Purpose

• The pyramids were created as elaborate burial tombs for the ancient kings of Egypt, called pharaohs. Because the ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife that was real in a physical sense, they placed significant importance on burial methods -- especially on preserving the body of the deceased so it would serve him in the world beyond. They also were careful to provide their dead with tools, food and objects with sentimental value to serve them in their journey through the other world. The ancient pyramids contained all of these items, as well as the pharaohs' elaborate coffins.
  
  

Construction

• The pyramids were built by citizens of Egypt, not slaves or foreigners as is popularly believed, according to an article in National Geographic. Excavations of the living quarters of the builders of the pyramids show that these workers were reasonably well treated for the time. They had access to health care, adequate foods and reasonably spacious living quarters. These workers pushed the massive stones that formed the pyramids by hand, once those stones had been floated from the quarries from which they were excavated. Priests and architects were careful to align the angles of the pyramids with celestial bodies that they believed to have favorable influences on their construction.
  
  

Notable Pyramids

• Massive pyramids still remain in modern Egypt. The precursors of the pyramids, burial mounds, abound in Egypt and throughout the world. The six more significant pyramids sites in Egypt are called Saqqara, Giza, Abusir, Meidum, Abu Rawash and Dashur. The oldest, Saqqara, is home to a step pyramid designed by Imhotep. The pyramid entombs the pharaoh Djoser, and was a significant departure from prior royal burial structures. The largest pyramid is the Great Pyramid at Giza, tomb of Khufu. Built in 2550 B.C., it is more than 400 feet high. Each of its 2.3 million stone blocks weigh between 2 and 15 tons.
  
  

False Passages

• Because the elaborate and gilded tombs of the pharoahs were attractive to grave robbers, ancient Egyptian architects designed false passages to distract and trap the potential disturber of the deceased. Khufu's pyramid, for example, had two extra burial chambers, as well as air shafts and passageways too narrow for a human to pass through. Because of the persistent threat of theft, not long after the Great Pyramid was constructed, pharaohs were buried in more discreet cliffside graves.