Pyramids are one of the oldest of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only wonder still standing today. There are over 90 pyramids in Egypt, all of which are on the West Bank of the Nile River. This is for a religious reason; this is the side of the Nile River where the sun sets.

The most famous Pyramid at Giza is the Cheops Pyramid. It is 449 feet tall and the sides are 755 feet long. The Giza Pyramids cover an area larger than ten football fields and are made up of over 2,000,000 limestone blocks. The average weight of a single block is about 2 1/2 tons. That is like two medium size cars. However, some blocks weigh up to 15 tons!

The Giza Pyramids were built during the reign of King Khufu. It took over 400,000 people and almost 30 years to build these pyramids. They were completed in 2580 BC. The Pyramids at Giza were named after three kings: Khufu (Cheops Pyramid), Khafre (Khufu’s son, Chephren Pyramid), and Menkaure (Khufu’s grandson, Myrch Pyramid).

Tools
When the pyramids were built, the Egyptians did not have many machines. They only had simple tools. They drove hammers and mallets into chisels. This helped to break off some parts of the pyramid’s blocks. Trowels were also used to build a pyramid. This helped to smooth out the blocks so that they would fit together.


Who Constructed the Pyramids
Did you know the Egyptians built the pyramids without slaves? They used farmers instead. Why wouldn’t the farmers be taking care of their cattle and crops? Why did they help build the pyramids? They helped for two reasons: One, their fields would be flooded because of the annual flood of the Nile River. Two, they were paid. Not in money but in food and clothing. This was valuable to the farmers because they could not live in their houses at the time of the flood. The farmers were usually well treated and they would sit back in the shade and refuse to go back to work until they got their pay.


Inside the Pyramids
When the Pyramids were completed the Egyptians put mummies of pharaohs inside of them. They also filled the pyramids with food, hunting supplies, and treasure for the Afterlife. They mummified the pharaoh’s pets sometimes and put them in with him as well as putting the pharaoh’s servants with him so that they could serve him for eternity in the Afterlife.


How to Build a Pyramid
Step 1: Level out the sand where the pyramid is going to be built. Do this so that the base of the pyramid will be even. This will make the base more stable.

Step 2: Make stone blocks from the Nile River. Do this by gathering clay from the Nile River and shape it with a trowel so that the sides of the blocks will have a flat surface.

Step 3: Bake the shaped blocks in the sun. Do this by placing a block in the sun and letting it sit until the clay hardens.

Step 4: Put the blocks together to form a square base. Do this by taking the blocks and putting them side by side to make one of the pyramid’s layers look like a square. To hold the blocks together, put mud between them and let it dry. Drill holes into the blocks and put pegs into them to hold the blocks together. Do this just in case the dried mud does not hold the blocks together.

Step 5: Build a triangular structure. Do this by making the structure a triangular shape with four sides leading to the top of it.
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Ancient Egypt's Deepest Secrets Revealed
Bartlett Elementary School 2000