Egipto. Necrópolis de Giza. Pirámides de Keops, Kefrén y Micerino
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Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 6.02 mi
- Elevation gain
- 574 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 574 ft
- Max elevation
- 316 ft
- TrailRank
- 58
- Min elevation
- 59 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 2 hours 55 minutes
- Coordinates
- 2121
- Uploaded
- April 7, 2022
- Recorded
- November 2020
near Nazlat as Sammān, Giza (Egypt)
Viewed 1954 times, downloaded 25 times
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Itinerary description
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Egypt. Giza Necropolis
The Giza Necropolis is located on the Giza Plateau, about twenty kilometers from Cairo, Egypt. It began to be used during the second dynasty. In it are the famous pyramids built by the pharaohs of the fourth dynasty Cheops, Khafre and Micerino.
The Giza necropolis is the largest in Ancient Egypt, with burials dating from the earliest dynasties. Its splendor reached it during the fourth dynasty, when the pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), also known as the Great Pyramid, the pyramid of Jafra (Kephren) and the relatively small pyramid of Menkaura (Mycerinus), along with several other subsidiaries, were erected. minors, funerary temples, Valley Temples, piers, processional roads and pits containing ceremonial solar boats were excavated; the Great Sphinx of Giza was also carved into the rock of the plateau.
Associated with these royal monuments are numerous mastabas of members of the royal family, others granted by the pharaoh to officials and priests, and some monuments from later times related to ancestor worship.
Of the three main pyramids, their core is preserved, made up of limestone blocks, but of their lining, polished limestone or pink granite, only a few remains remain, as these blocks were used to build buildings in the nearby city of Cairo.
The pyramid of Jafra (Kefrén) seems the tallest, but it is because it was built on a higher area of the Giza plateau; in reality it is that of Jufu (Cheops) the one with the greatest height and volume. The Great Pyramid was considered in ancient times one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and it is the only one of the seven that still exists.
In 1959, the whole of Memphis with its necropolis and pyramid fields (Giza, Abusir, Saqqara and Dahshur) was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Most construction theories are based on the idea that the pyramids were built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging them into place. The disagreements center on the manner in which the stones were transported and placed.
They would select a site on a relatively flat area of bedrock, not sand, that would provide a stable base. After carefully surveying the site and laying the first level of stones, they built the pyramids in horizontal levels, one on top of the other.
The smooth exterior of the pyramid was made from a fine grade of white limestone quarried across the Nile. These exterior blocks had to be carefully cut, transported by river barge to Giza, and hauled down ramps to the construction site. Only a few outer blocks remain at the base of the Great Pyramid. During the Middle Ages (5th to 15th century), people may have taken the rest for construction projects in the city of Cairo.3
To ensure that the pyramid remained symmetrical, the outer facing stones had to all be equal in height and width. The workers could have marked all the blocks to indicate the angle of the pyramidal wall and carefully trimmed the surfaces so that the blocks fit together. During construction, the outer surface of the stone was smooth limestone.
The pyramids of Giza and others are believed to have been built to house the remains of deceased pharaohs who ruled Ancient Egypt. It was believed that a part of the pharaoh's spirit, his ka, remained with his corpse. Proper care of the remains was necessary for him to perform his new duties as king of the dead." It is theorized that the pyramid not only served as a tomb for the pharaoh, but also as a storage pit for various items he would need in the future. the afterlife. "The people of Ancient Egypt believed that death on Earth was the beginning of a journey to the next world." The embalmed body of the king was entombed under or inside the pyramid to protect it and allow its transformation and ascension to the beyond.
The sides of the three pyramids at Giza were astronomically oriented north to south and east to west with a deviation of a small fraction of a degree.
The necropolis occupies 160 km² on both sides of a wadi: on one side are the pyramids, with a wide field occupied by mastabas of nobles on the side. On a plateau are the funerary temples and the sphinx. On the other side of the wadi, on some hills, there are more private tombs.
The funerary complex of Khufu (Cheops) is located to the north and is made up of the Great Pyramid (or pyramid of Cheops), the three pyramids of the queens, a satellite pyramid, two funerary temples, the Valley Temple, a road linking both constructions, tombs or pits with solar boats, mastabas of nobles and courtiers and multiple mastabas organized in three cemeteries. Among these mastabas is the tomb of the builder of the Great Pyramid, Hemiunu.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only monument listed as one of the wonders of the ancient world that is still standing. The Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Statue of Zeus in Olympia succumbed to the passage of time and especially to the hands of the human being.
His data is even more striking:
2,500,000 stone blocks. More than 7,000,000 tons in total. It measures just under 139 meters high, although it originally measured just over 146. Inside, the temperature remains constant, about 20 degrees Celsius.
Although there are 3 chambers inside, it is believed that there is a fourth, where the pharaoh (Cheops) would actually be buried.
Cheops was the one who chose the Giza area to start building his own funerary complex, about 40 kilometers from the pyramid built by his father Sneferu. To avoid a tilt like that suffered by the Dashur pyramid, a level platform was built on top of the rock, leaving a natural rock mass inside the pyramid, built with local limestone blocks placed in horizontal rows. Gypsum mortar was also used on the facing stones to facilitate their displacement. Finally, the work was covered with white limestone from Tura, although currently only a few remain at the base of the pyramid.
Once the pyramid was finished, its perimeter was paved, measuring about ten meters wide, reaching a wall that enclosed the entire area. Only a part of the north side remains of this pavement. The interior of the pyramid has three chambers. The fact that three chambers had been built is due to changes in the design during the execution of the works. The underground chamber appears abandoned as it was never completed. It is accessed through a narrow passage. The queen's chamber is located in the central axis of the pyramid and is almost finished; as it was closed it is possible that it was used to place a statue of the pharaoh. The king's chamber is lined with blocks of red granite; above this room there are five unloading chambers with a final sloping roof that serves to distribute the weight of the structure. This construction was very innovative and there is no precedent for a similar one.
Cheops had three more pyramids built, which were to contain the mummies of the queens; they were built on the eastern side of the great pyramid. In Egyptology, these constructions are known by the names GIa, GIb and GIc: "G" for Giza, "I" for the pyramid of Cheops, and "a, b, c" for the order in which they are arranged, from north to south . Their bases are rectangular. Regarding the dimensions, its edges are the fifth part of those of Cheops and the slope of about 52º. The three pyramids present remains of the lining that was made of polished limestone, and all have an interior passage to access the burial chamber.
Another funerary construction should also be highlighted: the tomb of Hetepheres I.
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298 ft
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