A short message about the Egyptian pyramids. Geometry and description of the pyramid of Khufu. What is the difference between Egyptian and Mexican pyramids

Pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu (in the Greek version of Cheops), or the Great Pyramid - the greatest of the Egyptian pyramids, the oldest of the seven wonders of the world of antiquity and the only one of them that has come down to our time. For over four thousand years, the pyramid has been the most big building in the world.

The pyramid of Cheops is located in the far suburbs of Cairo Giza. Nearby are two more pyramids of the pharaohs Khafre and Menkaure (Khafren and Mikerin), according to ancient historians, the sons and successors of Khufu. These are the three largest pyramids in Egypt.

Following the ancient authors, most modern historians consider the pyramids to be the burial structures of the ancient Egyptian monarchs. Some scientists believe that these were astronomical observatories. There is no direct evidence that pharaohs were buried in the pyramids, but other versions of their purpose are less convincing.

When was the pyramid of Cheops built?

Based on the ancient "royal lists", it is established that Cheops ruled around 2585-2566. BC. The construction of the "Sacred Height" lasted 20 years and ended after the death of Khufu, around 2560 BC.

Other versions of construction dates based on astronomical methods give dates from 2720 to 2577. BC. The radiocarbon method shows a spread of 170 years, from 2850 to 2680. BC.

There are also exotic opinions expressed by supporters of theories of visiting the Earth by aliens, the existence of ancient pra-civilizations, or adherents of occult currents. They determine the age of the pyramid of Cheops from 6-7 to tens of thousands of years.

How the pyramid was built

The Pyramid of Cheops is still the largest stone building on the planet. Its height is 137 m, the length of the side of the base is 230.38 m, the angle of inclination of the edge is 51 ° 50", the total volume is about 2.5 million cubic meters. At the time of completion of construction, the height was 9.5 m higher, and the side of the base was 2 m longer, however, over the past centuries, almost the entire lining of the pyramid has been dismantled. natural factors- temperature changes and winds from the desert, carrying clouds of sand.

Ancient Greek historians reported that the labor of millions of slaves was used in the construction. Modern researchers it is believed that with the correct organization of work and engineering, the Egyptians would have had several tens of thousands of workers for the construction. For the transportation of materials, temporary workers were involved, the number of which, according to Herodotus, reached 100 thousand. Modern scientists fully agree with this, as well as with the reality of a 20-year construction period.

Supervised the construction of the pyramid chief royal works Hemiun. Hemiun's tomb is located next to his creation; a statue of the architect was found in it.

The main material for the construction was gray limestone, which was cut down in the nearest quarries or brought from the other side of the Nile. The pyramid was lined with light sandstone, because of which it literally shone under sunlight. For interior decoration granite was used, which was delivered a thousand kilometers from the area of ​​\u200b\u200bpresent-day Aswan. The building was crowned with a hewn gilded granite block - a pyramidion.

In total, the construction of the pyramid took about 2.3 million blocks of limestone and 115 thousand facing slabs. The total mass of the building, according to modern estimates, is almost 6 million tons.

The block sizes vary. The largest ones are laid in the base, their height is one and a half meters. The blocks are smaller the higher they are. The height of the block at the top was 55 cm. The length of the facing slabs ranged from 1.5 to 0.75 m.

The work of the pyramid builders was extremely difficult. A lot of time and effort required the extraction of stone, hewing blocks and fitting to the right size. In those days, neither iron nor bronze was known in Egypt. The tools were made of relatively soft copper, so they wore down quickly and were very expensive. Flint tools were widely used - saws, drills, hammers. Many of them were found during excavations.

Delivery of materials was carried out by river, and the stone was brought to the construction site on a wooden sled or rollers. It was hellish work, because the average weight of one block is 2.5 tons, and some of them weighed up to 50 tons.

A variety of devices were used to lift and install the monoliths, and inclined embankments were erected to pull up the most massive elements that make up the lower rows. Images of construction work have been found in a number of Egyptian temples and tombs.

Recently, an original theory has emerged regarding the construction methods of the Egyptians. Scientists who studied the microstructure of the blocks in order to establish their origin, found foreign inclusions. According to experts, these are the remains of animal hair and human hair, from which the scientists concluded that the limestone was crushed in the places of extraction and delivered to the construction site in crushed form. Blocks were made directly at the place of laying from the limestone mass, which thus were a semblance of modern concrete structures, and tool marks on the blocks are actually formwork prints.

