The period of Ancient Egypt spans over three millennia. The pyramids of ancient Egypt, built at this time, amaze people today. Since the era of the third dynasty and for centuries, the pyramids of Egypt have been and remain an unsurpassed masterpiece of architecture.
The very first pyramids in ancient Egypt were built in the form of steps. The only surviving step pyramid of Egypt is known - the pyramid of Djoser. It consists of six steps, and its height is about 62 meters. The descent from the entrance leads to the burial chamber. Underground galleries surround the pyramid from all sides except the southern one.
The pyramids, which are more familiar to modern man, arose with the improvement of the stepped pyramid. The construction of the first true pyramids of Egypt began in the fourth dynasty. The structure of a real pyramid is the same as that of a stepped one. Slabs of the required size were laid, and limestone blocks were used at the end. The first true pyramid was the Sneferu pyramid, which is also called the "Red Pyramid" and "Northern Pyramid". Its height is 105 meters, and the length of the base is approximately 220 meters.
The largest pyramid of ancient Egypt is the Pyramid of Cheops, which was erected around 2550 BC. The height of the ancient pyramid is currently 138 meters, and it consists of 203 steps. The structure covers an area of 52.6 thousand square meters, and its volume is about 2.7 million cubic meters. The pyramid is built of very strong material and the blocks are laid very evenly and precisely. There is no finishing stone at the top of the pyramid, which is found on many other pyramids. And scientists argue that it never existed. This means that the construction of the pyramid was not completed.
In Giza, there are two more large pyramids of the later pharaohs - Khafre and Menkaur. Unlike the pyramid of Cheops, these have large temples and burial places connected by a passage. The pyramid of Khafre is the second largest pyramid in Egypt. Nearby is a small pyramid, which, most likely, was built for Khafre's wife. Near the pyramid of Khafre is the famous Sphinx, which is the oldest surviving monumental sculpture. It is carved from a monolithic rock and represents a lion, whose face, according to scientists, is given a resemblance to Chefren.
The Menkaur pyramid is 10 times smaller than the Khafre pyramid, and unlike many other pyramids in Egypt, whose walls were covered with limestone, this pyramid uses granite, a material that is much more difficult to work with. The height of the pyramid was 66 meters earlier, now it is 55.5 meters. Both granite and limestone slabs were used in its construction. This pyramid differs from the earlier ones in that it has a rather complex structure of burial premises. At the entrance begins a corridor that leads to the vestibule, and behind the vestibule there was a tunnel that leads to a large hall, similar to a burial chamber. However, to the west of this hall there is another tunnel, which leads to the real burial chamber in which the sarcophagus was found.
Since the fifth dynasty, the pyramids have become much smaller. One of the famous pyramids of this time is the Unas pyramid, which is valuable due to the fact that the first burial texts carved on the wall were found in it.
The pyramids of Egypt are the only one of the seven wonders of the world that has survived to this day. They are captivating in their scale, arouse admiration and many guesses about how people without the use of technology could build structures so monumental.