft long, 63 ft wide, and 66.34 ft high

Most of the stone for the interior seems to have been quarried immediately to the south of the construction site. The smooth exterior of the pyramid, however, was made of a fine grade of white limestone that was quarried from the other side of the Nile River.

These exterior blocks had to be carefully cut, transported by river barge to Giza, and dragged up ramps to the construction site.

•The pyramids follow a geometric circle enclosure to ensure 98% complete symmetry and ensure minimal deviation from the expected angles. Each pyramid has an angle deviation of 0.238 degrees from the expected angle as shown from the details below:Khufu:50Khafre:51Menkaure:49(measurements in degrees estimated)

The sides of all three of the Giza pyramids were astronomically oriented to the north-south and east-west within a small fraction of a degree. To ensure that the pyramid remained symmetrical, the exterior casing stones all had to be equal in height and width. Workers might have marked all the blocks to indicate the angle of the pyramid wall and trimmed the surfaces carefully so that the blocks fit together.

Khufu's vizier, Hemon, or Hemiunu, is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid, although it was taken that the pharaoh was the originator of the idea, he merely implemented the idea and began building.

King Khufu (in Greek known as Cheops). Construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza was begun during his 26 year reign. King Snefru, another of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs and Khufu's father, was also quite prolific at pyramid building and it is thought that King Khufu's great pyramid might have been inspired by watching his father. Khufu was born the son of Snefru and Hetepheres I around 2589 BC. He is known to have had at least three wives, who bore him sons that split into three distinct family groups following Khufu's death. Like most of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs, Khufu built a temple to house his body after his death, although his mummified corpse has never been found.

Evidence indicates construction began on Khufu's pyramid very soon after he took the throne. The construction continued for almost the entire length of the king's reign, some 23 years. The religion and culture of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs commanded an impressive tomb be built to house the body of a ruler and prepare him for his journey in the afterlife. While the purpose of the Great Pyramid is thought to have been a burial chamber for the king, his queens and various other officials, the exact manner in which the pyramid was constructed continues to be debated.

Today, the pyramid lies just outside the city limits of Cairo and unfortunately, over the years has been slowly disintegrating due to a number of reasons. It is believed that, like many of the other pyramids built by ancient Egyptian pharaohs, the masonry on the Great Pyramid of Giza was picked and recycled for use in more modern structures. Throughout its 4000 year history the pyramid has lost approximately 10 meters in height, although it still stands at an impressive 145 meters.

the other architects were not mentioned for the other two pharaohs but mostly constituted of the king’s royal court(his advisors make the most of the contributions)

Khafra (also read as Khafre, Khefren and Chephren) was the son of Khufu and the throne successor of Djedefre. According to the ancient historian Manetho Khafra was followed by king Bikheris, but according to archaeological evidences he was rather followed by king Menkaure. Khafra was the builder of the second largest pyramid of Giza. Some of the egyptologists also credit him with the building of the Great Sphinx, but this is highly disputed. There´s not much known about Khafra, except the historical reports of Herodotus, who describes him as a cruel and heretic ruler, who kept the Egyptian temples closed after Khufu had sealed them. here is no agreement on the date of his reign. Some authors say it was between 2558 BC and 2532 BC; this dynasty is commonly dated ca. 2650 BC–2480 BC. While the Turin King List length for his reign is blank, and Manetho's exaggerates his reign as 66 years, most scholars believe it was between 24 to 26 years.

Menkaure (also read as Menkaura), was an ancient Egyptian king of the 4th dynasty during the Old Kingdom, who is well known under his Hellenized names Mykerinos (by Herodot) and Menkheres (by Manetho). According to Manetho, he was the throne successor of king Bikheris, but according to archaeological evidences he rather was the successor of king Khafre. Menkaure became famous for his pyramid tomb at Giza and his beautiful statue triads, showing the king together with goddesses and his wife Khamerernebty.

the principal architect (taken to be the pharaoh)of the Great pyramid of Giza, in the era of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, chose the 'foot' as the primary unit of linear measure for the design, then retained in secret the mathematical system that was used to define the unit of measure for the pyramid. the chosen unit is found to be dimensionally the same as the 'foot' defined by the British Imperial system of units.

A mathematical process termed number distillation, which has been referred to

in the distant past as “the casting out of nines”, is an essential part of the self-limiting, sequential, single-digit per cell tables that are developed here. The column and row sums, as well as specific numerically marked areas whose digits are cubed and summed provide overwhelming evidence that the term 'foot' is the only possible candidate for the primary pyramid design unit.

There is no evidence as to just when the unit was adopted for use in the Old Kingdom era, but the sequentially based, tabular method introduced here is mathematically and geometrically irrefutable. It provides a rational, non-circular argument that even hints at the proposition that the pyramid designer may have developed and been the first ever to use this particular unit of the 'foot'.

This content was extracted from the History channel website: www.historychannel.org

The principles of pyramid design by jysillus tybius