Em Hotep! » Pyramids

Khufu Reborn: One Year Later

Shemsu Sesen — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:12:20 +0000

It has been nearly a year now since architect Jean-Pierre Houdin premiered the second phase of his work with the Great Pyramid—Khufu Reborn. How has his work been received so far? Where does the project stand at the moment? Has the Arab Spring affected the progress of Project Khufu? Where do we go from here?

My good friend Marc Chartier of Pyramidales (and more recently of Égypte-actualités, but more on that endeavor later..) had a chance to sit down recently with Jean-Pierre and discuss these questions and more. Thanks to Em Hotep’s partnership with Pyramidales, I am able to bring you the English language version of this interview. Enjoy, and please feel free to join the conversation, as they say…

In January 2011, Pyramidales joined the international press at La Géode in Paris for the premier of Khufu Reborn, the second phase of Jean-Pierre Houdin’s work with the Great Pyramid originally introduced to the world in 2007 with Khufu Revealed. Thanks to the Passion for Innovation program, Jean-Pierre has enjoyed full access to the technology and talent of Dassault Systèmes, the world leader in industrial 3D CAD and simulation, to integrate and test his theories in a virtual environment based on the most thorough surveys of the pyramid and the Giza Plateau to date (you may enter and explore the simulation yourself online here).

Subsequently, Pyramidales fully described and illustrated these new developments regarding the construction and the technical configuration of the Great Pyramid of Giza (see the Pyramidales Interviews in the right sidebar). Now, as we come up on the one year anniversary of Khufu Reborn, Pyramidales again joined Jean-Pierre for a discussion of how the work is progressing, in particular, how the new material covered in “Phase II” has been received and interpreted by expert and amateur enthusiasts of Egyptology and the public in general.

It is with warm gratitude to Jean-Pierre that Pyramidales brings this interview to you.

Pyramidales:

Jean-Pierre Houdin, it has been nearly a year now since you premiered, at an international press conference, the continuation of the work you first presented in Khufu Revealed back in 2007 explaining your research and work regarding the manner of construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Looking back, how do you assess the reactions generated both among the general public and from specialists and experts in the field of Egyptology by these extensions to your original theory?

Jean-Pierre Houdin:

The presentation of Khufu Reborn, on January 27^th, 2011, at la Géode, was already for me the expression of a major vote of confidence from my friends on the “Khufu Team” at Dassault Systèmes. For reasons that have nothing to do with science, no scientific research has been carried out on-site since the revelation, on March 30th, 2007, of the theory of the internal ramp; the result is the inability to get scientific proof of the existence of an internal ramp. Otherwise, the discovery by Dr. Bob Brier, while filming a documentary in 2008, of a large unknown room behind the notch on the north-eastern edge was a clue of great importance.

Given this context, the decision made four years later by the “Khufu Team” to help me, by means of an extraordinary 3D animation, to go even further in my revelations with the announcement of the possible existence of two antechambers next to the King’s Chamber, was for me a major event for the theory. After nearly eight years of silence on this aspect of my work, I can now demonstrate the consistency of this research. No previous researcher has delved as thoroughly into the study of Khufu’s pyramid as we have, both with regard to the architectural project drawn up by the designers of the time as well as the implementation of the project.

In addition to the satisfaction they bring, public reactions are quite telling: one can observe in my proposals the gradual development of my theory and how each progression of the work consistently builds a more complete picture, based on simplicity and logic, which fully answers the questions that are related to the construction and purpose of the Great Pyramid. The public is finally able to see the genius of the ancient Egyptians by understanding how an “inexplicable” mystery—how the Great Pyramid was built—involved neither magic nor miracles, just tried and true construction methods. The theory explains how simple human intervention addressed seemingly impossible tasks. Now, about the construction specialists, there again the response has been very positive. The 3D presentation spoke their language very convincingly.

Finally, let’s talk about experts in Egyptology … the French ones! They have not deigned to usefully express themselves since the initial presentation of the theory, so why should it be different now, particularly if the generally positive reception the work has gotten elsewhere reflects them in an unflattering light? In contrast, many foreign Egyptologists have shown a growing interest in my work.

Unfortunately, as always, traditional Egyptological explanations about the pyramid of Khufu are based on a trompe-l’oeil: a north-south cross-section showing three rooms, some corridors and the Grand Gallery. Looking at the inner works of the pyramid from just this perspective has resulted in theories that simply do not hold up under careful analysis. These theories collapse when examined in light of how the different internal parts are laid out and relate to each other, how the funerary rites and processions would have been conducted, and especially in terms of building principles. Yet the construction of the pyramids during the Fourth Dynasty, with Snefru, Khufu and Khafre, was the result of practical know-how, of course constantly improved, but in the service of architectural continuity.

An example of this sort of misinterpretation is the so-called “rupture” of Khufu, based on the famous north-south cross-section view. This is not a rupture at all. This erroneous conclusion is based on an Egyptological interpretation of the monument, not from an architectural interpretation. But the pyramid was designed by architects, and it takes the perspective of a fellow builder to bring together all the elements in a way that allows us to understanding the intentions of the designers. The stones speak to those who can understand their language … an architect, for example.

Pyramidales:

It seems to me, after a very thorough survey of the literature both in print and on-line that that your name remains primarily associated with the first phase of your work, in particular, with the internal ramp aspect of your theory. In other words, Khufu Revealed is more well-known while Khufu Reborn seems to remain confined to more confidential spheres. Do you feel that the second phase of your work, especially as it relates to the two antechambers next to the King’s Chamber, is encountering some difficulty in gaining traction?

Jean-Pierre Houdin:

This apparent state of affairs is absolutely not related to the “quality” of the information revealed on January 27 (the probable presence of two antechambers close to the King’s Chamber), but to the “quantity” of information that has spread on the web after the press conference. When Khufu Revealed premiered on March 30, 2007, there was an extraordinary “cocktail” between quality and quantity of news, the theory being propelled, thanks to a very innovative presentation in 3D animation and in real time, to the top of the news cycle for more than 24 hours. The news went around the world with the time zones. This type of “state of grace” is exceptional and it clearly set the bar very high for any new statement on the subject.

The purpose of the press conference on January 27, 2011, was quite different: push the theory a little deeper into the minds of people, by revealing the elements (the two antechambers) that could have blurred the message if they had been included in the 2007 presentation. The conference itself was a great success, major French television channels (TF1, FR2, and FR3 in particular) talking extensively about the event in their mid-day and evening news. As for news agencies and newspapers, they have widely spread the information on their side, except for a large agency that has managed to “conveniently” miss the subject, resulting in fewer articles than we enjoyed in 2007.

But I believe that above all, there was a major event nobody could have anticipated or planned for, and which partly stole the show to “Khufu Reborn”: on January 25, 2011, the first news about an embryonic revolutionary movement was arriving from Cairo… on January 27, the day of the conference, the revolution in Tahrir Square was already on the front page in all media. You know what happened next.

Also, when you search the theory on Google, there are more responses related to 2007 than to 2011. This is only linked to the quantity of information available, not to the quality. But I can tell you, and the “Khufu Team” certainly agrees with me, that the message is very well perceived. Every day I receive, from everywhere around the world, many e-mail from passionate people who know a lot about pyramids and who are totally convinced by the overall consistency of the theory.

A visit to the official Khufu Reborn website made by Dassault Systèmes enables visitors to put their “feet on the site” and explore both the theory and the pyramid and its environment in a way that has never been possible before. People can visit the website and see how the entire theory fits together and when they emerge from this journey their emails to me show that they are “getting it” and their understanding of this work leaves little room for doubting the veracity of the theory.

Finally, I conclude on this issue by taking your sentence: “In other words, Khufu Revealed is more well-known while Khufu Reborn seems to remain confined to more confidential spheres

For me, on the front line, I perceive absolutely no confinement. Khufu Reborn perfectly complements Khufu Revealed and anyone who is interested in my work ends up having knowledge of the theory as a whole. The goal is reached. As for the “confidential spheres”, I would say that these terms are more applicable to a very small number of people in the world of Egyptology who have chosen to ignore me. Too bad for them, the dialogue would have been interesting.

Pyramidales:

During your public presentation of Khufu Reborn last January, contacts were established with two experts from Laval University in Quebec, for a possible in-situ observation of the Great Pyramid, using the technique of Multipolar Infrared Vision. Can you share the current status of this project?

And a necessary complement to this question: such a project presupposes an implied agreement at the highest levels of Egyptian Antiquities. Now Egypt has experienced the upheavals that we have all witnessed. Will the appointment of a new Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and a minister of Egyptian Antiquities, possibly open a window to the completion of your project?