Be that as it may, the construction was completed, and the grandiose dimensions of the pyramid fully justify the supporters of the theories of the Atlanteans and aliens who do not believe in the possibility of human genius.

What is inside the pyramid

The entrance to the pyramid was made at a height of almost 16 meters in the form of an arch of granite slabs. It was later sealed with a granite cork and covered with cladding. The current entrance, 10 meters lower, was broken in 831 by order of Caliph Al-Mamun, who hoped to find gold here, but did not find anything of value.

The main premises are the pharaoh's chamber, the queen's chamber, the Great Gallery and the underground chamber. The passage punched by Al-Mamun leads to a 105-meter inclined corridor, ending in a chamber carved into the rock below the base of the pyramid. Its dimensions are 14x8 m., height 3.5 m. Works here were not completed for unknown reasons.

At 18 meters from the entrance, a 40-meter-long ascending corridor separates from the descending corridor, ending in the Great Gallery. The Gallery itself is a high (8.5 m) tunnel 46.6 m long leading to the pharaoh's chamber. The corridor to the queen's chamber branches off from the Gallery at its very beginning. A rectangular ditch 60 cm deep and 1 m wide was pierced in the floor of the Gallery; its purpose is unknown.

The length of the pharaoh's chamber is 10.5 m, width 5.4 m, height 5.84 m. It is lined with black granite slabs. Here is an empty granite sarcophagus. The queen's chamber is more modest - 5.76 x 5.23 x 6.26 m.

Channels 20-25 cm wide lead from the burial chambers to the surface of the pyramid. The channels of the king's chamber go out at one end into the room, at the other - onto the surface of the pyramid. The channels of the queen's chamber begin 13 cm from the wall and do not reach 12 m to the surface, and both ends of the channels are closed with stone doors with handles. It is assumed that the channels were made to ventilate the premises during the work. Another version, connected with the beliefs of the Egyptians, claims that this is the path to the afterlife, which the souls of the deceased had to go through.

No less mysterious is another small room, the Grotto, to which an almost vertical passage leads from the beginning of the Great Gallery. The grotto is located at the junction of the base of the pyramid and the hill on which it stands. The walls of the Grotto are reinforced with rather roughly worked stone. It is assumed that this is part of some structure older than the pyramid.

It is necessary to mention one discovery related to the pyramid. In 1954, at the southern edge, two stone-lined pits were discovered, in which were the pharaoh's boats, made of Lebanese cedar. One of the boats has been restored and is now in a special pavilion next to the pyramid. Its length is 43.5 m, width is 5.6 m.

The study of the pyramid of Cheops continues. Research using the latest methods used in the exploration of the earth's interior, show with a high degree of probability the existence of unknown caverns inside the pyramid. So it is quite possible that scientists expect new interesting finds and discoveries.

In the meantime, the Great Pyramid keeps its secrets, proudly rising in the middle of the desert, like millennia ago. After all, according to an ancient Arabic proverb, everything in the world is afraid of time, but time is afraid of the pyramids.

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:

1. Entrance to the complex.
2. Entrance inside the pyramid of Cheops or Khafre.
3. 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.

Everyone knows how many interesting, sometimes amazing scientific discoveries were made by scientists on ancient Egyptian land. A lot of wonderful finds were given by her tombs and temples. But the greatest miracle of Egypt, which amazed people in ancient times, were the pyramids - these amazing artificial mountains - the tombs of the ancient Egyptian kings.

Huge tombs and pyramids were built, requiring incredible prices and containing priceless treasures, and elaborately embalmed mummies. The splendor of Ancient Egypt lasted over 3 thousand years.

The pyramids were impressive tetrahedral tombs built for the pharaohs. ancient kingdom. All the faces that formed a semblance of a triangle converged at the top, forming a pointed apex.

Scientists note that during the existence of the Ancient Egyptian kingdom, more than 80 pyramids were built, but only a small part has come down to us. There are three surviving pyramids - these are the pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Mykerin (they also have Egyptian names - Khufu, Khafre and Menkaur). Only the first of this list formally belongs to the legendary seven wonders of the world. However, they are all mysterious and majestic.

