How were pyramids built step by step: Secrets of the Pharaohs

The pyramids were and still are the boldest and greatest human engineering structures in history. For thousands of years, they remained shining in Egypt like a bright star in the sky. And throughout history, people have asked, “How were pyramids built step by step?”And with Egypt Tours Group, as usual, all your questions will be answered. Here we will discuss with you some points that contribute to your understanding. How to build the Great Pyramid, the time of its construction, and the techniques used in it.

How were pyramids built step by step

The pyramids are the most famous and largest tombs in the world and are still alive even after they were built five thousand years ago. The question that arises in the mind of anyone who visits them is “How were pyramids built step by step in Egypt” and here is the answer to it.

1. Location:

• As was the custom of the ancient Egyptians in architecture, they chose the western side of the Nile to build their tombs, so they chose the side of the west of the Nile in the Giza area, which we will talk about in more detail later.

2. Foundation:

• The ancient Egyptians chose a ground structure that could support the gigantic structure.
• They leveled the ground with sand and water until it had a stable base
• The three pyramids are parallel to the ground with the cardinal points of the stars in the sky, which demonstrates the astronomical and engineering greatness that the ancient Egyptians enjoyed.

3. Transporting:

• They used limestone from quarries near the area
• As for granite, it came from Aswan via Nile boats, of course
• Some of the limestone came from Tura quarries

4. Construction:

• The ancient Egyptians were able to transport stones and build the pyramid using Ramps
• These wonderful engineering ideas represented by the ramps, which in most cases are made of mud bricks, helped a lot in transporting stones and tall buildings.

5. Burial:

• In the end, the king’s body was buried in his room inside the picturesque pyramid, and in his room, his jewelry and small statues were kept with him to help him in the afterlife.

Know More About Who Was the Pharaoh in Ancient Egypt? Unveiling the Mystery of Egypt’s Rulers

How long did it take to build the Pyramids?

A huge, magnificent, engineering and astronomical building as distinguished as the pyramids, and despite its continuity until now, it must have been built over a very long time with everyone’s participation, right? How long did it take to build the pyramids?

• The actual time of building the pyramids is not exactly determined, but it is mostly between 20-30 years.
• Many modern sources state that it was built over 20 years by balancing shifts between a large workforce.
• Many ancient records, such as the Greek historian Herodotus, agree that the age to build the Great Pyramid was 20 years.
• This applies to the Great Pyramid of King Khufu, which is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
• The Great Pyramid took about 2.3 million stones to build, and this took thousands of workers and dozens of years, of course.

Know More About what makes ancient egyptian art and architecture stand out?

When were the Pyramids built?

There are many pyramids in Egypt, but we will determine the timing of the construction of only the most famous ones, for example

1. Djoser Pyramid (the step pyramid)

• The first pyramid ever built was built in the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom around 2670 BC.

2. Giza pyramids:

• The Pyramids of Giza were built around 2550 BC
• The Great Pyramid was built first by King Khufu, then his son Khafre built the middle pyramid, and then the son of Khafre, King Menkaure, built the smaller pyramid.

Side info:

King Khafre built the Sphinx next to his pyramid so that the statue would protect the Giza plateau and the pyramids. There is an additional question, which is:  How long did it take to build the Sphinx?

• According to some estimates, this great, magnificent statue took only three years to build

3 Phases of Building the Pyramids

the whole process of building the pyramids can be summarized in only three basic stages:

1. Planning 

• It includes choosing a location as the first step to making history
• A clear and astronomical engineering drawing  
• leveling off the ground foundation

2. Assembly

• Bringing stones whether from Tura or Aswan
• Using straight or twisted slopes to build rooms and corridors and move stones properly upward

3. Finishing

• The outer layer is built with smooth limestone
• After burying the king inside his room, the passage was closed to protect against the evils of thieves
• The top of the pyramid was made of electrum or gold

Know More About The Grand Egyptian Museum – GEM: Unveiling Ancient Treasures

What were the pyramids made of?

