Transcript The pyramids on Gizah plateau - clasa7a-cosmagabriela

The pyramids on Giza
plateau
Grupul Scolar`O.Goga`Jibou,Salaj
Str.Parcului,nr.3
Tel:0260-644652
E-mail:[email protected]
Prof. Gabriela Cosma
Lb. engleza
Why are pyramids famous?
Khufu`s Great Pyramid was the tallest
man-made structure for 3,800 years. It
was built 4,500 years ago. The construction
lasted 20 years. It was 147 m tall and each
base side is 227 m long. It consists of 2.3 million
blocks of stone, weighing more than 2 tons
each .The base sides are aligned to the 4
cardinal compass points. From an architectural
point of view it is a perfect construction, that is
why it is considered one of The Seven
Wonders of the World, the only one still
standing today.
``Soldiers! 40 centuries are
watching us from the top of
the pyramid.` (Napoleon)
Why were pyramids built?

God Ra
The Egyptians` mythology was vast. The most
important god was Ra, the God of the Sun. The
Egyptians believed that the pyramid shape copied the
rays of the sun sent onto the Earth. That is why
some
pharaohs wished to be buried inside the pyramid as
they believed that it would help them to travel to
the other world where they would have eternal life.
The Great Pyramid
The pyramids are located on
the Giza Plateau, on the
western bank of the Nile
river, at 9 km from Cairo,
the capital of Egypt
Even in our days Khafre’s, Menkhaure`s
and Khufu’s pyramids seem mysterious and
inspire respect mixed with fear,especially
the Pyramid of Khufu . Egyptologists
discovered many of their mysteries,
although there are still many others
buried in the dust of time and desert.
The Interior of Khufu`s
Pyramid
The Egyptians never wanted access inside the
pyramid to be easy. They blocked the entrance
with huge blocks of granite and covered the
entire surface with flat blocks of limestone.
Three chambers were discovered inside
and a corridor called The Grand Gallery.
From the King’s chamber two shafts go
upwards . These were meant to align with
the stars which the Pharaoh’s
spirit was to visit in the after-life.
A Royal Boat
Boats had an important role in the
Egyptians’ religious beliefs. The
Pharaoh’s journey to after life was
taken in a boat . The death
chamber
of the boat had six pairs of oars ,
which were used to maintain
direction
In 1950 Khufu’s boat was
found near The Great Pyramid. It was
43.6 m long and it was built from
cider wood. It was assembled with
wooden nails and ropes
Khufu, The Tyrant?
Herodotus, ancient Greek
historian ,mentioned that Khufu
used slaves to carry out his
astonishing achievement, but he
was wrong in many aspects.
Now we know that Egyptians
were very proud of their
buildings. Skilfull workers were
hired full time, but most of the
workers were peasants who paid
their duties/taxes with their work
or toil.
An Area Full of Life
The pictures with pyramids leave the impression
that these were isolated in the desert, but
in ancient times they were surrounded by
palaces, temples and other tombs and, nearby,
there were ports for boats. The priests and workers
used to live close to the site, in crowded towns
.
King Khufu,
Cairo Museum
Powerful paintings
The writings (hieroglyphs)
were meant to guide the
Pharaoh during the difficult
journey. Some were prayers
and curses. In The New
Kingdom a new set of
writings appeared , The
Book of the Dead. It had five
sections and each referred
to an aspect of the afterlife.
The paintings, writings and the
sculptures were not only
decorations. They were a part of
the necessary things for the King
in the after-life. For example, a
scene representing a person who
was baking bread was a guarantee
that the dead would know how to
bake bread in the life after death.
The Secret of the Pyramids

The Egyptians had thorough
knowledge of astronomy
It was scientifically proved
that the pyramids on the Giza
Plateau are arranged like the
reflection in the mirror of the
Orion constellation.
They thought that there was
the home of Osiris, the God
of the Dead and of he world
beyond ,and that is where they
wished to finally get.
Bibliography
Enciclopedia lumii antice,Editura
Aquila`93,2006
Fagan,Brian M,70 de inventii ale
antichitatii,Editura Aquila `93,2005
Hieroglyphs
(Osiris)
www. google. ro
en. wikipedia . org
www. discoveringegypt . com
www.googleimages.ro