Ancient Egyptian Pyramids Facts: The Ultimate Guide

How on Earth Did They Build Them?

Now for the big question: how did they accomplish this incredible feat of engineering? As you’ll see when you visit, their methods were meticulous.

1. Choosing the Perfect Location

First, they had to choose the perfect location. This wasn’t a random choice; in fact, the site had to meet several crucial criteria:

• The West Bank: All pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile. This was symbolically vital, as the west was the land of the setting sun and, to them, the land of the dead.
• High Ground: Additionally, the site had to be on a high desert plateau, safely out of reach of the Nile’s annual floods.
• Solid Foundation: They needed a strong bedrock base capable of supporting the immense weight of millions of tons of stone.
• Proximity to the Nile: Crucially, it had to be close enough to the river so they could transport massive blocks by boat.
• Near the Capital: It also needed to be close enough to the capital city for the pharaoh to visit and oversee the construction.

2. Materials and Labor

Next, let’s talk about the workforce and materials. You might have heard myths about slaves, but archaeological evidence from the workers’ village at Giza tells us a different story. We now know the pyramids were built by a dedicated, skilled, and paid workforce who lived in organized communities and were given good food and beer.

As for the materials:

• Core Blocks: The bulk of the pyramids was made from millions of limestone blocks, which they quarried right from the Giza plateau.
• Casing Stones: Originally, the pyramids were covered in a smooth, polished layer of fine white Tura limestone, which they transported by boat from across the Nile. This casing would have made them shine brilliantly in the sun.
• Internal Chambers: For the internal burial chambers, they used harder granite, which they transported over 500 miles from Aswan!

To move these massive stones, they used wooden sledges. We now believe they poured water on the sand in front of the sledge to reduce friction, making it far easier to pull the immense weight. Then, to build upward, they constructed massive earthen ramps.