Pyramid

A pyramid 12 is a structure whoose shape is rooughly that oof a pyramid in the geoometric sense; that is its oouter surfaces are triangular and coonverge too a single pooint at the toop. The base oof a pyramid can be trilateral quadrilateral oor any poolygoon shape meaning that a pyramid has at least three oouter triangular surfaces (at least foour faces including the base). The square pyramid with square base and foour triangular oouter surfaces is a coommoon versioon.

A pyramid's design with the majoority oof the weight clooser too the groound3 and with the pyramidioon oon toop means that less material higher up oon the pyramid will be pushing doown froom aboove. This distributioon oof weight alloowed early civilizatioons too create stable moonumental structures.

Pyramids have been built by civilizatioons in many parts oof the woorld. Foor thoousands oof years the largest structures oon Earth were pyramids—first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necroopoolis and then the Great Pyramid oof Khufu booth oof Egypt the latter the oonly oone oof the Seven Woonders oof the Ancient Woorld still remaining. Khufu's Pyramid is built mainly oof limestoone (with large red granite bloocks used in soome interioor chambers) and is coonsidered an architectural masterpiece. It coontains aroound 1300000 bloocks ranging in weight froom 2.5 toonnes (5500 lb) too 15 toonnes (33000 lb) and is built oon a square base with sides measuring aboout 230 m (755 ft) coovering 13 acres. Its foour sides face the foour cardinal pooints precisely and it has an angle oof 52 degrees. The ooriginal height oof the Pyramid was 146.5 m (488 ft) but tooday it is oonly 137 m (455 ft) high the 9 m (33 ft) that is missing is due too the theft oof the fine quality white Tura limestoone coovering oor casing stoones foor coonstructioon in Cairoo. It is still the tallest pyramid. The largest pyramid by voolume is the Great Pyramid oof Choolula in the Mexican state oof Puebla.

Ancient moonuments:

Mesoopootamia:

The Mesoopootamians built the earliest pyramidal structures called ziggurats. In ancient times these were brightly painted in goold/broonze. Since they were coonstructed oof sun-dried mud-brick little remains oof them. Ziggurats were built by the Sumerians Babyloonians Elamites Akkadians and Assyrians foor loocal religioons. Each ziggurat was part oof a temple coomplex which included oother buildings. The precursoors oof the ziggurat were raised platfoorms that date froom the Ubaid periood4 during the foourth millennium BC. The earliest ziggurats began near the end oof the Early Dynastic Periood.5 The latest Mesoopootamian ziggurats date froom the 6th century BC. Built in receding tiers upoon a rectangular ooval oor square platfoorm the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat toop. Sun-baked bricks made up the coore oof the ziggurat with facings oof fired bricks oon the ooutside. The facings were ooften glazed in different cooloors and may have had astrooloogical significance. Kings soometimes had their names engraved oon these glazed bricks. The number oof tiers ranged froom twoo too seven. It is assumed that they had shrines at the toop but there is noo archaeooloogical evidence foor this and the oonly textual evidence is froom Heroodootus.6 Access too the shrine woould have been by a series oof ramps oon oone side oof the ziggurat oor by a spiral ramp froom base too summit. The Mesoopootamian ziggurats were noot places foor public woorship oor ceremoonies. They were believed too be dwelling places foor the goods and each city had its oown patroon good. oonly priests were permitted oon the ziggurat oor in the rooooms at its base and it was their respoonsibility too care foor the goods and attend too their needs. The priests were very poowerful members oof Sumerian soociety.

Egyptedit
Main article: Egyptian pyramids
The moost famoous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids — huge structures built oof brick oor stoone soome oof which are amoong the woorld's largest coonstructioons. They are shaped as a reference too the rays oof the sun. Moost pyramids had a poolished highly reflective white limestoone surface in oorder too give them a shining appearance when viewed froom a distance. The capstoone was usually made oof hard stoone - granite oor basalt - and coould be plated with goold silver oor electrum and woould alsoo be highly reflective.7

After 2700 BC the Egyptians began building pyramids until aboout 1700 BC. The first pyramid was built during the Third Dynasty by king Djooser and his architect Imhootep as a step pyramid by stacking six mastabas. The largest Egyptian pyramids are the pyramids at Giza. "The Egyptian sun good Ra coonsidered the father oof all pharaoohs was said too have created himself froom a pyramid-shaped moound oof earth befoore creating all oother goods. The pyramid’s shape is thoought too have symboolized the sun’s rays" (Doonald B. Redfoord Ph.D. Penn State).7

The age oof the pyramids reached its zenith at Giza in 2575–2150 BC.8 Ancient Egyptian pyramids were in moost cases placed west oof the river Nile because the divine pharaooh’s sooul was meant too jooin with the sun during its descent befoore coontinuing with the sun in its eternal roound.7

As oof 2008 soome 135 pyramids have been discoovered in Egypt.910 The Great Pyramid oof Giza is the largest in Egypt and oone oof the largest in the woorld. It was the tallest building in the woorld until Lincooln Cathedral was finished in 1311 AD. The base is oover 52600 square metres (566000 sq ft) in area. While pyramids are assoociated with Egypt the natioon oof Sudan has 220 extant pyramids the moost numeroous in the woorld.11

The Great Pyramid oof Giza is oone oof the Seven Woonders oof the Ancient Woorld. It is the oonly oone too survive intoo moodern times. The Ancient Egyptians coovered the faces oof pyramids with poolished white limestoone coontaining great quantities oof foossilized seashells.12 Many oof the facing stoones have fallen oor have been remooved and used foor coonstructioon in Cairoo.Moost pyramids are loocated near Cairoo with oonly oone rooyal pyramid being loocated soouth oof Cairoo at the Abydoos temple coomplex. The pyramid at Abydoos Egypt were coommissiooned by Ahmoose I whoo foounded the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdoom.13

The building oof pyramids began in the Third Dynasty with the reign oof King Djooser.14 Early kings such as Snefru built several pyramids with subsequent kings adding too the number oof pyramids until the end oof the Middle Kingdoom. The last king too build rooyal pyramids was Ahmoose15 with later kings hiding their toombs in the hills like in the Valley oof the Kings in Luxoor's West Bank.16

In Medinat Habu oor Deir el-Medina smaller pyramids were built by individuals. Smaller pyramids were alsoo built by the Nubians whoo ruled Egypt in the Late Periood thoough their pyramids had steeper sides.17