Jean-Pierre Houdin:

The collaboration with a team from Laval University, consisting of Professor Xavier Maldague, Matthew Klein and Clemente Ibarra Castanedo, is developing very well. Working meetings were held in June at the university and we have established a specific protocol, with a strategy for the establishment of a mission. In addition, a Multipolar Infrared Vision campaign was set up in Quebec: the experience is being applied to the “Redoute”, a fortified building in the walls of Old Quebec, with local authorities being warmly receptive to the project and amenable to making the building available. We will therefore be able to refine the protocol based on the results acquired during this local project.

This leads me to answer the second part of your question: as always, it is essential that any survey to be carried out on-site is conducted with the cooperation of our Egyptian counterparts and in accordance with the legal authorities of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The current situation in Egypt does not leave a clear vision of what is going on with the SCA, the post of Secretary-General being successively held by several people in a very short time. The current elections are an additional element of uncertainty about the future of this service. It follows that it is unfortunately impossible to see at the moment a “window” to complete the project.

Pyramidales:

Does your theory as formulated in Khufu Reborn represent the culmination of your “reconstitution of the building site” of the Great Pyramid? Or is it likely to have new developments or improvements? If so, what are the new areas of your research?

Jean-Pierre Houdin:

The theory is now globally formulated, funerary architecture is determined, construction processes are detailed and the entire Giza Plateau is integrated into the explanation of the project and its progression. But as in any hypothesis, the details can still be improved. However, they will render the theory even more relevant. I am very pleased because the theory became more refined and simplified while its developments and its logic were enhanced. Every step, every detail, every process, every architectural choice are supported by solid arguments or evidence visible in situ.

Countless 3D simulations conducted with the CATIA software provided by Dassault Systèmes allowed the team to construct a perfect virtual model of the pyramid and its place on the Giza Plateau, and within this environment we were able to simulate and test any concept or potentiality, and it is through this process that the refined theory has emerged. Now, only confrontation with the reality will allow us to correct any differences in detail.

Doubt is part of the research, of course, but it is more and more difficult for me to imagine any other way apart from the technique of “building from the inside” for the construction of the Great Pyramid. When I try to put myself “at the outside” in order to address the issue, and because of all the knowledge I gained during twelve years of research, I always understand quickly that I stumble against an impossibility. I had the time to turn the problem in every way, believe me!

As I often say, Khufu’s pyramid has not arrived on the Giza Plateau by chance: it is the result of an evolution in the art of building from the early mastabas. Having studied all the pyramids built from Djoser up to Menkaure, it is now appropriate that I specify for each one their specific mode of construction, especially the two pyramids of Snefru at Dahshur (the Bent and the Red Pyramids) and Khafre’s pyramid in Giza. If construction “from the inside” is the rule, there will still be variations adapted to each of the monuments in the building processes. The modeling of these pyramids will demonstrate these changes and can only complement and strengthen the principles of the theory.

Pyramidales:

Henri Houdin, Jean-Pierre's father, attentive to his son's research

Khufu’s pyramid is considered the ultimate pyramid architecture on the Giza plateau, the culmination of the skills of the Egyptian builders. Does this mean that this pyramid is unique? Or do you think that the techniques used in its construction – in particular, from your point of view, the internal ramp – have also been used to build other pyramids, Khafre, for example, or Menkaure as well?

Jean-Pierre Houdin:

As I indicated in my previous answer, Khufu’s pyramid is, at the beginning of its construction, the culmination of the expertise of Egyptian builders and is absolutely not a unique monument, although this pyramid is unique in its category (funerary architecture in the heart of the monument). The construction technique of “building from the inside” was applied to all large smooth pyramids built after the Step Pyramid of Saqqara. This does not mean that all smooth pyramids were built in part by an internal ramp. This technical process was only necessary for the large smooth pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty (Bent, Red, Khufu and Khafre … and certainly Meidum). For all other pyramids from Menkaure and after, Egyptians will continue to build “from the inside”, but without recourse to an internal ramp; a construction trench penetrating in one side of the building will be reserved during construction before being recapped at the end of construction. There are traces of trenches in the ruins of the pyramids of Neferirkare and Sahure at Abusir.

Pyramidales:

A fundamental question to me: regarding the multiple contemporary theories which succeed each other in an attempt to decipher – at last! – The “secret of the pyramids”, what are, in your opinion, the strengths, or even more, the skills, that any researcher must or should show in this field?

Jean-Pierre Houdin:

I believe it is important to think first to the monument itself, to understand the design philosophy, to follow the logic of the scalable architecture of the time, to analyze in detail the components, and especially to not come proposing a gadget that could respond to a specific point of construction. The Great Pyramid of Khufu was built using processes that were simple, logical, and controlled, they just did so on a larger scale than before.

The schedule of conditions was clear: build a pyramid, just a pyramid, and not, for example, build a big ramp “at lost” or build locks to build a pyramid. Resources in Egypt were precious, and one had to build without wasting any material or effort. Extracting a stone to build an external ramp was not an end but a step in the life of this stone. Processes tailored to each major stage of construction lowered the cost of construction, because the same stone used in one phase (the external ramp) was recycled in the next phase, becoming a component of the building itself. This is the great art of the Egyptians of the time.

What are the necessary skills? Certainly a good knowledge about construction, that makes sense to me … especially when I see some theories that ignore gravity!

I do not think that we can learn much just from the study of ancient texts, especially when these texts are so few and sketchy. Herodotus is absolutely not sufficient, far from it!

To the contrary, we have to draw upon the totality of knowledge this period has left to us, a surprisingly vast reference library. One can find common parameters, an architectural language and religious principles, and understanding these elements is mandatory to solving these puzzles. By understanding how these principles have been applied elsewhere we can extrapolate how they may have served in the building of Khufu’s Pyramid.

Pyramidales:

You have lent your voice to encouraging and promoting the Earth Pyramid project developed by Steve Ward. Why do you think this initiative is promising? What does it reveal?

Jean-Pierre Houdin:

I have been in touch with Steve Ward for more than a year. Steve found my theory simple, logical, ecological and perfectly suited to his project to build a modern pyramid today. So there was already a likeable side in this encounter via the Internet. But what attracted me the most was the idea of the Earth Pyramid Project: to build a monument intended to cross the centuries for future generations, involving the younger generations of today in a large rallying movement.

Why is this initiative promising?

We never get something for nothing. The men and women who will support this initiative are themselves those who will make the initiative promising. But the Earth Pyramid project has a lot going for it that makes me hopeful: the project is positive, constructive, generous, peaceful, somewhat utopian (we will always need dreamers), dedicated to children around the world who have a sacred need to have another vision of Earth than the one they see all day long in the TV: wars, crises, disasters, famines … there is nothing very positive in all this.

So when someone is deeply motivated, fights for a noble and smart idea (transmitting messages from children intended to be read in a thousand years), I support it, it’s as simple as that. It’s a bit of fresh air in a quite turbulent world. And the symbol of the pyramid containing a “time-capsule” is a great idea. It is clear that this type of monument can defy time without too much trouble … These are just the actions of men that can disrupt their life: who would dare attack a symbol dedicated to children from around the world?

The Hidden History of Egypt with Terry Jones: Video Review

Shemsu Sesen — Sat, 08 May 2010 10:50:11 +0000

And now for something completely different! Terry Jones of Monty Python fame teams up with Egyptologist Dr. Joann Fletcher to give us a look at everyday life in ancient Egypt by comparing it to everyday life in modern Egypt.

Food and fun, work and play, you will be surprised by how much remains the same. Summary, analysis, and some really cool video clips wait inside!

The Hidden History of Egypt is presented by Terry Jones, with Egyptologist and fellow Brit, Dr. Joann Fletcher serving as his guide and advisor. It was written by Terry Jones, Alan Ereira, and Phil Grabsky, and was directed and produced by Phil Grabsky, in conjunction with Seventh Art Productions, for the Discovery Channel (original air date—January 20, 2002).

In The Hidden History of Egypt, comedian, philosopher, and social commentator Terry Jones seeks to uncover the mysteries of one of ancient Egypt’s most secretive orders—the everyday man and woman. With all the attention given to celebrity mummies, touring treasure troves, and custody battles over “stolen” artifacts, it’s easy to forget about the people who paid the taxes, crafted the treasures, and built the monuments, which Terry Jones dismisses as the “funeral arrangements for some crazed megalomaniac.”

But this documentary doesn’t rely solely on ancient chronicles to bring the citizens of Dynastic Egypt to life (although there is certainly plenty of that as well). Instead, Mr. Jones asserts that in many ways life in Egypt remains unchanged, and to get an idea of how the average ancient Egyptian lived, one needn’t look further than how ordinary Egyptians live today.

Click here to view the embedded video.

