Egyptian pyramids and the immortality of the pharaohs. Continuation. How the Egyptian pyramids caused an economic crisis in the ancient kingdom

There is practically no such person who has not heard about Egyptian pyramids. Of course, not all of them have survived to our time, but even about those that can be seen now, there are a lot of rumors and a lot of assumptions are put forward about how the pyramids were built, who did it and why. In our article we will try to deal with at least some of the issues.

Why the pyramids?

Modern architects are at a loss why, if there was such a desire to build something unusual, the choice fell on the form in the form of a pyramid? And the answer is probably quite simple. At that time, there was no question of any competent architects and designers, especially among the sandy deserts.

Each of us remembers ourselves in childhood playing in the sandbox or on the seashore while relaxing with the family. At that time, we were in almost the same conditions as the builders of Ancient Egypt, and we also tried to build something out of sand. And what do we almost always get? That's right - sand pyramids.

Of course, among the Egyptian sands there were also various shapeless or unusually shaped stones, and using them in addition to sand for construction was an excellent help to strengthen the structure.

So it turns out, it’s not so important how the pyramids were built, but it can be assumed that such a form was chosen only because there was simply no opportunity, equipment and knowledge to build something else.

The purpose of the pyramids

It is probably safe to say that the Egyptian pyramids to this day hide some secrets that neither scientists nor clairvoyants can unravel. There are many versions and hypotheses about who built the Egyptian pyramids and how it was done, but there is still no exact answer to these complex questions.

But to answer the question about the purpose of the structures is a little easier, you can make at least speculative conclusions.

According to one version, the pyramids served as the tombs of the pharaohs. As evidence, they provide which were found in some pyramids, and grave goods. In the oldest records available, it was found that only priests had the right to access the structure, and everyone else was forbidden to enter there.

But even this version can be faulty. The pyramids in Egypt are not all the same, they differed in their structure, the presence of aboveground and underground parts, even the building material used was not the same.

The pyramid was built around 2560 BC from stone. Those that appeared later were made of clay bricks, which were not even fired. It was possible for people to build such structures, only a lot of time would be needed for such construction. By the way, it is these pyramids that are most affected by environmental factors, and under the wind and rains they are gradually destroyed. Some of them have almost turned into a pile of sand and bricks.

There is a second version, for which the pyramids were built. They served as giant energy accumulators. It is already known that many of them had a huge underground part, which was equipped in strict accordance with the map of the starry sky. The upper above-ground part in the form of a pyramid was a kind of channel for the release of energy.

According to the third version, the first pyramid was built to store the pharaoh's treasures. It is impossible to say for sure, but some arguments can be made in favor of this theory:

All pyramids are capital structures that managed to withstand the onslaught natural environment and hardly change. So, we can assume that they were built for centuries. For example, the pyramid of Cheops was built around the year 2560 BC. No one doubts that at that time there was no question of any banks for storing money and jewelry, but it was necessary to store your treasures somewhere. Then, among the sands and dunes, it was quite difficult to do this, at any moment a sandstorm could sweep up so much that it would be impossible to find your hidden treasures. Therefore, the pyramids were built of such a height that they were not afraid of dunes and sands.
The very size of the building confirms that it is possible to hide huge wealth in it, the owners of which were the pharaohs. In this case, it doesn’t matter how many years ago the Cheops pyramid was built. External forms do not betray the internal dimensions, so it is difficult to imagine how much wealth can fit within its walls.

All this, of course, is a version, and it is almost impossible to give an exact answer to the questions of who built the pyramids and why.

Material for building pyramids

Material for the construction of such huge pyramids required a huge amount. Many scientists believe that it was mined in quarries. Archaeologists near Aswan (this is an area located near the pyramids of Giza) found a slab of granite, preserved from those distant times, its weight reached about 1300 tons. Surprisingly, it had a neatly sawn depression and cracks. Apparently, because of them, the ancient pyramid builders considered it unsuitable for their grandiose project.

There are also confirmations of some researchers about the presence of traces of wooden formwork inside the pyramids.

Concrete, which the ancient builders made from crushed limestone, has good plasticity and, when cooled and solidified, takes the necessary shape. Presumably, various images on such walls and hieroglyphs were squeezed out on concrete that had not yet hardened, and were not carved later.

