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A lesson on the massive stone structures built as tombs for the pharaohs.
Imagine building a skyscraper as tall as a 40-story building using only heavy stones and your own hands—no trucks, no cranes, and no electricity! How did the Ancient Egyptians do it?
In Ancient Egypt, the king was called a pharaoh. The Egyptians believed that when a pharaoh died, they started a new journey in the afterlife. To keep the pharaoh's body and treasures safe forever, they built massive stone monuments called pyramids. These weren't just buildings; they were special tombs designed to protect the pharaoh's spirit. Because the pharaoh was seen as a god-king, the pyramid had to be the most magnificent structure ever seen.
Quick Check
What was the main purpose of a pyramid in Ancient Egypt?
Answer
It was a special tomb built to protect the pharaoh's body and treasures for the afterlife.
The most famous pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Giza. It has a huge square base and four sides shaped like triangles that meet at a sharp point at the top. For over 3,800 years, it was the tallest building in the whole world! It stands about feet tall. To build it, workers used over million blocks of stone. If you walked all the way around the bottom, you would walk almost half a mile!
You can imagine the shape of a pyramid by following these steps: 1. Imagine a flat square on the ground. 2. Imagine a single point floating high above the center of that square. 3. Draw a line from each corner of the square up to that single point. 4. You now have four triangles leaning against each other!
Quick Check
What shape is the bottom (base) of a pyramid?
Answer
A square.
How did they move stones that weighed as much as two elephants? They didn't have wheels or engines! Instead, they used teamwork. Thousands of workers used wooden sleds to pull the limestone blocks across wet sand. To get the stones high up, they likely built giant ramps made of mud and brick. By pulling the stones up the slope of the ramp, they could reach the very top of the structure.
If one limestone block weighs tons, and a team of workers needs to move blocks in one day, how many tons are they moving in total?
That is the same weight as about small cars!
Many people used to think slaves built the pyramids, but historians now know that most workers were paid laborers and farmers. When the Nile River flooded the fields and farmers couldn't grow crops, they went to work for the pharaoh. It took about years of hard work and careful planning to finish just one pyramid. It was a giant project that required the whole country to work together.
If a pharaoh becomes king at age and starts building his pyramid immediately, and the project takes years to finish, how old will the pharaoh be when his tomb is finally ready?
Who were the pyramids built for?
What material was most commonly used to build the pyramids?
Ancient Egyptians used giant cranes and trucks to move the stones.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, try to explain to a friend or family member why the pyramids were shaped like triangles and how the workers got the stones to the top.
Practice Activity
Try building your own pyramid model using sugar cubes, LEGO bricks, or even folded paper to see how the square base supports the weight!