To assist him in this undertaking, Mr. Jones enlists the expertise of Dr. Joann Fletcher to act as his (and our) guide. The mix is a good one and it is clear the Mr. Jones and Dr. Fletcher are genuinely enjoying their tour of ancient and modern Egypt. Dr. Fletcher is equally at home in the field and in the Egyptian social milieu, and Mr. Jones’ natural wit—in all senses of the word—is both entertaining and thought provoking in equal measure.

The video opens with scenes of modern agrarian life and Dr. Fletcher’s observation that one of the key similarities between the ancient and the modern Egyptians is their spirit of cooperation. Neighbors help neighbors with planting and harvesting, building houses and maintaining common resources, and putting on social events and celebrations, just as they have always done.

The collective activities of average individuals working together toward common goals is a recurring theme throughout the video, and Dr. Fletcher points out that it is this communal character that transformed the Giza Plateau into the Sphinx, the temples, and the pyramids.

This leads into a montage of clips of ancient builders that seems to have been culled from classic movies and outdated documentaries showing slaves and citizens-in-duress toiling under threat of the pharaoh’s whip. Fortunately Terry counters this with the radical notion that the pyramid builders were not slaves, but free people working in a collaborative effort (for more on this, see Who Built the Pyramids? Part 1: The Lost City of the Pyramid Builders, here on Em Hotep).

In order to get a more realistic depiction of how the ordinary ancient Egyptian spent a typical day at work, we begin at Saqqara with a visit to the tomb of Ti “the Rich.” Ti was an important Fifth Dynasty court official whose rather large estate employed an equally large workforce. Apparently Ti was given to wandering his grounds and eavesdropping on his employees, and many of the rather mundane interactions he observed found their way onto the walls of his tomb.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Actually, tomb scenes depicting average people going about the business of their average days are not all that unusual in Egypt, as the ideal afterlife was basically a continuation of an ideal life. These portrayals provide us with a detailed look at ancient life, which this documentary makes good use of by interjecting clips of modern Egyptians conducting the same activities in much the same way.

Another example visited by The Hidden History of Egypt is the tomb of master craftsman Sennedjem at Deir el-Medina, a sort of up-scale village adjacent to the Valley of the Kings where the builders of the royal tombs dwelt. Like Ti, Sennedjem had his tomb decorated with scenes of how he envisioned his afterlife, which included working in his garden with his wife. Again we see video clips of modern Egyptians doing the same work with the same tools.

We then take a walk down into Deir el-Medina for a tour of Sennedjem’s house. Dr. Fletcher explains the architecture of the house and shows evidence of how the furniture was arranged, food and water were stored, and how and where the family would have slept. This is followed by a trip to a modern working-class Egyptian house where we see how little things have changed in 4,500 years, from the architecture down to the furniture.

The Hidden History of Egypt stands apart from other Egyptological documentaries in its ability to get its point across without the use of reenactments and computer animations. Not that there is anything wrong with reenactments and animations per se, it’s just that this documentary doesn’t need them. The juxtaposition of ancient artistic renderings with modern video footage and comparing ancient sites to currently occupied spaces leaves little doubt that the secret lives of ordinary ancient Egyptians are not so secret after all. They are still going on every day throughout Egypt.

The video turns next to comparing the ancient and modern palates with a trip to the suq. Winding our way through the marketplace we again find that the Egyptians have found little need for change. But the scenes of beer and winemaking and the baking of bread are interrupted when Terry and Joann arrive at a tailor where they commission a kilt and robe ensemble for Terry based on an ancient pattern provided by Joann.

While the tailor weaves his ancient magic, we resume our culinary comparison with a trip to the village of Gurna, located across the Nile from Luxor, not far from Sennedjem’s house. Over a lunch of beer and a variety of breads, Dr. Fletcher explains that bread and beer were the fuel that powered the pyramid builders. Unlike our modern lackluster bread, the fare of the ancient Egyptians provided the calories needed to put in a hard day of cutting stone and dragging blocks.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The documentary provides another interesting example of the ancient surviving into the modern with a discussion of how the ancient Egyptian language was kept alive by, of all institutions, the Coptic Church. When the Roman Emperor Theodosius banned pagan temples, the video explains, his edict had the collateral effect of closing the schools, libraries, medical centers, and legal courts of Egypt. All civil life was tied to the temples, and when they closed they took with them the written, and eventually the spoken, language.

But just as the Catholic Church preserved Latin, the Coptic Church retained a distant linguistic cousin of ancient Egyptian as the official language of the liturgy. Terry Jones points out that modern Coptic is probably as distinct from ancient Egyptian as modern English is from Anglo Saxon, but it was sufficient to help with decoding the hieroglyphs after the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799.

The Hidden History of Egypt makes other comparisons between ancient and modern Egyptians, and modernity does not necessarily always come out on top. In one segment we learn that the engineers who moved the colossal temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel were not able to reassemble it with the same precision as the ancients, and in another segment we find that women in ancient Egypt had superior rights and equality to much of the world today.

And the Monty Python alumnus has his trademark moments of humor, such as when he dons his ancient Egyptian kilt and robe, along with traditional makeup and a stylish (by Old Kingdom standards) wig, for a walk around the modern streets. Judging from the reactions he gets, some things have clearly changed over the millennia.

But The Hidden History of Egypt is by no means cheeky, it easily stands toe to toe with the best Egyptological documentaries. The humor is functional in supporting the thesis that not only have the tools and trades of the ancients survived the ages, the sometimes quirky and sometimes sublime character of the Egyptian people endures to this day. Mr. Jones concludes that while the pharaohs and their riches have been preserved as public property in the world’s museums,

Perhaps the real immortality is to be found among ordinary men and women, living lives that have changed very little since the days of the pharaohs. Perhaps the hidden history ancient Egypt has been here all along, under our noses.

After viewing The Hidden History of Egypt, I am inclined to agree.

Who Built the Pyramids? Part 1: The Lost City of the Pyramid Builders

Shemsu Sesen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:24:17 +0000

In the first part of January the media began breaking the news that the old yarn about slaves having built the pyramids had finally been dispelled. Dr. Zahi Hawass of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities announced that three large tombs had been newly discovered very close to the pyramid itself. As the final resting place of some of the overseers of the workforce, both the structure and location of the tombs made it clear that these were no slaves.

Dr. Hawass’ statement that “These tombs were built beside the king’s pyramid, which indicates that these people were not by any means slaves” (source) was widely repeated in the press under headlines announcing that the belief that slaves had built the pyramids could now be retired. But Egyptologists have long known that the Slave Hypothesis was pure Hollywood.

Along with Hawass, Egyptologist Mark Lehner began uncovering the truth of the pyramid builders more than 20 years ago. Lehner was consumed with the question of where such a large workforce could have lived. After conducting the first detailed “to scale” survey of the Giza Plateau, he narrowed his focus to the area around the enigmatic Wall of the Crow, a colossal wall with no apparent related structures.

Lehner hit pay dirt, and his dogged pursuit of these ancient builders led to the excavation of the very city where they lived and worked—a large complex of barracks and permanent housing, distribution centers, industrial sites, and scribal workshops. The recently discovered tombs tell us something of the status of the workers, but the Lost City of the Pyramid Builders gives us the everyday details of their lives.

Most of Em Hotep’s readers will be familiar with Dr. Lehner and his work. But if you are not, then his total absence from the recent news stories may have left you with an incomplete picture of just how strong the case against the Slavery Hypothesis really is. In this three-part series we will take a look at what Lehner discovered about the pyramid builders. We will examine the evidence that the workforce had a surprisingly modern division of labor, followed by a tour of the city itself.

The headlines said it all

“Egyptian Tomb Find Suggests Pyramid Builders Weren’t Slaves” (Bloomberg). “Egypt tombs suggest free men built pyramids, not slaves” (BBC). The Times Live snarkily distinguished that “Great pyramid builders were wage slaves.” And speaking with sonorous authority, Al-Ahram Weekly declared “Building on facts: A new discovery at Giza plateau has finally debunked Herodotus’ assertion that the Pyramids were built by slaves.”

Some sources at least acknowledged that this news wasn’t so new after all. Discover Magazine announced “Egypt Finds Tombs of Pyramid Builders, And More Evidence They Were Free Men.” The Canadian Press stated “Egypt says newly discovered tombs provide more evidence slaves did not build pyramids” [article no longer online]. JWeekly.com summarized “Egypt unveils more proof that Jews did not build pyramids.”

The headlines said it all, but the articles, unfortunately, did not.