The first Egyptian pyramid was built in the desert of Saqqara around 2650 BC. The most imposing pyramids built at Giza over 100 years later had flat sides. The top of each pyramid was probably covered with gold. Inside the pyramids were burial chambers and secret galleries. [Appendix 2] No one really knows why the Egyptians built these pyramid-shaped tombs, but it is possible that they saw them as a stairway to heaven, helping the pharaoh to gain eternal life. Pharaohs were called kings in ancient Egypt. But it is not single version reasons for the construction of the Egyptian pyramids.

March 22, 1993 news agencies sensational news was broadcast around the world - an unknown German engineer - roboticist Rudolf Gantenbrink made an outstanding discovery. A remote-controlled robot launched by him explored the Cheops pyramid from the inside. Here is the discovery they made. It turned out that the pyramids have their own reflection in the sky, but rather they themselves are a reflection of the constellation Orion. The pyramids of Giza are the belt of Orion. Thus, according to R. Gantenbrink, the theory of "star correspondence" was confirmed. Thanks to the reference to the stars, high accuracy was achieved in the construction of the pyramids. Why is the construction of the pyramids focused specifically on the constellation of Orion? The Nile was the real ruler of Egypt. The flood of the river began on the day of the summer solstice, which was accompanied by the appearance of Sirius from behind the horizon. The rise of Sirius, in turn, preceded the appearance of Orion. This coincidence gave rise to ideas on which the religious cult is based. After a period of absence of these constellations, began new season rebirth of life. That is why Orion was associated with the great god Osiris.

Excellent astronomers lived in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians, as you know, in order to determine the exact time of crops, followed the stars very carefully, compiling star charts and tables. Therefore, the pyramids are oriented strictly along the meridian, their faces look at 4 cardinal points, the entrance is always located from north side structures.

Another interesting theory is the use of the pyramids as a power plant.

You can find several confirmations of this hypothesis, based on the architecture of the pyramid of Cheops. Did it make sense for the ancient Egyptians to build such grand building only to honor the memory of the pharaoh? The pyramid is riddled with various shafts and channels throughout its height and extent. It is scientifically proven that these channels are laid in accordance with the maps starry sky. A vertical channel runs along the axial line of the pyramid, which, possibly, is an energy installation for communication with the Universal Mind or the spirits of ancestors, according to beliefs ancient people. I wonder what is inside the pyramid a large number of rooms that have nothing to do with the burial rite. It has not yet been proven whether, in fact, Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) was buried in the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid or still elsewhere.

The mysteries of the pyramids of Ancient Egypt with each new discovery leave more and more questions than answers. The Pyramid of Cheops was built on the basis of more ancient pyramid, the construction time of which is presumably 14 thousand years BC. Its size is so large that it occupies about half the volume of the Great Pyramid. When arranging and painting interior spaces special lamps, possibly electric ones, were used. They were discovered during excavations and still gave off a faint light, despite the thousands of years since they were buried.

There is a hypothesis that the Egyptians received electricity using power plants such as the Great Gallery in the pyramid of Cheops. On the faces of the pyramid, scientists have found various images made with the help of grooves. Drawings, if desired, can be seen in reflected light. On south side pyramids, most likely depicts a portrait of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth, one of the most significant gods in the mythology of the Egyptians. Riddles in stone, the secrets of the pyramids of Ancient Egypt will excite the imagination of mankind for a long time, getting their response in books and movies. One can only hope that the technologies of the twenty-first century will still be able to open to people the knowledge that was buried under the thickness of sand and time.

Back in the 10th century, the historian Masudi argued that the Egyptian pyramids of Giza are not only the repository of all the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians on astronomy, art and religion, but also contain "historical and prophetic predictions." In 1865, Robert Menzies suggested that if we take the sacred inch of the Egyptians as a basis and measure the length of the inner chambers of the Egyptian pyramid, then we will find the chronological dates of the most important events of the past and future. Based on the discoveries made by Mr. Varil in 1948-49, symbolist Egyptologists believe that the architecture of most of the temples of ancient Egypt contains a number of symbols of a philosophical, historical, and especially religious nature. In their opinion, the location of the foundations of the colonnades and even the superstructures of the superficial structures of these monuments indicate esoteric knowledge hidden from the layman. In turn, the famous astronomer, director of the Bourges Observatory, Abbot Moret, devoted his life to unraveling the mysteries that the study of ancient Egyptian temples and the pyramid of Cheops in Giza brings to scientists.