Some archaeologists have even considered that construction cuts in blocks of concrete were made using bronze chisels. Is it really possible to do this, especially if you consider how many years ago the pyramid of Cheops was built? We assume that scientists know better.

Material for the tallest pyramid

At present, the pharaoh who built This Cheops is known. It is believed that it was on his instructions that they began to build it. But the whole process was not led by the pharaoh himself, but by his nephew, the vizier Hemion. It is still a mystery to scientists what kind of Newest technologies he used to end up with one of the seven wonders of the world. In what year the pyramid of Cheops was built is not known exactly, but presumably it was before our era, around 2560. What technologies could be discussed?

According to information from ancient sources, the preparation for construction itself lasted more than one year, and more than 4 thousand workers were involved in this process. Since it was supposed to build a structure of a huge scale, it was decided to choose a rocky area near Cairo as a site.

To level the surface of the earth, the Egyptians built a square-shaped shaft with the help of stone and sand, which was impervious to water. Channels were cut inside it, into which water was launched to determine its level. After that, notches were made, the liquid was lowered, and all the stones that were above this level were removed, and the trenches were laid. This is how we got the foundation for the pyramid.

Regardless of how many years ago the pyramid of Cheops was built, there is still no doubt that the main material for its construction were blocks of stone, which were mined in quarries. With the help of hewing, they were processed to the desired size, usually they ranged from 0.8 m to 1.5 m. Some specimens were more impressive in size, for example, a block above the entrance to the "pharaoh's room" weighed about 35 tons.

It is assumed that the prepared blocks were dragged to the river with the help of thick ropes and levers and transported to the construction site. There are no questions about this process, but how and with the help of what technologies these blocks were on top of the structure, is still an unsolved mystery for all scientists.

The pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops was built in about 40 years, although some believe that it took no more than twenty. Unfortunately, some blocks have not survived to this day, since (according to one of the versions) they were used by the inhabitants of Cairo to build their houses after the Arab raid on their capital.

The eternal question - who created the pyramids?

The question of who built the pyramids still remains without exact answers. Around these grandiose structures disputes and conversations do not subside, and there are more and more versions about the alleged builders.

This question will always excite the minds of scientists, since the whole point is not even who built them, but how the whole process was carried out. What technologies were used to not only get the correct geometric shape, but also a structure that is almost immune to the influence of natural disasters, wars and vandal invasion? There are many versions on this subject, but we will get acquainted only with some of them.

Twine and log

According to the first version, the Egyptians themselves were engaged in the construction of the pyramids. They dragged huge slabs and blocks to the place of work with the help of ropes, they put logs under them and dragged them.

Herodotus claimed that the builders had a wooden formwork, which was disassembled and transferred, and with its help the next level was erected.

In what year the pyramids were built, it is difficult to say exactly, but Cheops is not considered the first pharaoh who proposed to build such structures. Pharaoh Djoser the Magnificent is considered the discoverer of the era of the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. On a stele from his time, you can find instructions for preparing mortar.

For this pharaoh was established in Saqqara. It had 6 steps, each of which meant the next stage of construction. Inside there were 11 chambers for the burial of members of the pharaoh's family. Subsequently, the mummies of wives and children were found there. It was much later that each pyramid was intended for the burial of only one king or pharaoh.

Builder Giants

According to the second version, the construction of the pyramids was not carried out by the Egyptians, but by the ancient civilization of the Russians. It is believed that it was they who, due to their enormous growth, had the opportunity to engage in such construction. The Atlanteans not only had a height of more than 12 meters, but also had a huge supply of physical strength, so they could carry blocks weighing several tons quite easily.

But, according to some legends, the giants did not rely on their physical abilities at all, but used the power of thought, with which you can move objects through the air.

These assumptions were confirmed by many scientists. For example, Blavatsky is an esoteric and theosophist, as well as a clairvoyant Edgar Cayce, who claimed that the pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops was built around 10,490 BC. It was this clairvoyant who called exact location where the Atlanteans hid important documents and materials - between the paws of the Sphinx. These artifacts contain information about Atlantis and its destruction.

Many scientists adhere to the version about the construction of the pyramids by the Atlanteans. These ancient superhumans wanted to convey their message to the next generations. unusual story, and so that there was no chance to get lost in all this, they came up with such unusual and huge structures.

Alien origin of the pyramids

There is also such a version, according to which, perhaps, there is a pharaoh who built the largest pyramid, but this was already after extraterrestrial civilizations built most of these masterpieces.