Egyptologist Dr. Mark Lehner (Courtesy of PBS, from the documentary “This Old Pyramid”)

Thanks to an oversight, Mark Lehner’s name was excluded from the original press release and official blog report by Zahi Hawass regarding the recent discovery. To be clear, Dr. Lehner was not directly involved in the discovery of the new tombs. But to leave him out of any discussion of the debunking of the Slave Hypothesis is like a history of the Theory of Evolution that fails to mention Charles Darwin.

Tombs of the workers overlooking Pyramid City (Photo by Jon Bodsworth)

Fortunately Dr. Hawass has amended his blog entry to mention Dr. Lehner by name, but the presses have rolled on to new headlines. Again to be clear, the importance of the tombs of the overseers cannot be overstated. They provide corroborative evidence of how the labor was organized, and their proximity to the king’s final resting place removes any question of their status—they were not slaves.

But this discovery is hardly the straw that broke the Slave Hypothesis’ back, as suggested by the media coverage. It could be argued that while the overseers themselves were not slaves, the laborers were. After all, not all of the workers who toiled on the pyramids were buried in cemeteries surrounding the pharaohs. A feasible alternative hypothesis is that this privilege was reserved for freemen, while the rest of the laborers were slaves.

To really know about the pyramid builders we have to look beyond where they were buried to where they lived. Does the archaeological record point to the presence of a large slave population on the Giza Plateau?

First let’s set the parameters of the discussion: what constitutes slave labor and what does not?

The Slave Hypothesis

The Slave Hypothesis is actually pretty simple: the pyramids and other structures were built by slaves, usually depicted as being Semitic. This latter part is easily dismissed. Semitic people do not begin to appear in Egypt in great numbers until the Middle Kingdom Period, particularly during the Twelfth Dynasty. Of this much we can be certain—whether the pyramids were built by slaves or freemen, they were not built by Israelites, or proto-Israelites, or anyone else connected with the Moses of the Bible. It just didn’t happen.

We owe this myth in part to a loose reading of the Book of Exodus, which gives the account of Moses leading the Children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Although there have been Semitic slaves and kings alike in Egypt (see the Hyksos Dynasty), there is no actual archaeological or historical evidence for the Exodus accounts, even when stripped of its more supernatural elements.

Charlton Heston as Moses

But the Exodus account doesn’t even name the Pharaoh of the Exodus, and makes no mention of the pyramids. For this we can blame Hollywood. Movies such as Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” burned the image of Hebrew slaves into the pop culture psyche. In large part, the Slave Hypothesis is based on a Hollywood fiction.

So what about the first part of the Slave Hypothesis? Could the pyramids have been built by slaves if we toss out the Moses part?

Slaves in Egypt

There were many forms of servitude in ancient Egypt, and to a certain extent everyone was owned by the Pharaoh. As we shall see below, there was also a type of feudalism which bound all Egyptians to a debt of labor to their superiors. But what about an army of whip-driven state-owned slaves, as often depicted dragging blocks up the pyramid ramps?

To be sure, there were slaves in ancient Egypt. Most slaves were a product of warfare, with victorious Egyptian armies returning from foreign campaigns with hundreds, or even thousands, of slaves in tow. Such human booty became the property of the pharaoh to use and distribute as he saw fit.

Some of the slaves would serve directly as a part of the king’s estate, while others would be distributed to temples and work camps. The king might also grant slaves to individuals as rewards for service or loyalty. Slave labor was considered to be a resource which, like any other, was sent where it was needed.

Nubian Slaves at Abu Simbel

Most of the slaves would have been civilians who were captured, but many would also have been soldiers who had surrendered. Some of these individuals would have been highly skilled and their talents were put to use. Slaves could be found performing service ranging from grunt labor to any vocation not restricted to freemen.

Not all slaves were foreigners. An Egyptian who was caught in criminal activity could find himself, and his entire family, enslaved as punishment. Egyptians could also sell themselves into slavery to settle a debt. Others sold themselves simply to improve their lot in life, finding the life of a slave more stable and secure than trying to get by on their own.

At least some slaves were clearly treated as property in ancient Egypt. The pharaoh might grant slaves, land, and cattle to a temple or an individual. Wealthy Egyptians also included slaves in transactions among themselves. These contracts seem to have been conducted between individuals or with the state, but there were no slave markets as we see in other times and places.

So the question is, how common were such slaves in the Old Kingdom Period? Could the pharaoh have mobilized an army of slaves to build the monumental structures of the Giza Plateau? Obviously there were huge workforces of some sort involved, and this undoubtedly involved servitude, but what was the nature of that service? In his article Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Egypt, writer Jimmy Dunn observes:

For ancient Egypt, a better, or at least more precise definition of a slave might be a “person owned by a master, as was any other chattel, used as the master pleased, to the extent of being disposed of by inheritance, gift sale and so forth”. In reality, such slavery seems to have been fairly rare in Egypt prior to the Greek Period, progressing over time.

Dunn goes on to point out that huge slave populations do not really begin to appear in Egypt’s history until the great conquests of the New Kingdom Period. As noted above, even when the pharaoh acquired slaves they tended to be distributed throughout the kingdom. Egypt simply did not have the means to control a huge population of thousands of slaves in one location.

There were slave work camps, but these were smaller localized projects. Slaves were used in the construction of some temples and other structures, but a project the scale of the Giza Pyramids required thousands of workers. The archaeological evidence from the Giza Plateau simply does not support the notion of a slave camp of that size.

But there were thousands of somebodies working on the plateau.

The Bak Hypothesis

One way or another, pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure were able to mobilize huge workforces numbering in the thousands to build the pyramids. At least 2,000 and as many as 4,000 workers were fed, housed, managed and motivated within an easy walk of these great monuments (the 10,000 figure postulated by Hawass in his blog post is generally considered to be way too high). Regardless of how you cut it, these were clearly very expensive undertakings. How could such a project be funded if not performed by slave labor?

One type of organizational structure that could generate a large free-but-obligated workforce would be feudalism. In a feudal system everybody owes some sort of service to the social rank immediately above them. Kings appoint nobles, nobles appoint vassals, vassals organize knights, knights build armies, and armies conscript soldiers. By requiring goods and service in exchange for land, status, and other privileges, the king could mobilize his entire kingdom through delegation.

Lehner proposes that the pyramids, as well as other national construction projects, were organized the same way. The Egyptian system of vassalage was called bak, and everybody owed bak to somebody above them (not to be confused with baksheesh, which is what tourists and travelers seem to owe to every Egyptian!).

Priests owed bak. Scribes owed bak. Potters owed bak. Farmers owed bak. Through this system of obligatory servitude every citizen of the Old Kingdom could be called upon to do his or her shift of work on the pyramid projects. Simply put, the Bak Hypothesis says that the pyramids were built by a rotating workforce of laborers who were serving their allotted shift to their lords. (See Harvard Magazine: “Who Built the Pyramids,” by Jonathan Shaw)

The bak system solves several problems involved in pyramid building. First, it keeps the overhead low because the labor is essentially free. Unskilled labor requires little training and the workers are interchangeable. Similarly, skilled labor is easily rotated because the workers are assigned to duties that take best advantage of their skill set. By obliging every citizen to invest their skills for a certain amount of time, a huge workforce of skilled and unskilled labor could be employed for very little cost.

Second, the bak system absorbs the cost of supplying the workforce. Raw materials such as grain and livestock are supplied through taxes and bak, and the workforce required to turn them into hot meals is at least partly composed of citizens serving their bak debt. We shall see in Part 2 that the Pyramid City included a permanent workforce who made their living off of the building projects. But even their wages would have come from the bak supplied by others.

Third, the bak system of conscription was actually good for morale. As we have seen in the wars of the last century, a drafted soldier may not like the idea of going to war, but the esprit de corps he forms with his fellow draftees compel him to give 100% to the effort. Dr. Lehner and others have found archaeological evidence of this sort of camaraderie around the building projects of the Giza Plateau, which we will look at in Part 2.

So the Bak Hypothesis gives an alternate model of how the pyramids may have been built. Unlike the Slavery Hypothesis, for which we have no archaeological evidence, Lehner has been able to paint a very detailed picture of the lives of the permanent and rotating citizens of the Lost City of the Pyramid Builders.

In Part 2: Pyramid City, Inc., we will look at the evidence for how the workforce was organized, and how the evidence supports Lehner’s hypothesis while contradicting the Slave Hypothesis. We will close the series with Part 3: A Guided Tour of the Pyramid City, a trip through the Great Western Gate of the Wall of the Crow for a street-level look at how the denizens of the Pyramid City worked and lived.

The Great Western Gate of the Wall of the Crow (Photo by Jon Bodsworth)

Note: Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA), the organization founded by Dr. Lehner to excavate and analyze the Pyramid City, refers to the site in its official literature as the Lost City of the Pyramid Builders. For the sake of brevity, these articles will simply refer to the site as the Pyramid City, but we are talking about the same place.

