If you want to read Chinese ghost stories and tomb raiding novels like Gui Chui Deng, you’ll have to learn the tomb-raiders vocabulary; and what better way to do that than by reading about the ancient pyramids?
古埃及金字塔是世界上最有名的古代建筑之一,主要分布在埃及尼罗河的西岸。其中最有名的一组叫做”吉萨金字塔群”,位于今天开罗的旁边。
最大的金字塔
吉萨最大的金字塔是为法老胡夫(Khufu)建造的,叫做”胡夫金字塔“,也被称为”大金字塔“。它是在公元前25世纪初完成的。大金字塔的高度是146米(481英尺)。一直到公元1221年,人类建造的所有建筑都没有它高——也就是说,这座金字塔在3800多年里都是世界上最高的建筑。
大金字塔不只是高,而且建得非常精确。金字塔底部每边的长度超过230米,可是四条边长度的差别只有4.4厘米,这在四千多年前是非常了不起的成就。
谁建造了金字塔?
很多人以为金字塔是奴隶建造的,但是这种说法已经被现代考古学否定了。考古发现表明,建造金字塔的工人不是奴隶,而是有技术的劳动者。在工人的居住区和墓地里,可以看出他们吃得不错,也受到尊重。
整个工程大约用了二十到三十年的时间,需要两百多万块巨大的石头。
金字塔的用途
金字塔主要是法老的坟墓。古埃及人相信,法老死后会去另一个世界,所以要为他们建造宏伟的坟墓,放进各种物品,帮助他们在死后的世界生活。
有意思的是,吉萨的几座大金字塔里面其实没有象形文字、宝藏或者木乃伊。金字塔内部的装饰是在胡夫、卡夫拉和孟卡乌拉这几座金字塔建成几百年之后才开始出现的。
今天的金字塔
吉萨金字塔群是”世界古代七大奇迹”中唯一保存到今天的一个,1979年被联合国教科文组织列为世界文化遗产。今天,每年还有数百万游客去埃及参观这些四千五百多年前的建筑。
近年来,科学家还用宇宙射线等新技术,在大金字塔内部发现了一些以前不知道的空间。关于金字塔,还有很多谜团等着人们去解开。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 金字塔 | jīnzìtǎ | pyramid |
| 法老 | fǎlǎo | pharaoh |
| 考古学 | kǎogǔxué | archaeology |
| 奴隶 | núlì | slave |
| 坟墓 | fénmù | tomb/grave |
| 象形文字 | xiàngxíngwénzì | hieroglyphics |
| 木乃伊 | mùnǎiyī | mummy |
| 世界文化遗产 | shìjiè wénhuà yíchǎn | World Cultural Heritage |
| 宇宙射线 | yǔzhòu shèxiàn | cosmic rays |
| 谜团 | mítuán | mystery/puzzle |
| 古 | Gǔ | surname Gu |
| 埃 | ai | dust; a phonetic character used in foreign names |
| 及 | jí | and; to reach; up to; in time for |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 世界 | shì jiè | world |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 有名 | yǒu míng | famous; well-known |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 古代 | gǔ dài | ancient times |
| 建 | jiàn | to establish; to found; to set up; to build; to construct |
| 筑 | zhǔ | short name for Guiyang 貴陽|贵阳[Gui4 yang2] |
| 之一 | zhī yī | one of (sth); one out of a multitude; one (third, quarter, percent etc) |
| 主要 | zhǔ yào | main; principal; major; primary |
| 分布 | fēn bù | to scatter; to distribute; to be distributed (over an area etc); (statistical, geographic) distribution |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 尼罗河 | Ní luó Hé | the Nile (river in northeastern Africa) |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 岸 | àn | variant of 岸[an4]; bank; shore; beach; coast |
| 其中 | qí zhōng | among; in; included among these |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 组 | zǔ | to form; to organize; group; team; classifier for sets, series, groups of people, batteries |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 吉 | Jí | short name for Jilin 吉林[Ji2 lin2]; surname Ji |
| 萨 | sǎ | (component of Buddhist transliterations such as 菩萨 bodhisattva); surname Sa |
| 群 | qún | variant of 群[qun2]; group; crowd; flock, herd, pack etc |
| 位于 | wèi yú | to be located at; to be situated at; to lie |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 开罗 | Kāi luó | Cairo, capital of Egypt |
| 旁边 | páng biān | side; adjacent place |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 胡 | Hú | surname Hu; used in 衚衕|胡同[hu2 tong4]; beard; mustache; whiskers |
| 夫 | fū | husband; man; manual worker; conscripted laborer (old) |
| 造 | zǎo | to make; to manufacture; to fabricate; party (in a lawsuit or legal agreement); classifier for crops |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 称为 | chēng wéi | to be called; to be known as; to call it "..." |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 公元前 | gōng yuán qián | BCE (before the Common Era); BC (before Christ) |
| 世纪 | shì jì | century |
| 初 | chū | (bound form) at first; initially; (bound form) first; early; (bound form) (in lunar calendar dates, before numerals 1–10) days 1 to 10 of a month, as in 初三[chu1 san1] "the third" |
| 完成 | wán chéng | to complete; to accomplish |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 度 | dù | to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc); kilowatt-hour; classifier for events and occurrences |