Scientists who adhere to this point of view, in favor of this version, cite the results of the analysis of the pyramids. At that time, such unique technologies for processing stone and moving huge blocks in space simply did not exist. It is believed that only aliens could have some kind of super technology that coped with such a task. In the temple of Abu Simbel there are statues of seated pharaohs, the height of which reaches more than 20 meters. Was it really possible to build such a thing in those days? ordinary people without special equipment and technology, and even from bronze? For many scientists, this is rather doubtful.

What questions are not answered?

Even if we assume that they were much smarter than us in matters of erecting unique structures and decided to keep how the pyramids were built a secret, then there is no answer to the following questions:

Considering that chisels made of stone and copper were available in Ancient Egypt, how could they be used to process a block of granite so that there were no gaps between the blocks?
What had to be used to be able to go almost 100 meters deep into the base of the pyramid?
It is also striking that in just twenty years the Egyptians were able to lay bricks with a total mass of 3 tons along magnetic lines, and in perfect order. It took about 5 minutes to lay one brick. And if you imagine that it was huge, then you can’t believe it at all.

You can find a lot of questions that arise regarding each version of the appearance of the pyramids, but they remain without intelligible and truthful answers.

man-made miracle

The name of the pharaoh who built the most high pyramid, - Khufu, but he is usually known as Cheops, and the building has the same name. The pyramid impresses with its impressive size, there is no doubt that its construction lasted for more than a dozen years. It differs from other pyramids in its unusual layout, but the most interesting thing is that when it was opened, the body of the pharaoh was not found there. Then the question arises: for whom and for what purpose was it built?

At present, it practically does not matter when the Cheops pyramid was built, because it is definitely included in the list of the seven wonders of the world.

Only impressive dimensions already amaze the imagination of modern man, and this is if we consider that over the past few millennia it has become smaller. Modern scholars can only guess at the proportions of the pyramid, as the edges were taken apart by the Egyptians themselves for their own needs.

Here is some information about this pyramid:

Now its height is about 138 meters, but, according to some reports, upon completion of construction, this figure was 11 points higher.
The foundation is a regular square shape, each side is 230 meters long.
The total area occupied by the pyramid is 5.4 hectares, that is, more than five modern largest temples can be freely located on it.
The total length of the foundation along the perimeter is 922 meters.

There is another interesting fact: the case on the outside has uneven grooves of different sizes. If you look at them from a certain angle, you can distinguish the image of a man about 150 meters tall. According to some assumptions, this is how the Egyptians depicted one of the ancient gods. There are several such drawings. On north side there is an image of a woman and a man who bowed their heads to each other.

Scientists are inclined to believe that the builders applied these drawings even before the completion of construction, but then it remains unclear why, if the outer plates that decorated the pyramid hid them?

It doesn’t matter how many years ago the Cheops pyramid was built, but even inside it is very different from the rest. There are corridors along which you can go both up and down. The main one first goes down, and then branches into 2 tunnels - one of them leads to the unfinished funeral chamber below, and the second to a large gallery above. From this gallery you can go to the main tomb and the Queen's room.

At the very base of the pyramid there are several underground structures. In one of them, the scientists found old ship, which was a cedar boat disassembled into 1224 parts. The length was about 43 meters. Probably, it was on this structure that the pharaoh intended to go to the kingdom of the dead.

And the pyramid for Cheops?

The pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops was built around 2560 BC, but the question is increasingly arising: was it built for him? In the direction of such doubts, the fact that after its discovery the body of the pharaoh was not found there, there were no decorations in the burial chamber.

The sarcophagus for the body was in an unfinished state: the stones were roughly hewn, the lid was missing.

These data only make the adherents of the alien origin of the pyramids even more convinced that the creators of such huge and unique structures were representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations, but it’s not clear why they did all this.

Pyramids of various sizes

The name of the pharaoh who built the highest pyramid is known, but besides such a huge structure, there were also very small ones. Some scholars believe that, in addition to using the pyramid as a tomb, it was also a place for various religious rites. According to other opinions, the Egyptians simply did not want their culture to sink into obscurity, like many others, and with the help of such structures they passed on information about themselves to their descendants.

Pyramids were just perfect for this purpose, as they differed not only in their shape, but also in material, strength and size. By the way, scientists also have their own ideas about the size of the pyramids.