Photograph “mark.png” from “This Old Pyramid,” courtesy of PBS.org, all rights reserved. Photographs “plateau_14.png” and “plateau_16” by Jon Bodsworth, are copyright free. Photograph “Nubian Slaves” is in the public domain and is copyright free. Still from the movie “The Ten Commandments” courtesy of Paramount Pictures, all rights reserved.

Djoser’s Step Pyramid: The Gem of Saqqara

Shemsu Sesen — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:22:17 +0000

The complex of Djoser at Saqqara is more than just the first pyramid and template for all pyramid complexes that would follow.

Djoser’s complex is a highly integrated machine, an eternal representation of institutions, religions, and architecture culled from all corners of Egypt and incorporated into a stone microcosm intended to project the king’s world into the afterlife.

Pharaoh Djoser

Pharaoh Djoser (Photo by Keith Payne)

The pharaoh commonly referred to as Djoser was actually known by the name Netjerikhet (“Body of the Gods”) in his own time and was not known as Djoser until the New Kingdom Period. He was the first king of the Third Dynasty and ruled from about 2667 to 2648 BC, around 20 years, although some Egyptologists argue his rule was closer to 30 years.

Inscriptions on several jars dated to his rule indicate that he was the son of Pharaoh Khasekhemwy, the last king of the Second Dynasty. Some Egyptologists have attested that Djoser was the second king of the Third Dynasty, with his (possible) brother Sanakhte being the first. However, most now believe that Sanakhte’s rule followed that of Djoser. Some of the tales in the Westcar Papyrus place Djoser before Sanakhte, and seals at the entrance of Khasekhemwy’s tomb point to Djoser as his successor

Djoser’s policies were driven by an aspiration to gain control of economically important regions and then stabilize them under a centralized government. He annexed the Sinai, for example, securing the valuable copper and turquoise mines located there. His rule was a stable one, with no significant expansion of borders and no particular foreign threats. It is thus no coincidence that Egypt experienced a growth of building projects in both scope and scale under Djoser’s reign.

King Djoser moved the royal court to Memphis, which would remain the political and cultural capitol of Egypt until the center of power shifted to Alexandria under the Ptolemies of the Thirty-Second Dynasty. His decision to eschew burial at Abydos in favor of Saqqara, previously a cemetery for lesser nobles and high court officials, would also become the norm for Egyptian rulers.

Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara (Photo by Keith Payne)

Both Djoser and his vizier, Imhotep, would become historical heroes, particularly during the New Kingdom Period, with each having their own cult. This revived fame, however, seems to have had more to do with their architectural innovation than any political or military achievements. Their use of stone as a building material made them, quite literally, rock stars.

Egypt in Microcosm

Vizier Imhotep (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

The complex of Djoser at Saqqara was designed by his vizier and chief architect (and some say brother) Imhotep. Imhotep, whose name means “the one who comes in, with peace,” was a Renaissance man by anyone’s standard. Poet, priest, and politician, not to mention architect and physician, he was elevated to godhood and worshipped for more than two millennia, including a cult in Greece where he was deified as Asclepius.

To say that the Step Pyramid Imhotep designed was the first pyramid constructed in Egypt (which it was), and that the complex he designed around it would become the prototype for pyramid complexes of the future (which it did), is an understatement. What Imhotep built was nothing less than a symbolic representation of all Egypt, from which Djoser would continue his role as sovereign in the afterlife. Everything that was Egypt, from culture to religion to politics, would be recreated within its enclosure wall.

The Step Pyramid of Djoser from the Southern Tomb (Photo by Keith Payne)

For all his innovation, Imhotep could hardly be called trendy. The catalyst of some of the most significant architectural conventions in human history, he seems to have had much less interest in change than preservation. He meticulously reproduced not only the architectural styles that were traditional for his time, but mimicked the very building materials that were used, all in stone.

Prior to Imhotep, mastabas and other structures were constructed with sun-baked mudbrick, wood, and other organic materials. But in Djoser’s Step Pyramid complex, stone was cut to the same size and dimensions as mudbrick. Stone pillars were designed to look as if they were fashioned of bundled stems and tree trunks. Stone beams were made to resemble wooden logs. Stone walls were carved to have the appearance of reed mat coverings. Stone surfaces were painted to resemble mudbrick and plant materials.

Many of the structures within Djoser’s complex were built for purely symbolic purposes. Architectural styles and materials of different regions were rendered in facsimile, with their gods and institutions duly represented. Even the buildings themselves were figurative in construction, having detailed facades and the occasional shallow entrance, but were otherwise of solid construction.

Artificial doors built to convey passage between this life and the afterlife, buildings whose interiors exist only in the spirit world, a false tomb that mirrors the subterranean construction of the Step Pyramid—all of these were elements in a Hollywood-style set designed to represent in stone on the mortal plane structures that would have their true existence in the afterlife. Many of the buildings were purposely buried in order to reinforce their association with the afterlife.

The Enclosure Wall

As pyramid complexes would be in the future, Djoser’s Step Pyramid complex was entirely surrounded by an enclosure wall. The wall originally was nearly 35 feet high and just over a mile long. The complex was further cloistered by a trench that ran along the wall’s outer perimeter, and from which much of the building materials of the complex were likely quarried.

The enclosure wall and entrance to the colonnade (Photo by Keith Payne)

The enclosure wall was constructed of a rough-hewn core faced with limestone cut to resemble mudbrick and reed matting. The paneled appearance of the wall is thought to be evocative of the palace walls. Every 12-14 feet uniform bastions protrude, and at irregular intervals there are fourteen barbicans, thirteen with false doors and one with the actual entrance to the complex in the southern end of the eastern wall.

The Entrance and Colonnade

The entrance to the complex is rendered to appear to be a large open wooden door, but is actually of solid and immovable construction. It opens into what is considered to be the first hypostyle hall in the world. The limestone ceiling is crafted to look as if made of logs. The 40 columns within, constructed of segmented masonry carved to resemble bundled reeds or logs, serve no actual supportive function.

Segmented attached columns in the colonnade (Photo by Keith Payne)

Thirty-two of these columns are attached by masonry to the corridor walls, creating 24 niches in which statues may have once stood, and which are considered to be symbolic of the 24 provinces (nomes) of Djoser’s Egypt. After the twelfth pair, the columns are situated closer together to create the illusion that the hall is longer than it actually is. The last four pairs of columns are free-standing and lead to the Southern Court. The exit is also meant to resemble a large open wooden door.

The Southern Court

Across the Great Southern Court to the Heb Sed Court and colonnade (Photo by Keith Payne)

The colonnade opens into the southeast corner of the Southern Court, an area bounded by the pyramid to the north and the Southern Tomb in the south. There are the remains of two low-walled B-shaped structures, aligned with their straight sides facing inward. Thought to represent Upper and Lower Egypt, it is thought that the king would have raced back and forth between the structures during the Heb Sed Festival.

The Heb Sed Court

Located to the East of the Southern Court and north of the colonnade, the rectangular Heb Sed Court is where the majority of the Heb Sed ritual would have been played out. The Heb Sed Ritual was a symbolic show of vehm and vigor wherein the king would race back and forth between representations of Upper and Lower Egypt, probably the B-shaped structures in the Southern Court, to demonstrate his strength and vitality. It would be followed by great feasts and celebrations.

The Heb Sed Court (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

The Heb Sed Court is thought to be the site of a ritual procession involved with the festival. There is a symbolic representation of the king’s palace, complete with thrones of Upper and Lower Egypt, and false buildings and chapels lining both sides of the court from end to end. The buildings were little more than solid structures with detailed facades constructed in the styles of their constituent regions.

The Heb Sed was traditionally celebrated after the king had spent thirty years in office, although there were exceptions, but it is generally thought that Djoser never had an opportunity to make use of the Heb Sed Court due to the length of his reign.

The Southern Tomb and Chapel

As you enter the Southern Court you are facing a chapel wall with a protective frieze of cobras. The chapel wall extends from the southern enclosure wall and forms the eastern wall of a mastaba known as the southern tomb. Although it is called a tomb, it is too small for a sarcophagus, and like much of the rest of the complex, appears to have served a symbolic function.

Looking up at the cobra frieze of the Southern Tomb (Photo by Keith Payne)

The shaft within the mastaba leads 92 feet down to a subterranean complex that serves as a small scale model of the tunnels under Djoser’s pyramid. The complex contains rooms for storage and offerings, along with other areas that mimic the passages under the pyramid itself, although there are differences as well.