| 米 | Mǐ | surname Mi |
| 英尺 | yīng chǐ | foot (unit of length equal to 0.3048 m) |
| 一直 | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 公元 | gōng yuán | CE (Common Era); Christian Era; AD (Anno Domini) |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 类 | lěi | kind; type; class; category; (bound form) to resemble; to be similar to |
| 所有 | suǒ yǒu | all; to have; to possess; to own |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 也就是 | yě jìu shì | in other words; i.e. |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 座 | zuò | seat; base; stand; (bound form) constellation; (archaic) suffix used in a respectful form of address (e.g. 師座|师座[shi1 zuo4]); classifier for large immovable objects such as buildin… |
| 多年 | duō nián | many years; for many years; longstanding |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 最高 | zuì gāo | tallest; highest; supreme (court etc) |
| 不只 | bù zhǐ | not only; not merely |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 且 | qiě | and; moreover; yet; for the time being; to be about to; both (... and...) |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 精确 | jīng què | accurate; precise |
| 底 | dí | (equivalent to 的 as possessive particle) |
| 部 | bù | ministry; department; section; part; division; troops; board; classifier for works of literature, films, machines etc |
| 每 | měi | each; every |
| 边 | biān | side; edge; margin; border; boundary; CL:個|个[ge4]; simultaneously |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 超 | chao | to exceed; to surpass; to pass; ultra- |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 四条 | sì tiáo | four of a kind; quads (poker) |
| 边长 | biān cháng | (geometry) side length |
| 差别 | chā bié | difference; distinction; disparity |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 qu… |
| 厘米 | lí mǐ | centimeter |
| 四 | sì | four; 4 |
| 千 | qiān | thousand; used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1] |
| 前 | qián | front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly |
| 是非 | shì fēi | right and wrong; quarrel |
| 常 | Cháng | surname Chang |
| 了不起 | liǎo bu qǐ | amazing; terrific; extraordinary |
| 成就 | chéng jìu | accomplishment; success; achievement; CL:個|个[ge4]; to achieve (a result); to create; to bring about |
| 谁 | shéi | who; also pr. [shui2] |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 以为 | yǐ wéi | to think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief) |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 这种 | zhè zhǒng | this kind of |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 现代 | Xiàn dài | Hyundai, South Korean company |
| 否 | fóu | to negate; not |
| 定 | dìng | to fix; to set; to make definite; to subscribe to (a newspaper etc); to book (tickets etc); to order (goods etc); to congeal; to coagulate; (literary) definitely |
| 考古 | kǎo gǔ | archaeology; to engage in archaeological studies |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 表明 | biǎo míng | to make clear; to make known; to state clearly; to indicate; known |
| 工人 | gōng rén | worker; CL:個|个[ge4],名[ming2] |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 而是 | ér shì | rather |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 技 | jì | skill |
| 术 | shù | method; technique |
| 劳动者 | láo dòng zhě | worker; laborer |
| 居 | Jū | surname Ju |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 区 | Oū | surname Ou |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 墓 | mǔ | grave; mausoleum |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 看出 | kàn chū | to make out; to see |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] |
| 不错 | bù cuò | correct; right; not bad; pretty good |
| 受到 | shòu dào | to receive (praise, an education, punishment etc); to be ...ed (praised, educated, punished etc) |
| 尊重 | zūn zhòng | to esteem; to respect; to honor; to value; eminent; serious; proper |