They think the buildings are too small size they do not honor the pharaoh, but there may simply not be enough funds for a huge building. It was from this point of view that the size of the pyramid was discussed before construction, taking into account the financial capabilities of the treasury.

But there are those who argue that not only the shape, but also the dimensions are not at all random. This is part of the knowledge, having comprehended which, you can understand the universe and the mechanics of our huge planet.

It doesn’t matter if the question of how the pyramids were built is revealed, but it is these structures that attract a huge number of tourists every year to Egypt. A travel business is one of the main areas that replenishes the state treasury.

And one can only assume that even the truthful answers to questions, for example, when the Cheops pyramid was built, will be kept a big secret by the authorities so as not to lose their attractiveness and mystery for tourists from all over the world.

One can only sum up all that has been said: whoever built these gigantic masterpieces of a unique form, he is truly a real creator who, with his work, makes the greatest minds mankind to struggle over the solution of this mystery.

The Egyptians stopped building pyramids with the start of the New Kingdom. But why? What was the reason that led to the abandonment of the most incredible structures of Ancient Egypt?

New Preferences

In 1550 B.C. e. - with the beginning of the New Kingdom - the construction of the ancient pyramids ceased. Researchers have never understood the reasons for such extreme and drastic changes in architectural preferences. Pyramids began to be replaced by tombs that were carved into the mountains. Such new architectural preferences helped reduce the number of looted tombs. During the New Kingdom, the pyramids that were sometimes still being built were of lower quality and did not reach the size of the past structures.

Researchers have long wondered why the construction of the pyramids suddenly stopped. Some scholars suggest that materials and construction methods were changed. As a result, the new structures were not as strong and could not stand the test of time as those built before them.

So we know that the Egyptians stopped building pyramids, but why did they ever start doing it?

How did the pyramids appear

The pyramids were the logical evolution of the mastabas, the monuments that were used as the burial place of the rulers of the Early Dynasty in Ancient Egypt. No one knows exactly why mastabas were replaced by pyramids. Some researchers suggest that they were built in order to reach great heights. However, the construction of both the pyramids and the mastabas had one goal - to preserve the memory of the ruler for posterity.

The ancient Egyptians first began converting mastabas into pyramids during the Third Dynasty, around 2700 BC. e. Initially, these structures were very similar to those built by ancient civilizations in America. These early pyramids - such as the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara - were built with various steps that were supposed to resemble a stairway to heaven.

Some researchers are quite skeptical about the idea that the pyramids could have been used as tombs. They argue that no evidence or inscriptions have been found to link these miraculous structures to graves.

Construction secrets

Another one big mystery associated with the pyramids lies in the fact that history still cannot answer the question of how this ancient civilization was able to lift massive stone blocks of this size during construction.

There are many hypotheses, the development of which began in the days of the ancient Greek scientist Herodotus. With the help of these theories, scientists are trying to explain how the ancient Egyptians were able to build these structures, but no one can give a definitive answer. Oddly enough, during all this time no ancient texts or reporting documents have been discovered that would relate to the construction of the pyramids.

Great Pyramid of Giza

In total, scientists have managed to discover more than a hundred pyramids of pharaohs in Egypt. They have different sizes, were built for both the pharaohs and the nobility. The most famous construction is the Great Pyramid of Giza due to its truly enormous size. According to experts, it consists of 2,300,000 stone blocks, each of which weighs from 2 to 30 tons. Some weigh up to 50 tons. This true masterpiece rightfully deserves to be called a miracle. The pyramid was built with such precision that our modern technology is unable to replicate it. Egyptologists suggest that the pyramid was built as a tomb for 10-20 years, around 2560 BC. e.

Initially, it was covered with facing stones (from polished limestone). They were supposed to reflect sunlight, thus the pyramid sparkled like gem. In the 14th century, these polished stones began to be used by the Arabs for the construction of mosques. An earthquake also contributed to their destruction. Be that as it may, but this moment this covering on the pyramid is no longer there. It is believed that the polishing stones on the pyramid acted as mirrors. They reflected light so powerfully that the pyramid could be seen from the moon. She looked like a bright shining star on the earth's surface. Accordingly, the ancient Egyptians called great pyramid Ikhet, which means "Magnificent light."

Construction after the Fourth Dynasty

After the displayed prowess of the Fourth Dynasty, the next generation showed a lower level of skill in building monuments and pyramids. Builders could no longer achieve such perfection, and the small pyramids at Abusir are strong evidence of these technical failures.