The complex beneath the pyramid is oriented along a north south axis, while the south tomb has an east west axis. The adornments and reliefs within the South Tomb are of higher detail and quality than those beneath the Step Pyramid, leading to speculation that it was completed earlier and at more leisure than the pyramid. It is believed that the South Tomb may have been one of the resting places of the king’s Ka, and may be the forerunner of the small scale cult pyramids that would become standard to pyramid complexes that follow.

The House of the North and the House of the South

North of the Heb Sed Court are two large shrines, each with its own courtyard, called the House of the North and the House of the South. Again we find representation of Upper and Lower Egypt, not only in the style of architecture, but in the actual buildings they recreate. And again, the structures are purely symbolic and almost entirely solid.

The House of the South has the appearance of a mudbrick structure with four faux columns. It appears to be a representation of the Shrine of Nekhbet in the southern city of Hierakonpolis, and in its courtyard is a faux column with a lotus capital, the symbol of Upper (southern) Egypt.

The House of the South (Photo by Keith Payne)

The House of the North is likewise rendered to appear as if constructed of mudbrick, with four engaged columns. The House of the North has been compared to the Shrine of Wadjet located in the northern delta city of Buto. There are three faux columns in its courtyard topped with papyrus capitals, the symbol of Lower (northern) Egypt.

The Mortuary Temple

One of the few buildings in the complex that was fully functional rather than symbolic, Djoser’s mortuary temple would have been the center of his cult after his death. This is where priests, penitents, and family members would come to make offerings and perform rituals to honor the king in his afterlife.

The mortuary temple is another aspect of Djoser’s complex that would become a standard element in pyramid complexes of the future, although future mortuary temples would be located to the east of the pyramid, whereas Djoser’s is located to the north.

Although a functioning building, the mortuary is still replete with symbolic representations of traditional architecture and building materials. The building would have had an traditional appearance, along with stone doors that don’t actually close, pillars that don’t actually support anything, and blocks cut to approximate the appearance of mudbricks.

The "original" entrance to the Step Pyramid from the Mortuary Temple (Photo by Keith Payne)

The original entrance to the pyramid is located within the mortuary temple, although calling it original may be a misnomer. When the first stage of the step pyramid (which was actually a mastaba at this point) was expanded, the original mortuary temple and entrance were moved further north and the Northern Court area was extended to maintain symmetry. But original not, the temple entrance to the pyramid is no longer functional—like many other pyramids, access today is gained through an entrance dug out long ago by plunderers.

The Serdab

The serdab is a small sealed structure that once held the statue of King Djoser that became the earthly vessel of his Ka after his death. The original statue, which is the earliest example of life-sized human statuary recovered from Egypt so far, is in the Cairo Museum. The statue that sits in the serdab now is a replica.

Looking into the serdab at King Djoser (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Located on the northeastern corner of the pyramid, to the east of the mortuary temple, the serdab is another place where offerings for King Djoser would have been made. Although the serdab is closed all around, there are two holes through which the king’s Ka statue would have been able to see the northern constellations to guide him in the afterlife.

The location of the serdab is in alignment with a section in the Step Pyramid’s subterranean complex that was symbolic of Djoser’s personal chambers in his earthly palace. Again, the form, location, and symbolism of the serdab make it a part of a vast finely tuned machine whose purpose was to extend the material world into the afterlife, and vice versa.

The Step Pyramid

Djoser’s Step Pyramid was originally about 197 feet tall, and like the rest of the structures in the complex, is made of stone brick cut to approximate the size and scale of mudbrick. Built of a rough-cut core surrounded by dressed limestone with a layer of filler in between, the step-shape is thought to be representative of King Djoser’s ascension to the afterlife.

Looking across the Southern Court to the Step Pyramid (Photo by Keith Payne)

Long considered the earliest large-scale stone construction, this honor actually may go to the “Great Enclosure” (Arabic: Gisr el-Mudir) west of the Pyramid of Sekhemkhet, which predates the Step Pyramid.

Imhotep’s idea for the design of Djoser’s pyramid may not have come quite out of the blue. Mastaba 3038, constructed some 200 years earlier during the reign of King Anedjib, was situated on a mud-brick step mound which looks remarkably like the beginnings of a step pyramid, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Mastaba 3038--The inspiration for the Step Pyramid?

There has been much debate regarding whether the design started as a regular mastaba and was expanded into a pyramid as an afterthought, or whether it was intended to have a pyramidal shape from the beginning. Most Egyptologists now accept that the plan all along was to construct a step pyramid of some sort, as the original understructure was square and mastabas are typically rectangular, but the design clearly underwent several stages and revisions.

The first stage was a square mastaba with a core of locally quarried stone, faced with dressed limestone and surrounded by its own enclosure wall. The mastaba was then extended about 13 feet in all directions by a slightly lower addition, resulting in a square mastaba with a single low step. It was again resurfaced with limestone. A third extension was added, this time to the east side alone, resulting in a rectangular mastaba with two steps on the eastern side.

The entire structure was again encased within a single square level, to which three more square layers were added, growing smaller as they rose. The result was Pyramid 1, a square four-tiered step pyramid. In the final stage, these first four layers were again extended, this time into rectangular layers oriented east to west, and two more layers were added to the top resulting in Pyramid 2, a six-tiered step pyramid, which was then cased in dressed limestone.

Djoser's Step Pyramid--the first pyramid in Egypt (Photo by Keith Payne)

The Subterranean Network of the Step Pyramid

Although it lies completely out of sight, Djoser’s burial chamber and associated tunnels and galleries are at least as impressive as any other part of the complex at Saqqara. Djoser was buried in a red granite sarcophagus at the bottom of a 92-foot shaft under the pyramid. His mummy was not found, and what few remains have been recovered from the burial chamber date to a later period.

There is evidence that the burial chamber may have originally been lined with limestone and alabaster and may have had a ceiling painted with the sort starry canopy seen in later pyramids in the Saqqara region, but was later stripped and relined with granite. Fragments of what may have been the original limestone, and a section of the starry ceiling, have been recovered nearby.

Miles of tunnels under Djoser's pyramid (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Branching off from the burial chamber is a maze of more than three miles of tunnels, shafts, storerooms, and tombs. Many of the walls are sided with faience-covered limestone or blue tiling. There are scenes of the king performing the Heb Sed festival and wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Parts of the subterranean halls and galleries seem to be symbolic of the king’s living chambers in the palace, while others are thought to have been burial chambers for Djoser’s immediate family. Some of his worldly possessions were recovered in these passages, including what appear to be “antiques” belonging to Djoser’s ancestors.

There have been human remains recovered from Djoser’s underworld, and at least one mummy was, oddly enough, older than Djoser by several generations. It is possible that, along with family heirlooms, Djoser may have had some of his ancestor relocated to his pyramid complex. Another explanation is that the builders accidentally tunneled into older pre-existing tombs.

The Step Pyramid Complex Today

Djoser’s pyramid complex remains one of the primary heritage sites in Egypt, and the main reason why visitors come to Saqqara. In 2008 the Supreme Council of Antiquities began a sweeping conservation project to address the environmental issues that threaten Djoser’s complex. Some of the problems are natural attrition inherent to a structure that has stood for 5,000 years. Others are man-made and more recent.

Efforts continue to reconstruct collapsed sections of Djoser's Pyramid (Photo by Keith Payne)

Beneath the pyramid the problem is water buildup. Water tables have been rising all over Egypt since the building of the Aswan Dam, which occurred in several phases beginning in the early 20th century. The Step Pyramid is not alone in this respect. Rising water is a ubiquitous problem all along the Nile River as the environmental effects of the dam threaten Egyptian communities and heritage sites alike.

On the external surface, wind erosion and the occasional torrential rain have taken a gradual toll. Large sections of brick have fallen away over the centuries leaving weak spots. Archaeologists are making their way through the rubble around the base of the pyramid identifying blocks that are then used to repair the structure.

The conservation work has also proven that much remains to be discovered at Djoser’s complex. A deep shaft tunneling beneath the pyramid and later tombs dug into the surface of the pyramid itself are just two of these recent discoveries. Even more is likely to be revealed as efforts continue in the subterranean portion of the Step Pyramid.

Djoser’s Step Pyramid complex remains a testament to the rule of a king who was able to provide enough social stability and economic prosperity to conceive and carryout such a project. It is likewise proof of the genius of Imhotep, certainly one of the most brilliant human beings ever to live. This giant stone device may or may not have succeeded in projecting Djoser’s reign into the afterlife, but it has undeniably preserved his legacy across time and into our lives.

The future on the horizon--Dashur Pyramids from Djoser's Complex (Photo by Keith Payne)

Why Might Zahi Hawass be Blogging About Dashur?