The amazing pyramid, so tall and huge in structure, was certainly not built from just one stone. Rather, more than one combination of stones was used in it, as the Egyptian engineers were very enthusiastic about building one of the miracles of time.

1. Limestone for the core

2. Smooth white limestone from Tura for the outer layer

3. Granite from Aswan for the chambers and inner passages

4. Gold or electrum for the capstone 

5. Gypsum to hold the stones together

Know More About What Did Ancient Egypt Look Like? Explore Its Civilization

Location of the Pyramids

The three pyramids were built on the Giza Plateau, towards the western side of the Nile. Giza is located close to Cairo and is located in Lower Egypt (northern Egypt).

• The step pyramid is located in Saqqara, near Memphis which was the first capital of united Egypt.
• The Dahshur Pyramid is also located in Memphis, specifically south of it

The choice of place was not a coincidence, as the ancient kings chose a western place (the ancient Egyptians believed that the west of the Nile River was the place of the dead). In addition to the fact that Giza or Memphis was a source of power and rule at that time, there is no better place than that to build their miracles.

Know More About The Pyramid of Menkaure: A Window into Ancient Egyptian Majesty

The Architecture of the Pyramids

The engineering of building tombs developed until it reached the pyramids throughout ancient Egyptian history, and these are its stages:

1. Mastaba: This shape was followed by a hole in the ground, and the Mastaba was a rectangular step in the ground 

2. Step pyramid: The Step Pyramid, built by King Djoser, consisted of six terraces on top of each other

3. Bent pyramid: King Senefru pyramid in Dahshur

4. The Complete Pyramid for King Senefru 

The last and most grandiose stage was the pyramids of Kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure in Giza, of course.

It was classified as great and miraculous, not only because of its height and stamina, but also because of its interior corridors, the king’s rooms, the queen’s room, and other unexplained scientific facts, the slopes, and the amazing way the stones are stacked.

Know More About Egyptian Pyramids Facts – Over 100 Pyramids to Explore

Tours to the Pyramids

With Egypt Tours Group, you will enjoy visiting Giza and its pyramids as part of your comprehensive tours of many tourist places in ancient Egypt, and on different days of the tour, visiting the pyramids is an essential and integral part of it.

1. 4 days Cairo & Alexandria tours package 

2. 4 Days Cairo tour packages: Explore the wonders of Egypt

3. Captivating 6 Days Egypt travel packages

4. 8 Days Nile Cruise from Cairo to Hurghada holiday

5. 11 Days Nile Cruise Cairo to Alexandria: Discover Egypt

6. 12 Days Cairo, Alexandria, and Upper Egypt tour

7. 14 Days Splendor of Egypt tour – Explore ancient wonders

8. Half-Day Pyramids tour from Cairo

9. Quad bike at Giza Pyramid

All of these options and many others provide you with the opportunity to move around and learn about the pyramids of Giza as part of your exploratory trip to Egypt. You will determine the number of days you want, and with Egypt Tours Group, whatever you want, you will find it.

Know More About Saqqara Pyramid: First Pyramid in the world

Construction Method of the Pyramids

The method of building the pyramids remains a somewhat mysterious method and requires a lot to understand and study, as it was done in several stages and several years and with the help of thousands of workers using various engineering methods.

After I talk to you about the slopes, types of stones, choosing the site, and the foundation, I will talk to you about other things, such as:

1. Theories behind ramps

First theory: This theory suggests that the ramps were inside the pyramid itself and were used to move stones inside the pyramid itself

Second theory: The other theory suggests that water was used to move the stones and not the cliffs by making the stone surface slippery

2. Continuous research and ideas

Some researchers create a 3D model of the pyramids or use a laser to simulate it to understand how the pyramids are built.

The enthusiasm of scientists, even after thousands of years have passed, to learn the secrets of the pyramids suggests their greatness and that they are the basic pillar of civilizations.