In subsequent centuries, the design and construction of the pyramids became even worse. And although it is traditionally believed that in the 16th century BC. e. the Egyptians began to abandon the pyramids, in later centuries their influence on architecture can be traced.

Nubian rulers from the Fifteenth Dynasty were also buried in pyramids, but they were of minor size and poor quality. However, during the Middle Kingdom, the Egyptians began to use wood, brick and adobe elements for building from the inside. Perhaps this is the reason why only a few pyramids from this period have survived to this day.

There are less and less unsolved mysteries on our planet every year. The constant improvement of technology, the cooperation of scientists from various fields of science reveals to us the secrets and mysteries of history. But the secrets of the pyramids still defy understanding - all discoveries give scientists only tentative answers to many questions. Who built the Egyptian pyramids, what was the construction technology, whether there is a curse of the pharaohs - these and many other questions still remain without an exact answer.

Description of the Egyptian pyramids

Archaeologists talk about 118 pyramids in Egypt, partially or completely preserved to our time. Their age is from 4 to 10 thousand years. One of them - Cheops - is the only surviving "miracle" from the "Seven Wonders of the World". The complex called "The Great Pyramids of Giza", which includes and, was also considered as a participant in the New Seven Wonders of the World competition, but it was withdrawn from participation, since these majestic structures are actually the "wonder of the world" in the ancient list.

These pyramids have become the most visited excursion objects in Egypt. They are perfectly preserved, which cannot be said about many other structures - time did not spare them. Yes and locals contributed to the destruction of the majestic necropolises, removing the lining and breaking out the stones from the walls to build their houses.

The Egyptian pyramids were built by pharaohs ruling from the 27th century BC. e. and later. They were intended for the repose of the rulers. The huge scale of the tombs (some up to almost 150 m high) should have testified to the greatness of the buried pharaohs, things that the ruler loved during his lifetime and which would be useful to him in the afterlife were also placed here.

For the construction, stone blocks of various sizes were used, which were hollowed out of the rocks, and later brick began to serve as the material for the walls. Stone blocks were turned and adjusted so that a knife blade could not slip between them. Blocks were stacked on top of each other with an offset of several centimeters, which formed a stepped surface of the structure. Almost all Egyptian pyramids have a square base, the sides of which are oriented strictly to the cardinal points.

Since the pyramids performed the same function, that is, they served as the burial place of the pharaohs, their structure and decoration are similar inside. The main component is the burial hall, where the ruler's sarcophagus was installed. The entrance was arranged not at ground level, but several meters higher, and was masked by facing slabs. From entrance to inner hall Ladders and corridors led, which sometimes narrow so much that you can only walk along them squatting or crawling.

In most necropolises, burial chambers (chambers) are below ground level. Ventilation was carried out through narrow shaft-channels, which penetrated the walls. Rock paintings and ancient religious texts are found on the walls of many pyramids - in fact, scientists draw some of the information about the construction and owners of the burials from them.

The main mysteries of the pyramids

The list begins unsolved mysteries from the form of necropolises. Why was the shape of the pyramid chosen, which is translated from Greek as “polyhedron”? Why were the edges located clearly on the cardinal points? How did the huge stone blocks move from the place of development and how they were lifted to great height? Were the buildings erected by aliens or people who own a magic crystal?

Scientists even argue over the question of who built such tall monumental structures that stood for millennia. Some believe they were built by slaves who died in the hundreds of thousands building each. However, new discoveries of archaeologists and anthropologists convince us that the builders were free people who received good food And medical care. They made such conclusions based on the composition of the bones, the structure of the skeletons and the healed injuries of the buried builders.

All cases of death and death of people involved in the study of the Egyptian pyramids were attributed to mystical coincidences, which provoked rumors and talk about the curse of the pharaohs. None scientific evidence this is not. Perhaps the rumors were spread to scare off thieves and marauders who want to find valuables and jewelry in the graves.

To the mysterious interesting facts can be attributed to the short time frame for the construction of the Egyptian pyramids. According to calculations, large necropolises with that level of technology should have been erected in at least a century. How, for example, was the pyramid of Cheops built in just 20 years?

Great Pyramids

This is the name of the burial complex near the city of Giza, consisting of three great pyramids, huge statue Sphinx and small satellite pyramids, which were probably intended for the wives of the rulers.

