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Egyptian Pyramids - Construction Sequence

The only buildings that have been reasonably supposed to be earlier than the great pyramid are the two so-called pyramids of Sakkara and Medum. These structures are not and never were true pyramids; they are mastabas added to by successive accretions at various times, again and again finished off with a polished casing, only to be afresh enlarged by coats of rough masonry and another fine casing on the outside, until they have been extended upwards and around into a great stepped mass of masonry (Petrie, Pyramids, etc., p. 147), the successive faces of which rise at the characteristic mastaba angle of 75° (or 4 on 1). These buildings then present the outline of a pyramidal pile, broken by successive steps, and it is but one stage further to build in one smooth slope from base'to top; such a form would readily be designed when once it was intended to build a large mass complete at once on one uniform plan, as certainly was the case for the largest pyramids.

There were changes in the construction of the pyramids. Most archeologists believe that the Pyramids are comprised of horizontally laid masonry with the same height of the masonry visible on the surface today. Ole Jørgen Bryn, Associate professor Faculty of Architecture and fine Arts at the Norwegian University of Sciense and Technology NTNU argues that the core of all the pyramids are probably a step pyramid.

The first or oldest pyramid is the so called Step Pyramid of Sakkarah, created by Imhotep, Pharoah Djoser’s [c. 2667-2648] architect. Imhotep, his overseer of works, was given the remarkable privilege of being mentioned on king’s statue. Imphotep was later deified as a great sage and eventually overshadowed the king under whom he served.

The steps are six in number and vary in height from 38 to 29 feet, their width being about 6 feet. It forms a rectangular mass, incorrectly orientated, with a variation from the true north of 4° 35', 393 ft. 8 in. long from east to west, and 352 ft. deep, with a height of 159 ft. 9 in. It is composed of six cubes, with sloping sides, each being about 13 ft. less in width than the one below it; that nearest to the ground measures 37 ft. 8 in. in height, and the uppermost one 29 ft. 9 in. Some authorities thought this pyramid was erected in the first dynasty. The stele of Sehel has enabled verification of the fact that the preamble [a string of titles] to the inscription of the king, buried in the Step-Pyramid, is identical with that of King Zoser, second Pharoah of Dynasty III.

The first requirement for the construction of the pyramid appears to have been the leveling of the rock surface. This was followed by the excavation of a subteranean chamber and the erection of a small truncated pyramid or mastabah in the center of the rock. For whatever reason, the builders of the Step Pyramid decided not to stop at the rectangular mud mastaba. Instead they began to put mastaba on mastaba setting back each succeeding mastaba from the previous one by several metres or several feet giving the structure a triangular shape. They added new outside layers of stone, following the outline of the first structure, thus enlarging the mastabah or tomb, the pyramid arising in terraces, and really becoming a gigantic mastabah. The opening to the mastabah or tomb was below the pyramid and was reached by a long channel or passageway which had been cut out of the rock.

When breaches in the masonry are examined, it can be seen that the external surface of the steps has, as it were, a double stone facing, each facing being carefully dressed. The body of the pyramid is solid, the chambers being cut in the rock beneath. The arrangement of chambers in the pyramid is quite special. It was entirely constructed of limestone from the neighbouring mountains. The blocks are small, and badly cut, the stone courses being concave to offer a better resistance to downward thrust and to shocks of earthquake.

Near the Step Pyramid of Zoser is the unfinished pyramid of Pharoah Sekhemkhet ("Powerful in Body") who reigned 2648-2640 BC. Imhotep's name is inscribed on the north side of the enclosure wall of this unfinished pyramid, which would have been similar in scale to that of Zoser's Step Pyramid. The Layer Pyramid of Zawiyet dl-Aryan also remained unfinished. Of somewhat smaller scale, the underground galleries had rooms only on the inside.

Before Sneferu, father of Khufu (who built the Great Pyramid at Giza), only one royal pyramid stood complete, Zoser's. Sneferu, commissioned four pyramids, the pyramid of Meidum, and the Bent pyramid and Red Pyramid at Dahshur, and another pyramid at Seila. A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground, means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above. The earliest step-pyramids were made from inward slanting layers. Later true pyramids were generally believed to be made from level layers.

