The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt - Assignment Example

The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt: The Greatest Wonder of the Seven Wonders of Ancient WorldIntroduction 1. The history and structure of the pyramid of Giza. A. Great Pyramid of Giza is the Oldest wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the only one that has remained mostly intact over the centuries. B. The pyramid was the tallest of all manmade structures for close to 3,800 years. C. It was constructed in a period of between 14 to 20 years, (Brier & Hobbs, 02). II. For most people, this reality could sound just like fiction or an imagination. But they could actually see it if they visit Egypt. III. Egyptologist say that it was build for Pharaoh Khufu, as a tomb. IV. For more than 3,800 years, it was the tallest structure that is man made, in the world holding the longest time period for such records (Brier & Hobbs 02). V. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the ancient world’s oldest of the seven wonders, which is the largest and most intact structure. VI. I would like to give you a brief overview of the history and structure of the pyramid of Giza. The Great Pyramid of Giza The pyramid of Giza has very interesting history and structure, which makes it one of the oldest and greatest wonder of ancient world. 1. It was constructed for over a period of 14 -20 years, for Egyptian’s forth dynasty, Pharaoh Khufu as a tomb. A. It is the largest and the oldest of the Giza Necropolis pyramids. B. Of the seven wonders of ancient world, it is the oldest and only intact wonder. C. The pyramid has three chambers; the lower chamber, the queen’s chamber, and the king’s chamber. D. Originally, it was 146.5 m tall, but due to absence of pyramidion and erosion, it is currently 138.8m tall. The base sides were 230.4 m long with a total mass of 5.9 million tones. The volume of the pyramid is 2,500,000m3, (Romer1, 23). II. The daily amount of construction can therefore be easily estimated if the building can be estimated to have been built in 20 years. A. 800 tones of rock were installed each day during its construction. B. Since it approximately had 2.3 million blocks, the average number of blocks that were moved hourly was 12, day and night. III. The materials used for the construction of this pyramid was large in volume and of high quality. A. Limestone blocks were more than 2.3 million transported from nearby quarries, while Tura limestone was quarried and transported from across the river. B. In the king’s chamber, granite stones weighed between 25 and 80 tonnes. C. The total estimated building materials is therefore: limestone - 5.5 million tones, granite 8000 tonnes, and mortar, 500,000 tonnes (Bauval & Hancock, 175). IV. The pyramid, at completion, was surfaced by casting stones that were white in color. A. They were felt topped, slant faced blocks of limestone that was highly polished. B. They were cut carefully into an approximate face slope of about 5.5 palms in order to give the required dimensions. C. According to Petrie, the casting stones precision is equal to present day’s work of an optician, but on an acre scale. V. The construction theories of the pyramid are many but contradicting, concerning the techniques of its construction. A. Egyptologists reject the claims of Joseph Davidovits, that the pyramid was built by limestone concrete that was cast in situ. a. The others accept that it was built by quarried stones but fail to agree on how they were moved, lifted, dragged or rolled. b. Greeks say that it was build by slave labor, while Egyptologists believe that it was built by thousands of workers, who were properly skilled. c. However, Bauval & Hancock, (203) believes that labor consisted of 100,000 gangs of men forming a hierarchy, through divisions of five groups of 20,000 each that were divided according to workers’ skills. B. The planning of the pyramid similar methods to the earlier and later techniques. The plan was laid on the ground at a scale of 1 by 1. Such a diagram of working also served to generate the pyramids architecture with precision that was unmatched by other forms. VI.A. Interiors of the pyramid are beautifully, uniquely and strongly designed. a. The entrance to the interior of the great pyramid is 56ft high and 23.9ft to the east of the pyramid from the center line, (Romer1, 37). b. The chamber of the queen is halfway of the pyramid between the south and north faces and measures 5.23 m and 5.75m south and north respectively (Romer1 38). c. The walls of the queen’s chamber have shafts that slopes upwards immediately, to the south and north, unlike those of the Kings chamber. The shafts in the kings’ chamber are neither connected to the queen’s chamber nor the pyramids’ faces. B. Today, a bronze implement and a black diorite ball, both found by Dixon when constructing the shafts, are in the British Museum. E. The walls of the chamber are made of fine masonry. However the well decorated and finely finished sarcophagus has never been found in any other pyramid. VII. Tourists who visit the pyramid today use the robber’s tunnel, which was constructed around 820 AD, by work men who were hired by Caliph AL-Ma’mum. A. It is straightly cut through the pyramids masonry and turns sharply to the left of the ascending passage, where it meets the blocking stones. B. One can possibly enter the descending passage, though access is normally forbidden. VIII. This pyramid is very complex. A. It is surrounded by several buildings and other complex small pyramids. Only a few cause way remnants remaining, and link the pyramid with the valley temple. B. The queen’s pyramid is on the southern side of the subsidiary pyramids while the queen’s tomb is hidden beneath around the pavings of the pyramid. C. The pyramid of Giza is surrounded by wall of crow, and cyclopean stone wall, making it very complex. D. It was discovered by Romer1 (197) that even though the burial was intact, the coffin was carefully sealed but empty. Conclusion I. With that information about the history and construction of the great pyramid of Giza it can be concluded that; A. The pyramid of Giza is the greatest and most spectacular of the seven wonders of the ancient world. B. The construction of the pyramid was of quality standard since it is still intact up to date. C. It was indeed the tallest structures made by man in such records for the longest period. With these few remarks, I would like to challenge you to pay a visit to this marvelous and greatest wonder of the seven wonders of ancient world. Works Cited Bauval, Robert &, Hancock, Graham. Keeper of Genesis. Mandarin books. 1996. Brier, Bob &, Hobbs, Hoyt. Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians. Greenwood Press. 1999. Calter, Paul A. Squaring the Circle: Geometry in Art and Architecture. Key College Publishing. 2006. Romer1, John. Based Calculations on the Known Time Scale for the Red Pyramid. London, London Press.2003. Romer2, John. The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited. New York, New York Publishers. 1997. Read More