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Where was the first pyramid?

Updated: 8/22/2023
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15y ago

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Tombs of early Egyptian kings were bench-shaped mounds called mastabas. Around 2780 B.C., King Djoser's architect, Imhotep, built the first pyramid by placing six mastabas, each smaller than the one beneath, in a stack to form a pyramid rising in steps. This Step Pyramid stands on the west bank of the Nile River at Sakkara near Memphis. Like later pyramids, it contains various rooms and passages, including the burial chamber of the king. The transition from the Step Pyramid to a true, smooth-sided pyramid took placed during the reign of King Snefru, founder of the Fourth Dynasty (2680-2560 B.C.). At Medum, a step pyramid was built, then filled in with stone, and covered with a limestone casing. Nearby at Bahshur, construction was begun on a pyramid apparently planned to have smooth sides. About halfway up, however, the angle of incline decreases from over 51 degrees to about 43 degrees, and the sides rise less steeply, causing it to be known as the Bent Pyramid. The change in angle was probably made during construction to give the building more stability. Another Great Pyramid was built at Dahshur with its sides rising at an angle of somewhat over 43 degrees, resulting in a true, but squat looking pyramid. The largest and most famous of all the pyramids, the Great Pyramid at Giza, was built by Snefru's son, Khufu, known also as Cheops, the later Greek form of his name. The pyramid's base covered over 13 acres and its sides rose at an angle of 51 degrees 52 minutes and were over 755 feet long. It originally stood over 481 feet high; today it is 450 feet high. Scientists estimate that its stone blocks average over two tons apiece, with the largest weighing as much as fifteen tons each. Two other major pyramids were built at Giza, for Khufu's son, King Khafre (Chephren), and a successor of Khafre, Menkaure (Mycerinus). Also located at Giza is the famous Sphinx, a massive statue of a lion with a human head, carved during the time of Khafre. Pyramids did not stand alone but were part of a group of buildings which included temples, chapels, other tombs, and massive walls. Remnants of funerary boats have also been excavated; the best preserved is at Giza. On the walls of Fifth and Sixth Dynasty pyramids are inscriptions known as the Pyramid Texts, an important source of information about Egyptian religion. The scarcity of ancient records, however, makes it difficult to be sure of the uses of all the buildings in the pyramid complex or the exact burial procedures. It is thought that the king's body was brought by boat up the Nile to the pyramid site and probably mummified in the Valley Temple before being placed in the pyramid for burial. There has been speculation about pyramid construction. Egyptians had copper tools such as chisels, drills, and saws that may have been used to cut the relatively soft stone. The hard granite, used for burial chamber walls and some of the exterior casing, would have posed a more difficult problem. Workmen may have used an abrasive powder, such as sand, with the drills and saws. Knowledge of astronomy was necessary to orient the pyramids to the cardinal points, and water-filled trenches probably were used to level the perimeter. A tomb painting of a colossal statue being moved shows how huge stone blocks were moved on sledges over ground first made slippery by liquid. The blocks were then brought up ramps to their positions in the pyramid. Finally, the outer layer of casing stones was finished from the top down and the ramps dismantled as the work was completed. Most of the stone for the Giza pyramids was quarried on the Giza plateau itself. Some of the limestone casing was brought from Tura, across the Nile, and a few of the rooms were cased with granite from Aswan. Marks of the quarry workers are found on several of the stone blocks giving names of the work gangs such as "craftman-gang". Part-time crews of laborers probably supplemented the year-round masons and other skilled workers. The Greek historian Heroditus reported in the fifth century B.C. that his Egyptian guides told him 100,000 men were employed for three months a year for twenty years to build the Great Pyramid; modern estimates of the number of laborers tend to be much smaller. Pyramid building was at its height from the Fourth through the Sixth Dynasties. Smaller pyramids continued to be built for more than one thousand years. Scores of them have been discovered, but the remains of others are probably still buried under the sand. As it became clear that the pyramids did not provide protection for the mummified bodies of the kings but were obvious targets for grave robbers, later kings were buried in hidden tombs cut into rock cliffs. Although the magnificent pyramids did not protect the bodies of the Egyptian kings who built them, the pyramids have served to keep the names and stories of those kings alive to this day.

Modern writers could learn much and the ancient peoples knew as much about our earth as we do.

Here is one fact~ The great pyramid was placed exactly six degrees above the Ecliptic equator meaning noon on the 21st June - summer solstice. To mean that the solstice sun would be overhead six degrees due south and the subliminal 'sun' would therefore pass through the great pyramid and hence (subliminally) through the centre of the King's Chamber.

It must be logic to assume that if the ancients knew the distance to the overhead sun and then multiply the distance times 60 they would know the circumference of the earth and then, subsequently, its width!

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14y ago

The first pyramid ever built was The Step Pyramid.it was actually called a ziggurat it was made by the sumerians

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8y ago

The first pyramid was the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, built for King Zoser in 2750 BC.

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12y ago

The pyramid of djoser

Also referred to as King Zoser, it is the oldest man made building still existing.

Built around 4,600 years ago at Sakkara, Egypt

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12y ago

The first Egyptian pyramid was built for Djoser, the first king of the 3rd dynasty. It is a 6- step 62 meters height pyramid.

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12y ago

The Mesopotamians are said to have built the first pyramids

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Related questions

What is the first best pyramid?

The first pyramid was The Great pyramid of Khufu. The best pyramid is based on personal choice.


What is the first dated pyramid?

first documented pyramid


What was the name of the first pyramid that was built?

The step pyramid was the first type of pyramid to be built.


Was the first pyramid Giza the first step pyramid built?

Yes Giza was in deed the first step pyramid!


Did imhotep design the 1st pyramid?

He did not design the first pyramid. Imhotep designed the first Step Pyramid.


What was the first pyramid found?

Pyramid Of Djoser


Where was the first step pyramid?

The first step pyramid was the Pyramid of Djoser (or Zoser), and it was built in the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt.


When was first pyramid made?

The creation of the pyramids were from the orders of King Sneferu and they had two failed pyramid construction before the third was built perfectly which was called the Red pyramid (first true pyramid). The first pyramid that was built was the Medium and the second was called Bent pyramid.


Is the great pyramid of Giza the first pyramid of the three or the middle one?

first


When was The Red Pyramid first published?

The Red Pyramid was first published in 2010.


Was the pyramid of Giza the first pyramid to be built in Giza?

No it was not the first pyramid was the Step Pyramid of the 3rd dynasty Pharaoh Djoser built c.2650BC at Saqqara.


Which year was the first pyramid built in?

The first pyramid was the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, built for King Zoser in 2750 BC.