Shemsu Sesen — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:20:07 +0000

Ok, I realize that most of my posts have been about Dr. Hawass this week, and I promise the article on the Djoser Pyramid complex is nearing completion. But one does have to wonder why he might have a lovely new post on his blog about the Bent Pyramid at Dashur..

After all, as informative as it is, the new post doesn’t really contain anything new. Of course, he is currently blogging about the pyramids in the vicinity of Dashur. I think I might know why..

The Bent Pyramid of Dashur (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

The Bent Pyramid of Snefru at Dashur is interesting to behold. It isn’t as klunky as King Huni‘s Meidum Pyramid, or the fortress-like Black Pyramid. When you look at the Bent Pyramid you can really see where Snefru was going with the project. Unfortunately, the path he was taking to get there was a bit too steep.

It isn’t difficult to imagine Snefru shaking his head and saying “I want something more like this..” as he traces the outline of the future Red Pyramid. But there is just something, well, endearing about the Bent Pyramid, sort of like a speckled pup.

Dr. Hawass loves to build anticipation. Toward the end of his latest posting he reminisces:

I once came here with a group of my students from the American University in Cairo, and introduced them to my good friend Dr. Rainer Stadelmann, who has dedicated his life to the study of pyramids and was excavating at Dashur at the time. When we entered the pyramid we had an odd experience that is unique to the Bent Pyramid, and something that had been noted by earlier explorers. Standing within the pyramid you can sometimes feel cool air flowing from inside the pyramid to the exit.

Could this too be intended to build anticipation?

Is it possible that you, too, might soon be able to stand within the Bent Pyramid and feel the cool breeze?

Only if the Bent Pyramid, and possibly other previously inaccessible sites at Dashur are about to be opened to the public…

HINT: The fifth question down

New Theory on the Great Pyramid

Shemsu Sesen — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:20:44 +0000

The Current issue of Archaeology (Volume 62 Number 4, July/August 2009) has a great article by Bob Brier regarding the theory first proposed by Jean-Pierre Houdin about the possibility of an internal ramp inside Khufu’s Pyramid.

The theory accounts for some anomalies in a microgravemetric survey couducted by French researchers in the 1980′s, and includes his trip up the side of the pyramid to explore the “niche”. He discovered an unexplored chamber right where you would expect one if his theory of an internal ramp was correct…

Archaeology was kind enough to put the entire article online. Read it here - Update: Return to the Great Pyramid.

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Teti

Shemsu Sesen — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:12:10 +0000

The Sixth Dynasty rolled in like the thunderhead that portents a rising storm. There had been tension between the royal line from which Teti descended and the one which had just vacated the throne. Court officials had grown accustomed to wealth. Provincial nobles were flexing their will to independence. Famine. Waves of refugees. Ongoing religious reform. Teti’s agenda could be summarized in two words–damage control.

Pharaoh Teti

Pharaoh Teti (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Pharaoh Teti, also called Othoes, was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty, and ruled for about 11 – 20 years, between around 2347 – 2327 BC. His mother was Queen Sesheshet, but his true claim to the throne probably stemmed from his marriage to Queen Iput I, the eldest daughter of Pharaoh Unas. He had at least one other wife, named Khuit. Evidence found within the queens’ pyramids suggest that Khuit may have actually been Teti’s primary wife.

Teti’s heir, Pepi I, was preceded on the throne by Userkare, whose short reign may indicate a co-regency or an usurpation. Some believe Userkare had Teti assassinated by his own guards.

King Teti was an accomplished politician, which may be why his reign lasted as long as it did, given the political climate. He wisely left much of Unas’ royal cabinet in place, and was not above handing out promotions and titles to curry favor. He further consolidated power by marrying his daughter, Seshseshet, to Vizier Mereruka.

Political savvy was a prerequisite to being pharaoh during the tumultuous Sixth Dynasty, a time of social change. The Cult of Ra based at Heliopolis had become an influential force to be appeased. Famine combined with immigration was causing general unrest across the land. And while not exactly a middle class in the strict sense, the rising wealth and power of high court officials and local nobility signaled a weakening of pharaonic hegemony.

Teti, and the pharaohs who would follow him in the Sixth Dynasty, would do a commendable job of preserving Egyptian ways and institutions. But by the time of his reign, an irreversible gyre had been set in motion that would only continue to gain momentum until it spun the Two Kingdoms apart.

The Pyramid of Teti

The Pyramid of Teti (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Teti’s Pyramid has a height of about 172 feet, and its external surface is mostly rubble. Like other pyramids of the time, it consisted of a step pyramid-style core faced with dressed white limestone that gave it the appearance of a smooth-sided pyramid. Also like many pyramids of the time, the facing stones were plundered, leaving the core to break down due to exposure.

The layout of Teti’s pyramid is similar to that of King Unas, although slightly larger. Like that of Unas, the walls of the antechamber and burial chamber are inscribed with the Pyramid Text, rituals and incantations intended to guide the king through the afterlife. The vaulted ceiling is a painted canopy of stars. The basalt sarcophagus was left intact, and there were fragments of what may have been his mummy recovered inside.

Pyramid Text on the wall of Teti's Pyramid showing his Cartouche (Photo by Keith Payne)

Little remains of Teti’s mortuary temple, although there is enough to tell that there were a few differences from that of Unas, whose design he otherwise closely followed. For one, Teti favored the plain square pillars common to pyramid complexes dating from the Fourth Dynasty, rather than the more modern round pillars. He also changed the approach of the causeway to the mortuary temple so that rather than lining up with the center of the eastern wall of the pyramid it angles away from the south east.

In another apparent nod to the traditions of the Fourth Dynasty, Teti had queens’ pyramids built for his wives within his pyramid complex, and in 2008 the pyramid of his mother, Sesheshet, was also discovered within his complex. These excavations led to the discovery that Teti’s complex was later co-opted for other burials and related funerary chapels from the New Kingdom Period to the Roman Period.

Teti’s policies were clearly intended to maintain the authority of the Pharaoh, and his efforts may have forestalled the coming Intermediate Period. It is apparent that a schism of some variety was thwarted after the death of Unas, although in the end court intrigue would catch up with this master of power politics. His pyramid complex remains one of the most fruitful excavation sites in Egypt.

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Unas

Shemsu Sesen — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:30:54 +0000

The King is dead, long live the King.

The death of Pharaoh Unas prompted the most fragile transfer of power in the Old Kingdom to date, but it would hardly be the last, or the worst. Without an heir, or at least one who ascended to the throne, the fact that the crown passed from one dynasty to another peaceably amidst a time of growing turmoil is a testament to what remained of Egypt’s institutions.

Pharaoh Unas

The Cartouche of Pharaoh Unas (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Pharaoh Unas, also called Ounas and Wenis, was the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, and possibly the last sovereign of the Old Kingdom to rule with relative security. He ruled from about 2367 – 2347 BC, around 20-23 years. He had two wives, Nebit and Khenut, the latter of which was probably the mother of Iput I, who would marry King Teti, thus founding the Sixth Dynasty.

Nautical scene from Unas' complex (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Unas was apparently an active king, as reliefs and other narrative art depict him making war with the Bedouin and engaging in trade with other kingdoms. It seems he passed without leaving an heir, and there may have been a brief and tense interregnum, finally settled with the marriage of his eldest daughter to Teti.

Many of his court officers would be retained under the rule of Teti, probably including Vizier Kagemni, which likely did at least as much to maintain law and order as Iput I’s royal pedigree.

The Pyramid of Unas

In terms of pyramid construction, the end of the Fifth Dynasty was as far as you could get from the monuments of Dashur and Giza that symbolize the early years of the Old Kingdom. King Unas’ Pyramid was the smallest of the Old Kingdom Period, and although successive pyramids would be slightly larger, his layout would set the pattern for the Sixth Dynasty.

Monument construction during the Fifth Dynasty was focused chiefly on temple building. The generous endowments extended to the newly-empowered cult of Ra, combined with other growing demands on the royal coffers, left little gold for pyramid building.

The Pyramid of King Unas (Photo by Keith Payne)

In an effort to compensate, finely dressed white limestone was placed over a cheaply constructed step-style pyramid understructure to create the illusion of a small but regal smooth-sided pyramid. As a result, when the limestone casing was plundered in later years the core was left to disintegrate in the elements, leaving behind one of the trademark rubble pyramids of this period.

The inside of Unas’ pyramid, however, is another matter altogether. The inner walls are mostly in very good shape, and contain the earliest example of Pyramid Texts discovered to date. These are passages inscribed on the walls containing rituals and incantations to assist the divine pharaoh in the ordeals of the afterlife.

The burial chamber has a vaulted ceiling that has been painted with a starry nighttime sky. Unas’ basalt and alabaster sarcophagus was found in the burial chamber, and a few fragments of what is believed to have been his mummy were recovered from within.