Know More About Giza Necropolis – Pyramids, Thebes and Ancient Tombs

Construction of the Inner Chambers and Passageways

The pyramid is not just a geometric shape and stacked stones. Inside, it is another world and another life of great dedication and effort in the rooms and corridors.

1. Design

• There is a descending passage 
• An ascending passage leads to the main chambers
• King’s chamber 
• Air shafts

2. Techniques

Other than the designs that we talked about, such as the stones, their places, and their classification, there are, for example, five layers above the king’s room to remove the pressure from the ceiling.

Finishing Touches: The Outer Casing of the Pyramid

After everything is finished, attention must be paid to the final touches so as not to destroy all the engineering masterpieces that occurred in this miracle.

1. Polished Limestone was cut to fit perfect

2. The top of the pyramid shines like a reflection of the sun because it is covered with electrum

3. It is said that the workers started from the top of the pyramid down to the bottom

4. after all this, the ramps were removed

5. The white layer was added to the limestone as an outer layer

Know More About King Menkaure: Mastermind of the Pyramid

Labor and Workforce behind the Pyramid Construction

A project like the Great Pyramid must have involved thousands of workers over the two decades it was built.

1. Skilled laborers

• Engineers, architects, and quarry workers were responsible for cutting stones, determining the appropriate type of stones, and drawing plans and they were considered “ core workers”

2. Farmers and unskilled workers

• They were called “seasonal workers” and they were, for example, peasants working during the flood season, and the workers were divided into teams, and the workers built the slopes, etc.

3. Workers villages

• There was a village for workers near their place of work in Giza, and it hosted the workers and their families and offered them homes, places for treatment, etc.

4. Shifts 

• Workers were divided into work schedules and hours each, similar to the modern labor system, which demonstrates justice and organization since ancient times in ancient Egypt.

5. Motivation

• The Egyptian workers believed that the pyramid belonged to the king, meaning that it was a religious work, as the king was considered an image of God on earth, so they worked hard with their work until the king and God were satisfied with them.

Know More About Pyramid of Khafre | Exploring Its History and Mysteries

Surprise: the hidden pyramid

It is usual for the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, with the help of passionate antiquities inspectors, to announce archaeological discoveries on an ongoing basis.

Egyptian lands throughout the country contain a history hidden within them. If we live for thousands of years, we will not be able to extract it all, but our topic here is only about:

The hidden pyramid: in Dahshur

• In the Dahshur region (which already contains the first curved pyramid and the first complete pyramid of King Senefru), traces of a pyramid that had been hidden for many centuries were discovered.

• When the hidden pyramid was opened for approximately four thousand years, the room that had been looted many centuries ago was revealed.

• After many questions and research, it was finally revealed that this pyramid or tomb belonged to Princess Hatshepsut from the Middle Kingdom (not the well-known Queen Hatshepsut from the New Kingdom).

This is one of the discoveries that demonstrate the depth of ancient Egyptian civilization and the extent of what we do not know about our great ancestors. With the passage of successive discoveries, new wells of science and knowledge open up for us.

Conclusion

In the end, the pyramids are a miraculous work that was built by one of the oldest known civilizations, and their secrets still fascinate the world now, scientists marvel at them and how they continue, which only confirms the effort and craftsmanship of the ancient Egyptians.

FAQ

How did the Egyptians build the step pyramid?

The pyramids were built by expert Egyptian engineers, and their advanced thinking in assembling stones and building auxiliary tools, as we talked about here, resulted in the greatest human work in history.

Why is it a mystery how the pyramids were built? 

Because five thousand years ago, the world was not as advanced as it is today. Confusion always comes as to how to build a stone bone that still stands today using primitive tools.

Do we know when the pyramids were built?  

Since we know who the kings were behind the construction of the three pyramids (Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure from the Fourth Dynasty), we can approximate the time to approximately 2550 BC.

What’s the mystery of pyramids?

The mystery behind the pyramids is how they were built in a primitive time, what is the secret of their continuity, and the purpose of their construction