http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ mirrored file For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== ** *The Pyramids sprang up... * */over centuries./* _____________________________ *MYTH:* One of the most common misconceptions promoted by authors of "Alternative History" is the idea that the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza suddenly appeared overnight, from a land that had no culture, no government, or no history of creating megalithic structures. *FACT: * To the informed researcher of Egyptology, however, this notion contradicts the evidence. To understand the history of pyramids in the land we now call Egypt, we must go back to a time before the first kings, before the first instances of writing even occurred. We must examine burial practices in the time before the Dynasties of Egypt even began (as recorded by the King's Lists at various sites around Egypt.) This age, creatively named the "Pre-Dynastic Age" of Egyptian history, is a time when the elements that would one day be Pharaonic Egypt were all bubbling together, like a witch's cauldron. It is in the Pre-Dynastic era that we first find examples of burial customs. At various sites in the area, we find bodies that have been placed under the sands of the Sahara, facing the rising sun (east). Eventually, these burials came to be marked with stones placed on top of the burial mound. Over time, this single stone became a pile of mud bricks, that took the shape of a long, low bench. To this day, tombs of this design still carry the name, "*Mastaba*", which is the Arabic word for "bench". As more centuries passed, these mastabas became large, ornate structures...but they still served precisely the same purpose: a marker for a burial. Putting on our "detective hats", we now ask the very practical question: /*How did ancient Egyptians make the transition from mastabas to pyramids*/? And, even more importantly: /*What is the evidence that this transition occurred*/? If there was a transition, we would expect to find mastabas that became less like mastabas, and more like pyramids. As mastabas progressed and got larger, they also ceased being made exclusively of mudbrick. There is evidence that some mastabas from the Second Dynasty (approximately 2700BCE) were actually mudbrick structures, encased in stone. (Remember... pyramids are made of stone.) By the Third Dynasty, in the year 2650BCE, we see a technological innovation that would complete our requirement for evidence. Imhotep, the vizier and high priest to King Djoser, was in charge of constructing the mastaba tomb for his king. As other tombs built before this one had become larger and larger, it was up to Imhotep to surpass the deeds done by his predecessors. One need only examine the Second Dynasty mastaba tomb of 3505 at Saqqara to see how incredibly complex the tombs had become. /*Mastaba 3505, showing the descending entrance staircase that was blocked by large stone portcullis slabs. As well as the burial chamber, side chambers were probably magazines. *(Lehner, The Complete Pyramids, p. 81)/ Imhotep decided to take the extraordinary step of building multiple mastabas next to each other... /*and then adding another layer of mastabas to the top*/! By the time it was completed, King Djoser's mastaba tomb had become a composite of mastabas, and was now not only the tallest building ever to have been constructed by human beings... but was also the first known pyramid-shaped structure ever built on Earth. As with the later mastabas of the time, Imhotep encased the entire mudbrick structure in a layer of local limestone. The phases of construction, as well as the mastaba "undercarriage", give the Step Pyramid of Saqqara it's distinct appearance. Today, it is possibly the second or third most famous pyramid in all the world, but it holds the distinction of definitely being the oldest. From these extraordinary beginnings, a new age was dawning in Egypt. No longer would the king... a living god... be satisfied with a mere mastaba. Now, the king would demand and deserve a /*new*/ kind of burial edifice. As it was important to keep the king happy in this life (so that when he died and became a greater god in the next), the entire culture undertook the task of creating these now towering monuments, designed to preserve, protect and honor their god-king. In less than 100 years (approximately 2550BCE) a new king by the name of Sneferu (see also: Snofru, Snefru) made a new advancement that would change our world once again. Rather than using stones of relatively small size (less than a ton apiece) to encase mudbrick, he began building his pyramid of huge stones... megaliths. (/mega-/, meaning large; /-lith/, meaning stone). Mudbrick could only support a pyramid of relatively small proportions. Stone, however, could hold up a mountain. It appears that Sneferu tried more than once, as well. The Bent pyramid at Dahshur, is known to have been built by Sneferu. There are hieroglyphic inscriptions (markings left by the workers) still visible on some of the stones and around the mortuary temple on the east side. There are no markings inside the pyramid... this was fairly normal at the time, although we do not know for sure why. To the south of this pyramid lies a smaller pyramid (only 53 feet tall) with a unique interior design (more will be said of this later.) This pyramid, by all accounts from the evidence, was built on unstable ground, and the foundation began to sink, due to the enormous weight being stacked on top. (Remember...they were new at this kind of work.) This structural failure is evidenced by cracks in the passageways of the pyramid that anyone with proper permission can examine to this day. When this pyramid began to settle, the slope of the exterior was changed to allow much less stone to be added, and then the casing was finished. This is what gives the Bent pyramid of Dahshur its unique appearnce. Sneferu also built a pyramid at Meidum, which had a slightly less aggressive slope (51^o 50' 35"). Little is known of this pyramid, because it appears to have been "scavenged" in later dynasties by other kings. Some have speculated that it collapsed, but the fact that no evidence of any "disaster" has been found under the blocks that have been cleared from the bottom, in addition to inscriptions that indicate other kings used the blocks, suggests otherwise. The crowning jewel in Sneferu's architectural collection, however, was the Red Pyramid at Dahshur. Just 1 kilometer north of the Bent, it represents the first true pyramid ever built for a king. In this structure. Sneferu's viziers and foremen finally got everything right. It's angle, a low 44.44-degree slope, costs the pyramid some height, but guaranteed that it wouldn't have the structural collapse problems of its southern neighbor. The stone over the entrance is a massive block of limestone, weighing over 15-tons, by my own measurement and calculation. The length on each side, is a staggering 220 meters. Only one Egyptian pyramid would ever surpass it in it's "footprint". To that honor, went the pyramid of Sneferu's son... King Khufu. Far from "springing up overnight" in a cultural vacuum, the pyramids of Egypt were a millinium-long evolution from simple stones to massive monuments, all with the same purpose: to honor and mark the life and death, and rebirth of a King. _____________________________ For an excellent summation of the Dynasty III and IV pyramids, "X" marks the spot... _____________________________