The Pyramid of Meidum is generally regared as having been the first of the three started by Sneferu, but the completion sequence is subject to dispute. Many authorities believe that it suffered a catestrophic structural failure, and that this is reflected in the oddd configuration of the Bent Pyramid. Others believe it was probably intended to be Sneferu's tomb, but then the Bent Pyramid was probably the preferred site until cracks developed. By this reasoning, the Meidum pyramid was then finished off in the style of a true pyramid using the new horizontal layer technique pioneered in the upper part of the Bent Pyramid.

The Meidum (variant names: Maidoum, Maidum, Maydum, Medum and Meydum) pyramid may have belonged to Sneferu. The pyramid of Meidum now presents a tower-like appearnace due to the loss of its orginal casing. The "False Pyramid of Medum" is a step pyramid 115 feet high, and shows three stages, 70, 20 and 25 feet high. This presents the form of the Mastabah more fully than any other pyramid, and shows clearly how the pyramids of Egypt originated. The Meidum Pyramid was built in stages just like Djoser's Step Pyramid.

Originally, the Meidum pyramid was a step pyramid, but it appears that Sneferu later ordered the steps to be “filled”, an attempt at building a true pyramid. The Meidum Pyramid may have once looked similar to the other smooth pyramids, but many concluded it had a major design flaw that caused its collapse. A smooth rise towards the bottom of the pyramid is visible within the rubble. The structure that is standing is the strong interior of the pyramid that was unaffected by the collapse. Lateral forces caused the base of the pyramid to give way, producing a massive structural failure in the pyramid at Meidum. The outer structure failed until the strong, step-pyramid core was the only part left standing. The casing blocks did not tie to the step faces. What remained is some of the original casing masonry near the base and much of the step pyramid core surrounded by a pile of rubble.

The collapse of the Meidum pyramid built in 2600 BC may have been due to the poor quality of the binding material which was composed of argillaceous materials and large gypsum grains. The pyramids that were built in 2500 BC and later have stood intact as a result of the superior binder with finer anhydrite grains. The cementitious materials in these stronger pyramids have lasted approximately 4500 years to date. And the blocks of the Meidum Pyramid look much like chalky limestones of the Eocene Thebes Formation from near Luxor, so well-exposed in major exposures in the vicinity of the Valley of the Kings. These limestones are generally open and porous, smooth and uniformly textured, not like limestones of the pyramids and those found in quarries around Cairo.

The theory that the pyramid actually collapsed catastrophically and the mound of rubble around the base is what remains, remains disputed. No bodies, scaffolding, tools, or the like have ever been found in the mound. A more widely accepted theory is that the pyramid was “quarried” for stone in later times; indeed, the Arabic writers of the 12th Century reported that the pyramid had five steps, while today it has only three. Nonetheless, the mountain of sand and rubble at the bottom has the appearance of a landslide, a nothing similar is seen at other pyramids which clearly bear the marks of quarrying.

While the pyramids of Giza are perhaps the most famous, there are several other ancient Egyptian royal necropolis (“city of the dead”) sites situated along the Nile River and its delta. One of these sites is near the village of Dashur. The gray-brown built area of Dashur is surrounded by green agricultural land of the Nile Delta, which forms a distinct boundary with the tan desert to the west. It is in the desert that the monuments of the ancient rulers of Egypt are found.

The Dashur [aka Dahshour] archaeological site is located adjacent to Giza necropolis at about 25 km south of Cairo. The site itself is an imperative necropolis that attracts the attention of the archaeologists. This location is a spectator of several historical episodes that start with the mud brick tombs, the mastabas, and passing through the phase of the Step Pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara, the Bent Pyramid, to the first complete pyramid in the history (the Red pyramid of Senefro "Khofo's father").

The pyramids of Dashur form one of the group of four, two of stone and two of brick. The dimensions of these are as follows: 703x700—326 feet high; 620x620—321 feet high; 350x350—90 feet high; 343x343—156 feet high. There is a small temple on the east side of the pyramid of Medum. At sunset at the equinox the sepulchre chamber and the sun were in line from the adytum. The large Red and Bent Pyramids were built by Snofru, first king of the Fourth Dynasty, which lasted from 2575–2465 BC. Nearby monuments include the pyramid complexes of Amenemhat III and Sesostris III, both kings of the Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1783 BC). Both of these complexes are poorly preserved, due to both the unstable ground conditions and the dismantling of the limestone blocks forming the outer pyramid casings during later historical periods.

