Archaeology Facts About The Pyramid Of Giza!!
The Pyramid of Giza houses many secrets. The big and old monument has confused every historian who took interest in it. There are a number of theories speculating its origin but none of them is above flaw. However, after the years of constant efforts, a breakthrough has been achieved that unveiled its mystery to a considerable extent. Recent discoveries have spilled the beans, at the same time, it also has enabled the archaeologists to peek into the history that holds some surprising facts.
Can you name all the seven wonders of the world at once? It is indeed a difficult thing to recall all of them. Okay then let's focus on the one part of it. Do you know The Pyramids of Giza which happens to be the oldest among the seven wonders? Well, this wonder has again given us another reason to wonder. Its history has always been a mystery to us. We still don't know who built it and how? If you also have these query rising in your mind then you must read this story to get an answer.
The Pyramids of Giza is an architectural masterpiece that has baffled all the architectures of the world. This piece of art was constructed in around 2580 B.C. Surprisingly no architecture to date has been able to replicate this historical building. It continues to mystify people. But it seems that this mystery has been finally resolved by a bunch of architecture. Let's find out what is it.
The human race has been endeavoring hard to resolve this enigma for a very long time. And after wrapping their brain around it, they all designed different theories about The Pyramid of Giza. Their arguments mainly lay stress on the working method of the builder. How did they manage to move such heavy blocks to the location? Did they drag it, lift it or roll it? Although a lot of theories pertaining to the making of this structure are there, the main of them are only three in number. Many theorists have tried to answer it but there is only one theory among them that sounds closest to the reality.
The Opinion Of Ancient Historians
Earlier, It was believed by the Greek theorist that the Egyptians had hired slaves to build this grand edifice. Many people upheld this. The Pyramid of Giza successfully attracted the attention of prominent historians like Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus. They did an extensive study of the Pyramid and drew their conclusions accordingly. The "Father Of History", Herodotus has made some very interesting statements in his 5th Century BC book that shows his amazing talent of.
Herodotus' theory about the construction of The Pyramid of Giza has enjoyed a considerable amount of attention by the other historians. He wrote his account of the same after 1600 years of having the Pyramid in existence. Though with the passage of time his work is eyed with skepticism by some recent scholars, they are still taken as a relevant source of information by the others. Those who are not satisfied by this historian's work alleges him for highlighting the one side of the story and leaving the other ones that are equally important.
There were certain details about the construction of The Pyramid of Giza that brought Egyptologist and historians on the same page. Those details include a fact that this magnificent building was built by the highly skilled labor who were supervised by the eminent architects and engineer of that time. It is believed that they all were hired by Pharaohs. Pharaohs is an Egyptian word used for the monarch. There is one more set of theory about the followed construction style that is considered equally important.
Though all the theorist has their ideas regarding the construction of Pyramid contradicting each other theory, they unanimously give their agreement on their technique of working. They all believe that the workers carved boulders with a copper chisel and after that dragged and lif it on the order of their supervisors.
The Pyramid is the quintessentially finest architecture. It's imposing structure forces the historians to think about the possibility of outsiders landing their hand in the making of it. These speculations stemmed out of the fact that these structures share striking similarity with the Orion's Belt in terms of alignment. Another fact that substantiates the assumption is that despite being built so many years ago they still are in very good conditions in comparison with those who were made hundreds of years after it.
According To Biblical Times
Certain signs of Biblical times indicates that the Israelites might have built the Pyramid. Exodus, a book about the founding of the state of Israel, suggests that the Israelites were subjugated in Egypt. Hebrews might have commanded them to do so. The historians argue the toss and call it a misconception. They argue that Pyramids were made in 2580 BC and Israelites were enslaved only after 13th Century BCE.
Were The Builders Egyptian?
There is varying evidence that alludes to different possibilities. Some suggest that the Pyramids are actually built by Egyptians whereas some roots out the first one. Gerry Cannon and Malcolm Hutton have a legitimate point to assert on. According to them the Sphinx itself tells a lot about this mystery. They argue that Sphinx has been made about 12,000 years ago when there was no trace of Egyptians. Cannon said “You can’t carve a rock when it’s under sand,” he further adds “When it was not under sand was about 12,000 years ago and the Egyptians weren’t there.”