The measurements of the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops obtained by engineer Davidson were amazing. The diagonal of the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops gives its absolutely exact direction along the meridian, and the accuracy of this direction to the theoretical north pole reaches 4 minutes 30 seconds: this is more accurate than the Paris Observatory. In addition, this meridian, passing through the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops, divides the surface of the sea and land into two equal parts, counting America and Pacific Ocean. Moreover: the latitude passing through the center of the pyramid of Cheops also divides the entire globe into two equal parts, according to the amount of land and water. Thus, for 2500 years BC. The Egyptians knew the exact ratio of the surface of all the continents and it was not by chance that they chose the mouth of the Nile for the construction of the Egyptian pyramids of Giza. When measuring the Cheops pyramid itself, it turned out that the perimeter of the pyramid of Giza, divided by double the height, gives the exact number "Pi", with an accuracy of one hundred thousandth. Interestingly, the sacred measure of the length of Egypt, i.e. the pyramidal inch (coincidentally equal to modern English) is one billionth of the Earth's orbit passed by it in 24 hours. Another linear measure of the pyramid is a cubit, equal to 25 inches, or 635.66 millimeters - this is one ten-millionth of the Earth's polar radius. The sum of the two diagonals of the Egyptian pyramid, expressed in inches, gives the number of years during which the north pole of our earth makes one complete revolution. The volume of the pyramid multiplied by the specific gravity of the stone from which it is made gives the theoretical weight. the globe. The same measure is found again in the chambers of the king when measuring the "sarcophagus". We find its volume in relation to the volume of the globe. This volume, so to speak, the standard of weight, coincides exactly with the weight of one English pound (453.59 g). The archaic units of English measures correspond exactly to the "sacred" units of Ancient Egypt!

pyramid ancient egyptian pharaoh tomb

It still remains a mystery how the pyramids were built in Egypt in those distant times. Neither the method of building the pyramids, nor who acted as a labor force has been unraveled.

The pyramids located in Egypt attract a huge number of tourists to the resorts of the country. Everyone wants to see the "seventh wonder of the world" with their own eyes. Without them, it is impossible to form an idea of ​​Egypt as a country as a whole. In terms of popularity, a trip to the pyramids can be compared with diving in Egypt, for which lovers of the underwater world of the Red Sea go to the Red Sea.

As a rule, the pyramids in Egypt are associated with the pyramids located in Giza - in a place near Cairo, but you should know that these are far from the only pyramids in Egypt. It is in Giza that the three most famous pyramids of Egypt are located - the pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure. Currently, there are about 118 pyramids in Egypt. Many of them have not retained their original appearance and open to the eyes of people in the form of hills or shapeless piles of stones.

There are two types of pyramids in Egypt:

• stepped;
• correct form.

The stepped pyramids are the oldest representatives of the pyramids in all of Egypt.

The first mention of the pyramids in Egypt was made in the 5th century BC thanks to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. Traveling around Egypt and seeing the pyramids on the Giza plateau, Herodotus immediately called them "the seventh wonder of the world." Herodotus created a legend that the famous Great Sphinx, located near the pyramids of Giza, is the peace guard of the buried pharaohs.

The interior of the pyramids in Egypt

The pyramids in Egypt are one of the stages of the funeral and ritual process for the burial of the pharaohs. The construction of the pyramids during ancient Egypt followed strict building rules:

• next to each pyramid there were always two temples - one very close, and the second a little lower, so that its foot was washed by the waters of the Nile;
• pyramids and temples were connected by alleys.

Unfortunately, the pyramids of Giza have not retained their temples to our time. Only one temple remained - the lower temple of Khafre - which for a very long time was considered the temple of the Great Sphinx. Inside every pyramid in Egypt, a chamber was created to store a sarcophagus with a mummy with cut passages to it. Some cells contained religious texts.

In the 20th century, scientists found that all the pyramids in Egypt are structures with the correct mathematical proportions.
They were built in several stages:

• leveling the site for the construction of the pyramid (about 10 years);
• construction of the tomb (sometimes the tomb was enlarged compared to the original construction project).