The initial height of the pyramid of Cheops was 146 m, the length of the side was 230 m. It was built in 20 years in the 26th century BC. e. The largest of Egyptian landmarks has not one, but three funerary halls. One of them is below ground level, and two are above the base line. Intertwining corridors lead to the burial chambers. On them you can go to the chamber of the pharaoh (king), to the chamber of the queen and to the lower hall. The chamber of the pharaoh is a chamber made of pink granite, has dimensions of 10x5 m. A granite sarcophagus without a lid is installed in it. Not a single report of scientists contained information about the mummies found, so it is not known whether Cheops was buried here. By the way, the mummy of Cheops was not found in other tombs either.

It still remains a mystery whether the Cheops pyramid was used for its intended purpose, and if so, then apparently it was plundered by looters in the past centuries. The name of the ruler, by whose order and project this tomb was built, was learned from the drawings and hieroglyphs above the burial chamber. All other Egyptian pyramids, with the exception of Djoser, have a simpler engineering device.

Two other necropolises in Giza, built for the heirs of Cheops, are somewhat more modest in size:

Tourists travel to Giza from all over Egypt, because this city is actually a suburb of Cairo, and everything leads to it. road junctions. Travelers from Russia usually travel to Giza with excursion groups from Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. The trip is long, 6-8 hours one way, so the tour is usually designed for 2 days.

The great buildings are available for visiting only during working hours, usually until 17:00, in the month of Ramadan - until 15:00. It is not recommended to enter inside for asthmatics, as well as for people suffering from claustrophobia, nervous and cardiovascular diseases. You must take with you on the tour drinking water and headwear. The tour fee consists of several parts:

Entrance to the complex.
Entrance inside the pyramid of Cheops or Khafre.
Entrance to the Museum of the Solar boat, on which the body of the pharaoh was transported across the Nile.

Against the backdrop of the Egyptian pyramids, many people like to take photos while sitting on camels. You can bargain with camel owners.

Pyramid of Djoser

The first pyramid in the world is located in Saqqara, near Memphis - former capital Ancient Egypt. Today, the pyramid of Djoser is not as attractive to tourists as the Cheops necropolis, but at one time it was the largest in the country and the most complex in terms of engineering.

The burial complex included chapels, courtyards, and storage facilities. The six-step pyramid itself does not have a square base, but a rectangular one, with sides of 125x110 m. The height of the structure itself is 60 m, inside it there are 12 burial chambers, where Djoser himself and members of his family were supposedly buried. The mummy of the pharaoh was not found during the excavations. The entire territory of the complex of 15 hectares was surrounded by a stone wall 10 m high. Currently, part of the wall and other buildings have been restored, and the pyramid, whose age is approaching 4700 years, has been preserved quite well.

(Ending. Beginning see here: Egyptian pyramids and the immortality of the pharaohs)
The tombs were supposed to protect the body of the deceased from being eaten by animals that constantly made their raids on cemeteries. The body of a noble deceased was no longer wrapped in mats. They made a special one for him. sarcophagus, which became an important element of the funerary cult in ancient Egypt.

The sarcophagus was supposed to protect the body and the stele containing the image and name of the deceased in order to preserve his identity.

Mummification is a long way to knowledge

But here's the paradox - it turned out that the bodies buried in the cool underground chambers of such tombs, being better protected from animals, were worse preserved than in simple "pit burials" on the edge of the desert.

When the Egyptians faced this problem, a rather long journey of trial and error began in protecting the body from decomposition. Gradually, they realized that it was not enough just to remove all the insides from the body and pour resin instead, that soaking the body in a soda solution does not bring the desired result, does not solve all problems and embalming, that is, soaking the body with a mixture of various essential oils and resins. It turned out that in addition to all this, you still need to completely swaddle the body with bandages - linen strips soaked in resin and mastic, leaving not a single open area of \u200b\u200bthe body, including the face of the deceased.

Therefore, on the head mummies(this is what is now called what was obtained as a result of these body preservation procedures), they put on a carved painted mask. Even before the swaddling procedure, a sacred scarab beetle carved from stone was placed instead of the heart. So, in the end, the Egyptians learned how to turn the body into a non-decaying mummy. , then placed in a sarcophagus.

The mummification procedure was carefully designed and, like so much in ancient Egypt, became a canon for millennia.

