Rock Like an Egyptian – How and Why the Pyramids Were Built

The ancient Egyptians believed death was the beginning of a journey to another world. People who lived in a kingdom thought their afterlife was dependent on the pharaoh’s journey to the afterlife (a pharaoh was a king or queen in ancient Egypt). Because of this, every kingdom wanted to make sure, long before the pharaoh even died, that their final resting place — their tomb — was built just right, so that their journey to the afterlife was successful.

For more than 1,000 years, pyramids served as a final resting place for pharaohs. The triangle shape of a pyramid was a symbol for new life arising from a mound of earth. The place where the pharaoh would lay inside typically faced the west, because that is where the sun sets. Egyptians believed that the doorway to the afterlife lay where the sun set.

Picture a Pyramid – It’s Probably Bigger Than You Think

Pyramids came in a variety of sizes, but they were never small! The tallest remaining one that we know of today is called the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. It was built in the 26th century B.C. It is 481.4 feet tall. That’s about 45 floors, or half the size of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was the tallest structure on Earth for more than 3,800 years. The base of the pyramid — the first floor — is 756 feet wide, which is longer than two football fields.

The rocks that were used to build the pyramids included limestone and granite. They were found in locations known as quarries, which were large rock pits in the desert. The Great Pyramid was built from more than two million limestone blocks and each block weighed around two tons, which is approximately the same weight as 20 baby elephants. Some other pyramids used blocks that were 50 tons each, which is heavier than seven full-sized elephants!

The ancient Egyptians didn’t have any of the construction tools or machines that we use today, so it took a lot of clever thinking and hard work for them to build the pyramids.

Teamwork and Tools to Get the Job Done

So, since pyramids were created before there were cranes or bulldozers — or even wheels or pulleys — how did the ancient Egyptians move these heavy rocks without machines? Well, even though they didn’t have modern tools, ancient Egyptians developed methods to make the work easier.

First, the Egyptians used tools like hammers and spades to dig up the rocks from the quarry. Once the rocks were unearthed, they were transported to the pyramid location. Some historians think the workers developed a way to transport big rocks using wooden planks arranged like train tracks and a wooden sled with rounded rails at the front. A large and heavy rock would be lassoed with a rope onto the sled and a dozen men would pull the sled along this “road.” Other men would constantly pour water on the tracks and on the sand to keep it moving smoothly.

However they managed it, once these huge rocks arrived at the pyramid site, another team used copper chisels, drills, and saws to cut the softer stones — like limestone — down into smaller bricks. The harder stones, like granite, were pounded into shape. The workmen would also break down the rocks by hammering grooves into the stone, inserting wooden wedges into the groves, then soaking the wooden wedges with water. As the water was absorbed, the wedges expanded, and the rocks would naturally break into more workable sizes.

Another team of men would then polish the rocks with rough quartz sand, so they were smooth and even, which made them look nice, but also made them easier to fit together.

And then, yet another team of men would set the blocks in place and secure them with a form of mortar. Mortar is like glue — it is used to stick rocks to other rocks. We still use forms of mortar today for buildings made of stone or brick. The ancient Egyptians would build layer upon layer of rocks and mortar until the pyramid was complete.

Worth the Work

Knowing all this, it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that pyramid building was hard and dangerous work. It could take up to 20 years and roughly 20,000 workers to build just one pyramid! Therefore, it might blow your mind to learn there are over 100 known pyramids still in Egypt today. But pyramid building was very well regarded and workers were treated very well, so men would volunteer from all over Egypt to join pyramid building projects.

Whatever reasons the ancient Egyptians had for putting so many resources and so much manpower into building the pyramids, we can be grateful they did. These magnificent structures have lasted more than 4,000 years and given us an extraordinary glimpse into Egypt’s rich and glorious past.