Project II) Ancient Pyramids: Egypt

"Art is not limited to what goes on a canvas. Art involves anything that comes from the mind and the heart. For example, architecture." 
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Architecture has long marveled many people, more specifically the ancient buildings.
One Of the only 7 ancient wonders of the world are the Egyptian Pyramids. These massive edifices stand as tombs for the ancient Pharaohs, queens, and people of Egypt. Essentially these were used as very elegant tombs for the high ranking officials in the Egyptian government. There are three large pyramids that sit on Egyptian land. These three pyramids were constructed by three nobles, which are: Khufu, Khafre, and Mentaure. All three of these men were Pharaohs in the land of Egypt. The largest of the three pyramids is the one that was built by Khufu. This specific edifice is much more intricate than that of Khafre or Mentaure’s tombs.

I personally thought that the information within these articles was highly useful, interesting, and important. A lot of times the pyramids are often overlooked or forgotten about. The pyramids are also not understood all the way. I found it interesting how no one truly knows how these massive tombs were built. Most scholars think that there were teams of 2000 men that were broken down into smaller subgroups of 200, then further into subgroups of 20. They believe that these men were peasants that lived nearby. These peasants -a group of 20- could haul one 2.5 ton brick in about 20 minutes. This is so interesting to me in an aspect of this question: how did they do this without modern day tools? Today we have a lot of machines that can complete these tasks for us -yet the ancient Egyptians were able to complete the strenuous task of building 146 meter tall pyramids with their own hands. I truly find this remarkable, and I believe that we all should find this remarkable. The ancients were able to find a way, persevere, and succeed with accomplishing such a feat.

In the year 1979 the pyramids were officially placed on the UNESCO world heritage site list. This remarkable engineering and building feat needs to be preserved. Khufu’s tomb is the largest and most elegant out of all of the others. With that being said, his pyramid is estimated to have been built out of roughly 2,300,000 bricks. I truly find this interesting as I had not known this before. The statistics behind these works of art is unimaginable. With that being said, the monolith was made out of gypsum plaster. On the inside of the tomb sat many large boats that were roughly 60 feet in length. These boats were believed to help the spirit of the Pharaoh travel to the afterlife safely and effectively. These ancient people had interesting theories like that. I personally like their way of thinking very logically. People wanted to ensure that the kings would travel home safely after death. The fanciness of Khufu’s tomb is still preserved to this day, which is why it still remains as one of the ancient wonders of the world.

The second tomb that is much smaller was made by Khafre. Gneiss has been found in this specific tomb. During the reign of Khafre they also constructed the Sphinx. This is a large and long sculpture of a lion. The head is the head of the pharaoh. I learned that this symbolized royalty and strength. These Egyptian people thought of their pharaohs a lot. Creating architecture was to honor their service. I also thought it was interesting how the sphinx has the head of the pharaoh yet the body of a lion. It almost looks disproportionate. The nature of the Egyptians was to honor their rulers.
The Pyramids were not just simply for the pharaohs or simply as a landmark that would stand the test of time, but rather they were a symbol. Symbols have been purely prominent throughout time. A symbol is something with a deep meaning or something with such importance. Today we often use symbols to communicate one with another. When we text we use emojis to convey information. This was the same case for the Egyptians with the pyramids. I enjoyed learning about the deeper meaning behind these works of seemingly impossible art. I loved their philosophies behind the purpose of this art form. The pyramid shape was meant to point up towards the sun. This shape can also be a reference to the sun’s rays. When the sun shines it kind of spreads out from a high concentration to a lower and wider concentration. I love the purpose and hidden meaning behind the Khufu pyramids. This brings me to the next point in the purpose. When construction was under way for the pyramids they staggered the bricks not only to make the pyramid shape, but to make a staircase. From past history classes I have learned that ancient Egyptians were strong believers in the afterlife. The greatest achievement to these people was being able to reach the afterlife. They staggered the bricks to make a staircase up to the afterlife, or known as heaven. I believe this is highly interesting because of their odd beliefs. It is not possible to build a tower towards the afterlife, but that is seemingly what they believed.

In the end, I chose to research the pyramids because they have long intrigued me. Not much it taught about the pyramids in the school system. This was the perfect opportunity to learn and I am glad that I did. I thought everything about the articles was highly interesting. The most prominent thing that stood out to me was the true meaning behind the pyramids. The fact that they were built to imitate the sun’s rays, a staircase to the afterlife, a monolith towards heaven, and as a monument for the rulers. These wonders of the world have long stood the test of time, and still remain standing to this day and will remain in the future. Just what, maybe what is the truth behind these architectural feats? 

Sources:

Calvert, Amy. “Pyramid of Khufu (Article) | Khan Academy.” Khan Academy , Khan Acadamy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/egypt-art/predynastic-old-kingdom/a/old-kingdom-pyramid-of-khufu. 

Calvert, Amy. “The Great Pyramids of Giza (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/egypt-art/x7e914f5b:predynastic-early-dynastic-old-kingdom/a/old-kingdom-the-great-pyramids-of-giza.
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Calvert, Amy. “Www.da.khanacademy.org.” Khan Academy , Khan Academy, https://www.da.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/egypt-art/predynastic-old-kingdom/a/old-kingdom-pyramid-of-khafre-and-the-great-sphinx. 

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Though-out history art has been reflected back in the buildings and architecture. Each work proves to be unique. A part of the ancient wonders of the world, the pyramids have taught me a lot about both history and art. I deeply enjoyed this little research project. I always love to learn about history and the wonderful things that this world has to offer. I think it is so neat how the Egyptians were able to curate these massive tombs for their royalty. Still to this day, these structures cover the ground in Egypt. After researching these more I cannot help but want to travel back to Egypt so I can see these wonders.