All actions carried out in the course of mummification acquired the character of religious rites and were clearly regulated by religious prescriptions. Among the Egyptian gods, the god Anubis (Inpu), the god of embalming and mummification, occupies an honorable place.

"Eternal" tombs for "eternal" mummies

Since the body is preserved from decomposition for an almost unlimited time, then the tombs of the nobility, and even more so of the pharaohs, must be so strong as to stand for centuries and millennia, providing the opportunity for the soul of the deceased to exist in it. Therefore, the tombs began to be made of materials more durable than raw bricks in order to prolong immortality as long as possible.

They began to be built from sandstone, limestone, basalt and granite, so that the twin of the deceased - Ka, who separated from the body, but strives to unite with it, could live in a more comfortable, spacious and durable room. Such strong tombs were also needed because if the mummy nevertheless undergoes destruction and decays, then the statue of the lord, also located here, will remain, and if she also dies, then in the secret place of the tomb there will be the name of the deceased carved on the stone - the last refuge of the soul, which will allow it to exist even in this case. Later they began to make not one statue of the deceased, but many, sometimes more than a dozen.

Another tradition also appeared - the head of the deceased lord was cut out of stone and hidden in a secret underground niche, which was carefully walled up and masked. That which saved the head from the robbers of the tombs was not, according to the ancient Egyptians, an obstacle for Ka, who was looking for his earthly shell.

Religious views, which required the manufacture of statues and steles for funeral rituals, the construction of tombs and temples, gave a powerful impetus to the development of the art of Ancient Egypt. The art of the ancient Egyptians served, first of all, the interests of ensuring the afterlife of the dead, and not to satisfy the aesthetic needs of the living.

Why did the pharaoh need a pyramid?

When a pharaoh died, his grave should stand out in size - be larger and stronger than the tomb of the most important dignitary, since even the most important dignitary compared to the pharaoh - the "living god" - is a simple mortal and his servant. But the main thing was not at all that the tomb of the pharaoh was supposed to show his highest rank in relation to all others.

The main thing was different - the tomb was supposed to provide the pharaoh with a successful ascent to the sky and the stars, the immortality of the pharaoh so that it is already in the form solar god Ra illuminated and warmed the earth. It was for this purpose that the pyramids began to be erected, many of which, including the first stone pyramid - the pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser in Saqqara, had a stepped shape. They were a kind of "ladder" for the pharaoh on the way to heaven. That is, the pyramids were erected not at all in order to strike the imagination of contemporaries, and even more so not in order to cause amazement among distant descendants; not at all out of love for art and construction; not for the glory of their architects; and, of course, not in order to show creative human possibilities.

Many Egyptologists are now inclined to believe that the main purpose of the pyramidal complexes (the pyramid is part of the ritual and burial complex) is precisely this - to ensure the divine status of the pharaoh after his death, which endowed the king of Egypt with divine immortality. Pharaoh's mummy could actually be buried in another place, inaccessible to robbers - this did not at all prevent the pyramid from fulfilling the function of ascending the ruler of the Egyptians to the divine pantheon.

These are the religious-philosophical and practical ideas that underlie the appearance of the pyramids that rise in the vicinity of Giza and a number of other places in Egypt. Modern man such views may seem simple and naive. But do not forget that the ancient Egyptian civilization is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) in the world. The achievements of subsequent cultures are based on the base that the previous ones left them, and at the beginning of this series of successive civilizations, an exceptional and honorable place belongs to Ancient Egypt. If the ancient Greeks are still in medieval Europe called "our teachers", the ancient Egyptians were "teachers" of "our teachers".

And the Egyptian pyramids themselves became a monument to colossal human labor, and to the knowledge of the ancients, with the help of which they were built when in Europe people lived in the conditions of a primitive society, and almost two thousand years had to pass before the appearance of the first states here ...

It will also be interesting to see.

Ancient Egypt known primarily for its stone giants - the pyramids that served for the burial of Egyptian kings and pharaohs. However, not all Egyptian rulers found their resting place inside the pyramids, and this is not the only mystery of the Egyptian pyramids. And although scientists have been studying the pyramids for more than a century, only recently they managed to lift the veil of secrecy over how the Egyptians built them and why they abandoned construction.

