Egyptian pyramids

A view of the Giza pyramid complex from the plateau to the south of the complex. From left to right, the three largest are: the Pyramid of Menkaure, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Pyramid of Giza. The three smaller pyramids in the foreground are subsidiary structures associated with Menkaure's pyramid.
Famous pyramids (cut-through with internal labyrinth layout).

The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt. Sources cite at least 118 identified "Egyptian" pyramids.[1][2] Approximately 80 pyramids were built within the Kingdom of Kush, now located in the modern country of Sudan. Of those located in modern Egypt, most were built as tombs for the country's pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.[3][4][5]

The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Saqqara, northwest of Memphis, although at least one step-pyramid-like structure has been found at Saqqara, dating to the First Dynasty: Mastaba 3808, which has been attributed to the reign of Pharaoh Anedjib, with inscriptions, and other archaeological remains of the period, suggesting there may have been others.[6] The otherwise earliest among these is the Pyramid of Djoser built c. 2630–2610 BCE during the Third Dynasty.[7] This pyramid and its surrounding complex are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry.[8]

The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures ever built.[9] The Pyramid of Khufu is the largest Egyptian pyramid and the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence, despite being the oldest by about 2,000 years.[10]

  1. ^ Slackman, Michael (17 November 2008). "In the Shadow of a Long Past, Patiently Awaiting the Future". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  2. ^ Mark Lehner (2008). The Complete Pyramids: Solving the Ancient Mysteries. Thames & Hudson. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-500-28547-3. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference reuters1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Slackman, Michael (16 November 2007). "In the Shadow of a Long Past, Patiently Awaiting the Future". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
  5. ^ Ritter, Michael (2003). "Dating the Pyramids". Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
  6. ^ Archaic Egypt, Walter B. Emery, p. 144–145.
  7. ^ Gardner, Helen (1980) [1926]. De La Croix, Horst; Tansey, Richard G. (eds.). Art through the Ages (7th ed.). New York: Harcourt Brave Jovanovitch. p. 68. ISBN 0-15-503758-7.
  8. ^ Lehner 1997, p. 84.
  9. ^ Watkin, David (2005). A History of Western Architecture (4th ed.). Laurence King Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-85669-459-9. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  10. ^ Xu, Bohai (31 January 2019). "The Place where Huni probably Buried". SocArXiv. doi:10.31235/osf.io/gnw3k. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2023.