Not Happy With The Theory
It had to have been done by a civilization that was more advanced than any of us because nobody knows who was there 12,000 years ago-"Cannon Told.”. Evidently, the duo believes that there must have been the workforce of earlier civilization behind the making of Pyramids, that historians are not aware of. As expected, their theory did not go well with the Egyptian authorities who took no time to scrap their theory.
Here comes another theorist who propounded his vision of history. Miroslav Verner is an important Egyptologist who added another dimension to this much-debated issue. He said that there must have been a hierarchy functioning behind the creation of the Pyramids. The work would have decentralized among the people according to their capabilities. According to his estimates, there must have been 100,000 men to pull this enormous task off. The construction of the Pyramid is the reflection of the hierarchy that was there while creating it.
The list of the theorists who contributed on this topic is further elongated by another Egyptologist namely, John Romer. He pointed out that the builders took account of every tiny detail while preparing the design for the Pyramid that consists of about 2,300,000 stone blocks. He believes that the efforts to make this building out of a scratch would have taken them 14 years.
The Man With Many Accomplishments
Mark Lehner is an American Egyptology who played a prominent role in finding out some stupefying facts about the Pyramid. Having 30 years of experience in the respective field, with his AERA team Lehner has come up with an intriguing theory. If we go by his understanding then there was around 14,500-40,000 worker involved in the construction. His theory is not just about the number of labors involved, it also unearths some unpremeditated facts. That is for sure going to astound you.
The strings of evidence started coming to the fore from 1954. Archaeologist Kamal El-Mallakh encountered remnants of the boat including wooden planks while discovering the evidence of history with his team. It was assumed that the boat was of Pharaoh Khufu. It was after the restoring and scanning of remaining they found out that they had been patched together. But the big question is what that ship meant for.
The prevailing assumption for this is that the subordinates had put the sealed ship into a pit so that the Pharaoh Khufu could take that in his afterlife. The ship is called "solar barge" and is considered a ritual vessel used for transporting the resurrected monarch to heavens with Ra, the Sun God. However, this assumption is not above doubts and a number of theorists disapprove it. They showed more confidence in the following one.
Or Was Used Before The Death?
After retrieving the sheep, the theorist had found some signs on it hinting towards other possibilities that seemed more logical than the previous one. Perhaps the ship was functioning as a transport for the king when he was alive for visiting holy places or the ship was already used to bring the mummified king to his tomb. This ship retained a very important value for the historians as it worked as a window for them to peek into the most mystifying past until this new discovery came into the picture.
In order to understand how this pyramid was built, we should first know what this Pyramid was actually built for? This Great Pyramid is the resting place of deceased Pharaoh Khufu. It took Twenty years for the builders to engineer such a marvelous tomb. This huge tomb has three small Pyramids before it. The historians believe that these tiny tombs were made of the three wives of Khufu. But the recent findings have indicated towards another probable usage it might have undergone that had not crossed the mind of historians.
The pyramid is the hub of secrets but some scientists have succeeded again in revealing another one. The scientists have recently found a deep opening in the Queen's chamber. The void is about 30 meters long and looks like a corridor used for the transportation. Although the historians are still struggling to find out the actual reason behind this hole, there are some theories that try to explain the utilization of that hole.
What's Inside The Pyramid?
The Great Pyramid consists mainly of three chambers, the Queen's and King's chambers exterior complex, and two mortuary temples. The temples were built to honor Khufu. The grand interior of the Pyramid also includes "satellite " pyramid that is neighboured by a cluster of tombs.
Why do you think the Pyramids of Giza is built near the Nile? Is it because every civilization develops and hence builds their monuments nearing the water source? the answer is no. The reason behind designing the pyramid around the river is a spiritual one in nature. The location of the Pyramids of Giza falls on the west bank of the river. The sun sets in exactly at that place. That gives that place.
The Giza Pyramid is a perfect example of Egyptians advancement in construction. The building was built using ball and socket mechanism so that the structure could stay immune from natural calamities like the earthquake. Interestingly, the inside of Pyramid always remains 20 degrees even if the outer world is dealing with scorching heat. The structure also houses a granite coffer that is too big to bring theirs through the relatively narrow passageway. It indicates that the Great Pyramid was built around that coffer.