Until now, there are disputes about how the stone blocks were delivered to the very top of the pyramid.

What pyramids can be seen in Egypt

Pyramids of the pharaohs of the III dynasty

by the most famous pyramids in Egypt, built during the reign of the pharaohs of the III dynasty, are the Khaba pyramid and the pyramid of Djoser.

Pyramids of the pharaohs of the 4th dynasty

Great pyramids in Egypt

Every evening, a light and music show is held near the pyramids, accompanied by stories about the history of the construction of the pyramids in different languages ​​(including Russian).

I want to summarize all the information about the most famous Egyptian pyramids, collected on LifeGlobe, into a single collection. Naturally, here I will describe only the largest pyramids, with links to separate article about each of them. IN detailed topics you will find both their coordinates and more detailed description. In total, there are 118 pyramids in Egypt of various shapes, sizes and heights, but we will start, of course, with the three Great Egyptian pyramids in Giza. It is these structures on the Giza plateau that are included in the list of the seven ancient wonders of the world, although, in addition to Giza, there are many pyramids in other parts of Egypt.

The first number in our review will be the Great Pyramid of Cheops, which is known anywhere in the world. It is she who is the face of the Egyptian pyramids and the largest building of antiquity, giving rise to many secrets and legends around her. The construction of the pyramid took two whole decades and was completed in 2560 BC.

With a height of 146.5 meters, it was the largest building in the world for over 4 millennia. I have been collecting material about the Great Pyramid for a long time in a separate article, at the link above you can learn more about it.

The second most important is the pyramid of Khafre, the son of Cheops. It was built on a 10-meter plateau, because it seems to be higher than the pyramid of Cheops, but it is not. Its height is 136.4 meters, while that of Cheops is 146.5 meters.


Not far from the Pyramid of Khafre is Great Sphinx- a monument carved into the rock. The facial features of the Sphinx repeat the face of Pharaoh Khafre.

Third great pyramid is the pyramid of Menkaure. It is the smallest of them, and built the latest. In height, it is only 66 meters, and the length of the base is 108.4 meters.

Despite its small size, it is considered to be the most beautiful of the three pyramids. In addition, the pyramid of Menkaure marked the end of the era of the great pyramids. All subsequent buildings were small in size.

On this Egyptian pyramids do not end, we move from Giza to other parts of Egypt. One of the largest in Egypt is the step pyramid of Djoser. It is located in the village of Sakkara, and was built for Pharaoh Djoser by Imhotep himself. It occupies an area of ​​125 by 115 meters, and its height is 62 meters. This is the first pyramid in Egypt, and also very well preserved.

The most unusual in form can be safely called the pyramid in Medum. It is located 100 kilometers south of the capital of Egypt, it was built for Pharaoh Huni, but his son Sneferu completed it. It originally had 8 steps, but in our time only the last 3 are visible. After construction, its height was 118 meters, and the area was 146 by 146 meters.

The Pink Pyramid is unusual in that it has a pink hue due to the special stone used for its construction. This is the third highest pyramid after Cheops and Khafre, 104.4 meters high. Researchers believe that this pyramid was also built by Pharaoh Sneferu, already known to us.

Not far from the Pink one is the Bent Pyramid, built in the 26th century. BC e. She got her name because of the irregular shape. See for yourself, it was built in 3 stages, at each of which it was given different angles of inclination:

I have described the largest and most famous Egyptian pyramids, now let's move on to smaller specimens. A later building is the pyramid of Userkaf at Saqqara, not far from the pyramid of Djoser. It has been preserved very poorly, therefore only the initial data can be given: its height is 49.4 meters, the length at the base is 73.30 meters.

Not far from Saqqara, in Abusir, is the pyramid of the pharaoh of the 5th dynasty Sahure. In the likeness of this pyramid, all subsequent complexes of the pharaohs of this dynasty were built. Unfortunately, this pyramid has survived to this day in a rather poor condition.

Let's finish our review of the most outstanding Egyptian pyramids with the pyramid of Unas in Saqqara. It is notable for the fact that the very first "Pyramid Texts" were discovered here - ancient hieroglyphs on the walls of the burial chamber. Many scholars are still deciphering these texts.