The Bent Pyramid, created during the reign of Sneferu (2680-2560 BC), is the earliest smooth sided pyramid known. The Bent Pyramid is so called because the slope of the outer face was lessened halfway through construction, leading to a distinctive “bent” profile - the angel of the pyramid was changed from about 55 degrees to about 43 or 44 degrees. Scholars have offered different explanations for why this was done: perhaps to reduce the work necessary to complete it or to decrease the mass of the pyramid to prevent its collapse. One theory is that the bend is a result of a change in the design of the pyramid in mid-construction which would keep the pyramid from collapsing the same way the Pyramid at Meidum collapsed. Many believe the change was made in response to subsidencethat that was noticed while the pyramid was still being built. Possibly during the building process the foundation began to crack under the weight. In any event, the accurate cutting and laying of theblocks was not yet what would be seen at Giza.

The Red Pyramid to the north was built after the Bent Pyramid, and is named for the coloration of the building stone at the structure’s core. The Red Pyramid in northern Dahshur could be considered the first "True" Pyramid because it has all of the usual features and structures: the sides are straight and at a shallower slope of 43 degrees.

Seila is the northernmost of a cluster of small pyramids, and may have been bult by Sneferu. It stands only 7 meters high and has a four-step core of local limestone. Most Egyptologists assume that the small pyramids were built by Huni. There are seven of these small pyramids, which may mark the boundaries of the land, or were built for ceremonial purposes. They aren't "complete" pyramids -- they don't have the whole pyramid complex around them, and most have no internal structures. They were built in the second half of the third dynasty, and are mostly on the west bank of the Nile, as befitting funerary momuments. They are not tombs, however, but some have suggested that they are cenotaphs (false tombs) for queens, or religious shrines.

The hieroglyphic names of nineteen of the pyramids have been found mentioned on monuments (mostly in tombs of the priests). Khufu (or Cheops), called "the glorious,' the great pyramid ol Gizeh. Eatatef, who appears next to Khufu in the lists, is unknown, in other monuments; he is perhaps the same as Khnumu-Khufu, apparently a co-regent of Khufu, who may have been buried in the so-called qneen's chamber of the great pyramid. Ithafra rested in the great pyramid, now known as the second pyramid of Gizeh. Menkaura's pyramid was called "the upper," being at the highest level on the nill of Gizeh. The lesser pyramids of Gizeh, near the great and third pyramids, belong respectively to the families of Khufu and Khafra. The pyramid of a Menkara at Abu Roash is probably also of this period. The pyramid of Aseskaf, called " the cool", is unknown.

The pyramid of of Userkaf of the Vth Dynasty, called the "holiest of buildings" is unknown. Sahara's pyramid, the north one of Abusir, was named "the rising soul," much as Keferkara's (of unknown site) was named "of the soul." Raenuser's pyramid, "the firmest of buildings," is the middle pyramid of Abusir. The pyramid of Menkauhor, called "the most divine building," is somewhere at Sakkara. Assa's pyramid is unidentified; it was "the beautiful" Unas not only built tho mastaba Famn, long supposed to be his pyramid, but had a pyramid called "the most beautiful of buildings" at Sakkara, which was opened in 1881 (see Recueil da Travaux, by M. Maspero, iii., for those opened at Sakkara).

In the VIth Dynasty the " pyramid of souls," built by Ati (Rauserka), is unknown. That of Teta, "the most stable of buildings," was opened at Sakkara in 1881, as well as that of Pepi (Ramen), "the firm and beautiful." The pyramids of Rameren, "the beautiful rising," and of Neferkara, "the firm life," are unknown. Haremsaf's pyramid was opened at Sakkara in 1881. Of the last two kings of the VIth Dynasty no pyramids are known. In the VIIth or VIIIth Dynasty most probably the brick pyramids of Dahshur were erected. In the Xlth Dynasty the pyramid, "the most glorious building," of Mentuhotep II. is mentioned, and the mud pyramid of one of the Antef kings is known at Thebes. In the XII Dynasty the pyramids, the "lofty and beautiful" of Amenenihat I. and "the bright" of Usertesen II are known in inscriptions, while the brick pyramid at Howara may be assigned to Amenemhat III, who appears to have built the adjoining temple.