| 整 | zhěng | (bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in… |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 工程 | gōng chéng | engineering; an engineering project; project; undertaking; CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4] |
| 大约 | dà yuē | approximately; probably |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 二十 | èr shí | twenty; 20 |
| 三十 | sān shí | thirty; 30 |
| 时间 | shí jiān | (concept of) time; (duration of) time; (point in) time |
| 需要 | xū yào | to need; to want; to demand; to require; needs |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 百 | Bǎi | surname Bai |
| 万 | mò | used in 万俟[Mo4 qi2]; surname Wan |
| 块 | kuài | lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc; (coll.) classifier for money and currency units |
| 巨大 | jù dà | huge; immense; enormous; gigantic |
| 石 | Shí | surname Shi; abbr. for Shijiazhuang 石家莊|石家庄[Shi2 jia1 zhuang1], the capital of Hebei |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 途 | tū | way; road |
| 人相 | rén xiàng | physiognomy |
| 信 | xìn | letter; mail; CL:封[feng1]; to trust; to believe; to profess faith in; truthful; confidence; trust; at will; at random |
| 死 | sǐ | to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid; extremely; damned |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 另 | lìng | other; another; separate; separately |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 宏 | hōng | great; macro (computing) |
| 伟 | wěi | big; large; great |
| 放进 | fàng jìn | to put into |
| 各种 | gè zhǒng | every kind of; all kinds of; various |
| 物品 | wù pǐn | articles; goods |
| 帮助 | bāng zhù | assistance; aid; to help; to assist |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 有意思 | yǒu yì si | interesting; meaningful; enjoyable; fun |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 里面 | lǐ miàn | variant of 裡面|里面[li3 mian4] |
| 其实 | qí shí | actually; in fact; really |
| 宝藏 | bǎo zàng | precious mineral deposits; hidden treasure; (fig.) treasure; (Buddhism) the treasure of Buddha's law |
| 或者 | huò zhě | or; possibly; maybe; perhaps |
| 内部 | nèi bù | interior; inside (part, section); internal |
| 装 | zhuāng | adornment; to adorn; dress; clothing; costume (of an actor in a play); to play a role; to pretend; to install; to fix; to wrap (sth in a bag); to load; to pack |
| 饰 | shǐ | decoration; to decorate; to hide; excuse (to hide a fault); to impersonate |
| 卡夫 | Kǎ fū | Kraft, US food company |
| 拉 | lā | to pull; to play (a bowed instrument); to drag; to draw; to chat; (coll.) to empty one's bowels |
| 孟 | ||
| 卡 | kǎ | to stop; to block; (computing) (coll.) slow; (loanword) card; CL:張|张[zhang1],片[pian4]; truck (from "car"); calorie (abbr. for 卡路里[ka3 lu4 li3]); cassette |
| 乌 | wu | abbr. for country names that begin with 烏|乌[wu1]: Ukraine 烏克蘭|乌克兰[Wu1 ke4 lan2], Uzbekistan 烏茲別克斯坦|乌兹别克斯坦[Wu1 zi1 bie2 ke4 si1 tan3] etc |
| 建成 | jiàn chéng | to establish; to build |
| 百年 | bǎi nián | hundred years; century; (fig.) a whole lifetime; a person's whole life |
| 之 | zhī | (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him; her; it |
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 出现 | chū xiàn | to appear; to arise; to emerge; to show up |
| 七 | qī | seven; 7 |
| 奇 | jī | odd (number) |
| 迹 | jǐ | (bound form) trace; mark; vestige; clue |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 唯 | wēi | only; -ism (in Chinese, a prefix, often combined with a suffix such as 主義|主义[zhu3 yi4] or 論|论[lun4], e.g. 唯理論|唯理论[wei2 li3 lun4], rationalism) |
| 保 | báo | Bulgaria (abbr. for 保加利亞|保加利亚[Bao3 jia1 li4 ya4]) |
| 存 | cún | to exist; to deposit; to store; to keep; to survive |
| 联 | lián | (bound form) to ally oneself with; to unite; to combine; to join; (bound form) (poetry) antithetical couplet |
| 合 | gě | 100 ml; one-tenth of a peck; measure for dry grain equal to one-tenth of sheng 升 or liter, or one-hundredth dou 斗; variant of 合[he2] |
| 国教 | guó jiào | state religion |