The archaeologists are yet to demystify the mystery of mortars used to keep the blocks together. Though they have found out about its chemical composition, the origin of the mortar still remains a suspense. That is why even after multiple tries, they could not succeed in reproducing it. On the other hand, A lot of theory has sprung up regarding the void found in the queen's chamber. Some asserted that the void actually is a "construction gap" that was used by the workers to move from one part of construction to another. On the other hand, some called it a partition path between the Queen's chamber and King's chamber. There is one more theory doing the rounds that fly in the face of all the above arguments.
It is needless to say that this mighty monument aptly represents the power of the king. According to archaeologist Kate Spence, “These sorts of pyramids are the major product, so to speak, of the kings who built them,”. The structure is 479 feet tall with 13-acre wide base. This grand sight can make you awestruck for a while. Egypt attracts over 5 million visitors per year, all thanks to the Great Pyramid.
Discovering The Dagger Of Tuts
The Great Pyramid is called the last surviving of the ancient seven wonders. That includes The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis, the Olympic Statue of Zeus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Apparently, the last wonder is hoarding a lot of secrets inside it. That breeds a lot of speculations. Especially after discovering the dagger of Tuts in 1922, that is made of meteoric iron has made the archaeologist believe that the Ancient Egyptian were using meteoric iron. Giulio Magli explains, “In these texts, it is said that the pharaoh, before reaching the stars of the north, will have to pass the ‘gates of the sky’ and sit on his ‘throne of iron’,”.
The beauty of The Pyramid of Giza has been celebrated by many artists. There are a number of movies that used this structure in the background to shoot some of the memorable scenes of the films. The famous movies in this list are"The Mummy, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Prince of Egypt". This movie sheds light on the perspective of The Bible about Ancient Egypt. The new developments have found some peculiar aspect of Ancient Egypt culture. “Recently unearthed papyrus rolls dating from 2400 BC confirm that most Egyptians of the time went to the pyramids of Giza once as a kid and thought they were pretty cool.
The Historical Excavation
Mark Lehner and his team have recently excavated a labors town. The town has been named "The Lost City" by the archaeological experts. It is speculated that this region was very significant for the people as they have also discovered another place resembling a port. It is also anticipated that the workers used to put themselves up in the very ramps that they used for construction. The year 2013, also witnessed an important discovery of an oldest ancient papyrus in a cave in Wadi al-Jarf. The 4,500-year-old text that is fraught with hieroglyphics tells unexpected things about the making of the Pyramid. The Papyrus divulges many secrets the archaeologist had never even anticipated.
The credit to pull this amazing task off goes to Pierre Tallet. He went to a great length to decipher the meaning hidden in those hieroglyphics. He devoted his half a decade to it. Pierre Tallet said, “In our long discovery, we found some evidence that we have the oldest papyrus ever found in the world,”. The discovery is called "The Diary of Merer" in which Merer the ancient Egyptian has indited a great deal about the working method. He has written about the surprising number of adroit engineers. The ancient book also revealed that the more than 170,000 tons of limestone were taken to the Giza from Tura through river Nile. A boat was taken into use for that purpose.
The Diary Disclosed A Lot
Merer's book did put a lot of unknown facts to the light. He in his book has also detailed out on the complicated canal system. With the making of Pyramid, the architecture also designed a series of canals in order to make transportation more convenient. The canal originating from the Nile had its opening inside the Pyramid. The diary of Merer just not described the working culture but also delineated on the reign of Pharaoh Khufu(2600 B.C.). Pharao Khufu himself had ordered his labors to deck up his tomb with Tura limestone. The book also states that the monarch's half-brother "the noble Ankh-Haf" had supervised the making of Pyramid.
The research took an unprecedented turn when Mark Lehner made this discovery. He with his team uncovered the mystery of waterway in Giza. The Diary of Merer testifies to the fact that boats and canals played a very important part in the construction of The Pyramids of Giza. Their role was useful to carry Aswan and Tura to the construction site. These three discoveries of the Khufu ship, Diary of Merer and the lost waterway by the Tallet, Lehner and the rest, describes the history of the Giza Pyramid in a way more comprehensive way. But this is certainly not the end. The archaeologists continue to buckle down to garner more evidence concerning the last wonder of the ancient world.
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