The ancient Egyptians began to build pyramids from time immemorial - even before the beginning of the era of the Old Kingdom, widely known for such buildings as the pyramid of Djoser, Pink Pyramid, Pyramids Of Giza And The Pyramid Of Medum. However, the older pyramids were dozens of times smaller, and were intended for the burial of not only Egyptian kings. It is possible that they also contained mass graves. However, since the beginning of the Old Kingdom era, Egyptian kings preferred to be buried inside the pyramid.

To realize the engineering genius of the Egyptians, it is worth making a small lyrical digression.

In 2004, a group of scientists from Japan, which included mathematicians, physicists, and architects, decided to solve the mystery of the construction of the pyramids. It is worth recalling that the Egyptian pyramids were built with such precision that the angle between the laying of cobblestones is exactly 90 ͦ, and the stones are perfectly aligned with each other. Simply put, the pyramid is just an ideal construction in terms of both mathematics and architecture. So, Japanese researchers, taking into account all modern technologies failed to achieve the same accuracy in construction. On the basis of which a group of researchers made the only “correct” conclusion: if we cannot build with our technologies, the ancient Egyptians could not, which means there are no pyramids. However, as adherents of ufology did not want, aliens have nothing to do with it either, nothing to do with hoaxes surrounding, for example. All of the above was given so that the reader could realize not only the scale of the pyramids, but also the amount of effort, resources and time that went into their construction.

The construction of the pyramid began immediately after the new king or pharaoh came to power, as it took decades. It is also worth noting that the pyramids were not built by slaves at all, as was long thought. Recent studies and excavations have shown that many ordinary Egyptians were involved in the construction, of which there were a majority at the construction site. In fact, almost all of Egypt was engaged in the construction of the pyramid. Entire cities of workers have been found in the areas of the pyramids. According to historians, the construction of the pyramid for the inhabitants of Egypt was a kind of labor service, everyone had to work for several years on the construction of the tomb. The construction of a “resting place” for the king required a lot of resources, in particular, it was necessary in large quantities hard-to-get stone, limestone. Thus, the protracted funeral of one person extremely heavily burdened the economy of the state.

The construction of the pyramids also had serious social consequences. The Egyptians, although they were forced to obey the will of the ruler, to put it mildly, did not approve of the construction. And the point was not at all in forced labor, but in the fact that men cut off from their household, often returning home, found a missing crop or a dilapidated trading shop. At the same time, the pyramids were built by the Egyptian kings always and no matter what: whether in the country of disease, famine or war. Of course, sometimes the construction was "frozen", but this happened in exceptional cases.

More than once, the construction of the pyramid brought Egypt to the brink of a "global economic crisis." So, already at the time of the construction of the pyramid of Djoser, which is considered the first pyramid of Ancient Egypt, indignation arose among the population of the country regarding the new addiction of the king. The construction of the first pyramid was complicated by the fact that the country was fatally short of stone for its construction. King Djoser spent incredible amounts of money on the purchase of basic material and even more hands on its extraction and transportation. So, in some ancient Egyptian records, an Egyptian anecdote of that time has been preserved that the king makes his daughter sleep with the princes of his neighbors so that they supply everything to the country more stone. Apparently this joke of the ancient Egyptians reflected the deplorable economic situation.

The construction of the pyramids greatly "distracted" the kings and pharaohs from a number of important tasks, in particular, from the development of the state. Of course, it is not worth blaming the pyramids for the fall of several Egyptian kingdoms, however, they did not add greatness to the country in the political arena. With the possible exception of the Greeks, who have always admired the architectural genius of their overseas neighbors. Pyramids were also built in the era of the Middle Kingdom and even at the beginning of the era of the New Kingdom. However, gradually in ancient Egypt, the rejection of such buildings began to occur. Historians believe that Ramesses II became an innovator in the field of burials, who preferred to move to temple, foothill burials. The reason for this was not only the "high cost" of the pyramids, but also the plight of Egypt, at the beginning of the era of the New Kingdom, which in the time of Ramesses had not yet been forgotten.

Although the pyramids were almost forgotten during the New Kingdom era, the Egyptians did not lose their craving for gigantic buildings. It was under Ramses II that the largest temple complexes, sculpture begins to develop actively. In addition to construction, Ramesses pays much attention to the expansion of the state and its economic strengthening: he reforms the army, economy, foreign and domestic policy, bringing Ancient Egypt of the New Kingdom era to his own. highest point development. However, this is completely different. Epoch stone giants goes with Ramesses to the past.