Egyptian / Egyptian Revival Architecture - Table of Contents ................Architecture Around the World
Giza Necropolis, Egypt
Necropolis: a tract of land used for burials.
TEXT Beneath Illustrations
Pyramids |
Pyramids |
Pyramids |
Pyramids |
Great Pyramids |
Cairo |
Great Pyramids |
Queen pyramids |
Queen pyramid |
Pyramid of Khafre |
Pyramid of Khafre |
Pyramid of Khafre |
See also: |
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Pyramid of Cheops |
Pyramid of Cheops |
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Solar boat |
Solar boat |
Solar boat |
Solar boat |
Solar boat museum adjacent to Pyramid of Cheops |
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Historic photo |
Model |
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Interior |
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Sphinx |
Sphinx |
Sphinx |
Sphinx |
Pyramid of Menkaure / Pyramid of Khafre |
Pyramid of Khafre |
Lion body, human face |
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Giza Necropolis stands on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient monuments includes the three pyramids known as the Great Pyramids, along with the massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx.
PyramidsNearly 5,000 years ago, Giza became the royal burial ground (necropolis) for Memphis, capital of Egypt. In less than 100 years, the ancient Egyptians built the three pyramid complexes to serve as the tombs for their dead kings. After the king's death, his body was brought by boat to the valley temple for preparation before being taken up the causeway and buried under, and in some cases within, the pyramid. The mortuary temples were maintained for many years afterwards with priests making daily offerings to the dead god-king. The king's close family and the royal court were buried in satellite pyramids and stone tombs called mastaba nearby, seeking to share in the king's power in death, as they had in life.
Archaeologists agree that pyramids served as monumental structures for the burial of kings. They were covered in white limestone topped with gold-covered pyramidions (pyramid-shaped capstones)which caught the first rays of the sun and their shape perhaps symbolized the mythical, primeval mound of creation.
The Great Pyramids consist of the following:
- The Great Pyramid of Giza / Pyramid of Khufu / Cheops. When newly completed, the Great Pyramid rose nearly 50 stories high. (Buffalo City Hall is 32 stories high; New York City Empire State Building is 102 stories high.).
Khufu's Pyramid is estimated to contain over two million blocks of stone weighing on average around 2.5 tons, with some stones at the base weighing as much as 15 tons. Until the 19th century it was the tallest building in the world. Yet for such a vast structure the precision is amazing - the greatest difference in length between the four 756-ft. sides is only 2 inches.
- The somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre / Chephren a few hundred meters to the southwest of the Great Pyramid. Khafre's Pyramid is nearly as grand as that of his father, Khufu. The summit is the only area that retains the limestone casing that originally covered all three pyramids.
- The relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure / Mykerin, a few hundred meters further southwest. Only Menkaure's Pyramid is seen today without any of its original polished limestone casing. The pyramid Khafre's successor, Menkaure, is much smaller, hinting perhaps at a decline in power and commitment or simply a change in priorities.
SphinxThe Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex, facing east. The shape is that of a reclining lion with a human head. Current consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great Sphinx is that of Khafre. It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 241 ft. long, 20 ft. wide, and 65 ft. high. Great Sphinx was built in approximately 2500 B.C.
See also:
- Illustrated Architecture Dictionary: Sphinx
- Iconography in Art and Architecture: Sphinx
- Wikipedia: Great Sphinx of Giza
- S. E. Smith, What is the Sphinx?
QueensAlong with these major monuments are a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as "queens" pyramids, causeways and valley pyramids.
The ancient sites in the Memphis area, including those at Giza, together with those at Saqqara, Dahshur, Abu Ruwaysh, and Abusir, were collectively declared a World Heritage Site in 1979
Solar boat
Excerpts from
Wikipdia: Khufu ShipThe Khufu ship is an intact full-size vessel that was sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2,500 BC. It measures 143 ft. long and 19.5 ft. wide.
It was built largely of Lebanon cedar planking and has been reconstructed from 1,224 pieces which had been laid in a logical, disassembled order in the pit beside the pyramid. It took years for the boat to be painstakingly reassembled.
The history and function of the ship are not precisely known. It is of the type known as a "solar barge," a ritual vessel to carry the resurrected king with the sun god Ra across the heavens. However, it bears some signs of having been used in water, and it is possible that the ship was either a funerary "barge" used to carry the king's embalmed body from Memphis to Giza, or even that Khufu himself used it as a "pilgrimage ship" to visit holy places and that it was then buried for him to use in the afterlife.
The Khufu ship has been on display to the public in a specially built museum at the Giza pyramid complex since 1982.