Ancient Egypt Pyramids

A part of the Pharaoh's spirit ki was believed to remain in the dead Pharaoh's body. It was believed that if the dead Pharaoh's body was not protected, the new Pharaoh, would fail at his duties being king. If this occurred disaster would strike Egypt.

To prevent this disaster from happening, each Pharaoh that died would be mummified to protect his ki. Buried with the Pharaoh would be everything he needed in the afterlife. Items like gold, furniture, clay pots, servants ushabti, and doll representatives of other members in his life.

To protect the pharaoh's remains, the Egyptians built massive tombs (not always a pyramid), to protect their king.

Before the Egyptian pyramids were formed, pharaohs were buried in tombs carved in bedrock and topped with flat roofs called mastabas.

The builders of the ancient Egypt pyramids were the local people hired by the pharaoh. The Egyptians who were hired to build the pyramids took great pride in their work, and were not slaves.

Approximately 20,000 to 30,000 workers built the pyramids at Giza over the span of 80 years. It is believed that most of the work happened while the Nile River was flooded.

This made it easier to float the large limestone bricks from the quarry to the actual pyramid.

The ancient Egypt pyramids were built with more than just physical labour. To build the pyramid in such a triangle shape took the knowledge of architecture.

It was believed to achieve this pyramid shape, builders ran ropes from the outer corners to the middle to make sure the pyramid stayed on course.

Priests who practiced astrology where consulted to make sure the pyramids corresponded with the correct star symbols.

To build a pyramid for a pharaoh took the effort of a whole city.

To learn more about ancient Egypt pyramids, check out this great documentary by A&E, Ancient Mysteries: Tombs of the Gods - The Great Pyramids of Giza.