| 科 | kē | branch of study; administrative section; division; field; branch; stage directions; family (taxonomy); rules; laws; to mete out (punishment); to levy (taxes etc); to fine sb; CL:個|… |
| 文 | Wén | surname Wen |
| 组织 | zǔ zhī | to organize; organization; (biology) tissue; (textiles) weave; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 列 | liè | to arrange; to line up; file; series; (in data tables) column; (Tw) row |
| 每年 | měi nián | every year; each year; yearly |
| 还有 | hái yǒu | there still remain(s); there is (or are) still; in addition |
| 数百万 | shù bǎi wàn | several million |
| 游 | Yóu | surname You; to walk; to tour; to roam; to travel |
| 客 | kè | customer; visitor; guest; classifier for servings or portions (when ordering food) |
| 参观 | cān guān | to visit (a place, e.g. museum or factory); to tour; to look around |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 五 | wǔ | five; 5 |
| 近年 | jìn nián | recent year(s) |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 科学家 | kē xué jiā | scientist |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (… |
| 新 | Xīn | abbr. for Xinjiang 新疆[Xin1 jiang1]; abbr. for Singapore 新加坡[Xin1 jia1 po1]; surname Xin |
| 一些 | yī xiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 以前 | yǐ qián | before; formerly; previous; ago |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 空间 | kōng jiān | space; room; (fig.) scope; leeway; (astronomy) outer space; (physics, math.) space |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 解开 | jiě kāi | to untie; to undo; to solve (a mystery) |
The ancient Egyptian pyramids are among the most famous ancient structures in the world, mainly located on the west bank of the Nile River in Egypt. The most famous group is called the ‘Giza Pyramid Complex,’ located next to modern-day Cairo.
The Largest Pyramid
The largest pyramid at Giza was built for Pharaoh Khufu, called the ‘Pyramid of Khufu,’ also known as the ‘Great Pyramid.’ It was completed in the early 25th century BCE. The Great Pyramid stands 146 meters (481 feet) tall. Until 1221 CE, no human-made structure was taller than it – meaning this pyramid remained the world’s tallest building for over 3,800 years.
The Great Pyramid is not only tall but also built with remarkable precision. Each side of the pyramid’s base is over 230 meters long, yet the difference between the four sides is only 4.4 centimeters – an extraordinary achievement for over four thousand years ago.
Who Built the Pyramids?
Many people assume the pyramids were built by slaves, but this theory has been disproven by modern archaeology. Archaeological evidence shows that the workers who built the pyramids were not slaves, but skilled laborers. From the workers’ residential areas and cemeteries, we can see they ate well and were treated with respect.
The entire project took approximately twenty to thirty years and required over two million massive stones.
The Purpose of the Pyramids
The pyramids primarily served as tombs for pharaohs. Ancient Egyptians believed that after death, pharaohs would go to another world, so magnificent tombs needed to be built for them, filled with various items to help them in the afterlife.
Interestingly, the large pyramids at Giza actually contain no hieroglyphics, treasures, or mummies inside. Interior decorations only began appearing in pyramids built hundreds of years after those of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure.
The Pyramids Today
The Giza Pyramid Complex is the only one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Ancient World’ that survives today. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Today, millions of tourists still visit Egypt each year to see these structures built over 4,500 years ago.
In recent years, scientists have used new technologies such as cosmic rays to discover previously unknown spaces inside the Great Pyramid. There are still many mysteries about the pyramids waiting to be solved.