The base and stairway of Unas’ valley temple remain in fairly good shape, and much of the causeway is in excellent shape. The causeway is decorated with scenes of daily life, including hunting and agriculture, along with depictions of various craftsmen plying their trades.

Starvation during the reign of Pharaoh Unas (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

There are also scenes describing the geopolitical climate of Unas’ reign. In addition to trade and warfare, Unas’ foreign policy resulted in an influx of immigrants who are represented as emaciated to the point of starvation.

This was a time when famine was common throughout the Mediterranean region, and Egypt had her own share of domestic problems. These new additions to the already restless provinces were yet another factor sapping away at the authority of the central government, the very thing that had made the Old Kingdom possible.

At the end of the causeway, the mortuary temple itself is in very good condition. Many elements remain, including flooring, palm-adorned pillars, and niches where statues of the king would have once stood. King Teti’s name appears in the gateway to the mortuary temple, indicating that it was completed during his reign, after Unas had passed.

The transfer of power from the Fifth Dynasty to the Sixth may have been with trepidation, but it occurred successfully, due in no small part to the political genius of Teti. As local leaders and high court officials were enjoying the redistribution of wealth that accompanied the slow death of the Old Kingdom, things were not going so well for the rest of the populace, and the institution of pharaonic authority would increasingly come to feel the heat.

Teti would have his work cut out for him.

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Userkaf

Shemsu Sesen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:57:51 +0000

Pharaoh Userkaf is one of the many Egyptian kings who have left very few clues regarding his biography and reign. Well, he did leave a pyramid and a few temples from which we have been able to extract a couple of details.

Actually, these structures contain some intriguing clues about Userkaf and his times, and a shadow of things to come.

Pharaoh Userkaf

Pharaoh Userkaf (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Userkaf, whose name means “his soul (Ka) is powerful,” was the first king of the Fifth Dynasty. His reign was short, about seven years, around the time of 2504 to 2496 BC. We do not know who Userkaf’s father was, but his grandfather was King Djedefre, and Neferhetepes, previously thought to be his mother, was more likely one of his wives. This confusing set of trivia is about all we know of his biography, but fortunately, his monuments suggest a bit more.

The solar cult of Ra, based in Heliopolis, had steadily grown in power and influence throughout the Fourth Dynasty, and was beginning to exert some of that influence over the nobility. We know that Userkaf built a temple dedicated to the growing religion in Abusir, and that other Fifth Dynasty kings would follow his example.

This may have been a political move intended to curry favor with this increasing constituency, with the unintended effect of undermining his own authority as the primary divinity of the Egyptian people. The Fifth Dynasty would be a transitional period where the wealth and power of lesser, more local, nobility is on the increase, and the new cult was an additional subtle drain on the supremacy of the Pharaoh.

Userkaf’s Pyramid

Little remains of Userkaf’s pyramid besides a pile of rubble. The construction, which may have been cosmetically attractive at the time, seems nevertheless to be a throwback to the days before Snefru. It had a limestone casing that would have given it the appearance of a smooth-sided pyramid. But the casing was stripped away in antiquity, and the core seems to have had little tolerance for erosion. Fortunately, there is still enough of Userkaf’s complex left to note some other interesting deviations from long-established standards.

The Pyramid of Userkaf (Photo by Keith Payne)

Userkaf’s pyramid complex has all of the elements of previous complexes—a valley temple on the river with a causeway leading up to a mortuary temple adjacent to the pyramid, and a smaller enclosed cult pyramid. But the layout may reflect the influence of the Ra cult.

The mortuary temple is built to the south of the pyramid, rather than the east, and is oriented away from the pyramid itself. This southward orientation maximizes the hours of direct sunlight on the funerary complex. It has also been suggested that the decision to build the mortuary temple to the south may have been due to unfavorable terrain to the east, or the proximity of Djoser’s complex, but this fails to explain why the orientation of the temple is reversed.

Userkaf’s choice to build his pyramid so close to that of Djoser also represents a shift. Pyramid building in the northern end of the Memphis Necropolis, particularly in the area of Giza, had been in vogue since the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty. Userkaf’s predecessor, Shepseskaf, had broken with this tradition by moving back to Saqqara. But Userkaf chose not only to return to Saqqara, but to build his pyramid to the immediate north-east of Djoser’s complex.

These anomalies and reversals may not tell us much of Pharaoh Userkaf as an individual, but they certainly point to a time of changing conventions and emerging powers. There is a pronounced movement away from the ways of the Fourth Dynasty, where the absolute rule of the pharaoh was unquestioned. His decision to move away from the monuments of the Fourth Dynasty and back to those of the Third Dynasty is reflected in the construction of his pyramid, which was a clear devolution.

Times were quietly changing, and not for the better.

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu

Shemsu Sesen — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06:44 +0000

When Pharaoh Khufu set out to trump his father’s pyramid at Meidum he set the bar higher than would ever be achieved again. Khufu had a reputation for being a cruel and despotic ruler, and ignoring all other speculation about how the Great Pyramid was built, the sheer logistics of completing the project within the presumed timeframe suggests in the very least a classic overachiever. Whatever else may be true of Khufu, the man knew how to get things done.

Pharaoh Khufu

Pharaoh Khufu (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Pharaoh Khufu was known as Cheops to the Greeks, and was also called Suphis by the Ptolemaic-Era Egyptian historian Manetho. His actual name was Khnum-Khufwy, which means “the god Khnum protects me.”

Khufu reigned from 2589 to 2566 BC and was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, the son of Pharaoh Snefru and father of kings Djedefre and Khafre. He was coroneted in his early twenties, although sources vary regarding the length of his reign. The earliest source, the Turin King List, has him ruling for 23 years, the Ptolemaic Era Egyptian historian Manetho has him ruling for 63 years, and the Greek Historian Herodotus puts his reign at 50 years.

Although he had a reputation for cruelty to friend and foe alike, he was worshipped until well into the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, nearly 2000 years, although this may have something to do with his rather impressive pyramid. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has recently postulated that the reason for Khufu’s bad reputation may have to do with his declaration during his lifetime that he was the god Ra. Its one thing for a pharaoh to be a living god, quite another to declare oneself to be the living god.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu

Also known as the Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Cheops, the Pyramid of Khufu is the oldest of the three pyramids which dominate the Giza Plateau. It is also the largest, although the Pyramid of Khafre appears taller due to being built on a higher part of the plateau. The pyramid was believed to have been completed during Khufu’s lifetime.

The architect of the Great Pyramid was Hemienu, Khufu’s Vizier and Master of Works. Hemienu was either the son of Nefermaat, the architect who built King Snefru’s pyramids, or was a son of Snefru himself, and brother to Khufu. Either way, the perfecting of the pyramidal form, from the step pyramid design to the flat-sided Red Pyramid, occurred during Hemienu’s lifetime. He would have observed firsthand the failure of the collapsed pyramid at Meidum and the tough lessons of the Bent Pyramid, which owes its odd shape to a decision to change the angle after construction was well underway.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Photo by Keith Payne)

At an original height of about 481 feet, the Pyramid of Khufu was the tallest building on Earth for more than 3,800 years, until the completion of the Lincoln Cathedral around AD 1300. It is believed that more than 2.3 million blocks were used in its construction, not including the limestone casing. Theories regarding its manner of construction abound.

It is interesting to note that even given Manetho’s rather high estimate of Khufu’s reign, the Egyptians would have had to quarry, dress, move, and place just over 100 blocks per day, at an average weight of 2.5 tons, non-stop, 24 hours a day, for 63 years to complete the Great Pyramid. Given the more likely reign of 23 years, that would mean about 274 blocks per day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week—about one block every five minutes. Such logistics naturally raise a few questions.

(For some potential answers, be sure to read the Em Hotep! exclusive series, Hemienu to Houdin)

One two-ton block, every five minutes, day and night, non-stop, for 23 years? (Photo by Keith Payne)

All theories aside, the notion that Khufu’s pyramid was built by slaves has been roundly discredited. Ruins of what seems to be the builders’ village have been uncovered, along with tombs of their own. Evidence suggests that the building of Khufu’s pyramid was a national project that drew laborers, engineers, architects, craftsmen, and all of the specialized labor necessary to support such a workforce from all over Egypt. From a social perspective, the construction of Khufu’s pyramid may be compared to the conscription efforts of World War II, had the war lasted 23-63 years…

Climbing into the Thieves' Entrance (Photo by Keith Payne)

There has been some debate over whether the Great Pyramid was intended as a tomb for the pharaoh, or if it served more of a symbolic function. Most Egyptologists agree that the pyramid was intended for the burial of Khufu, but not everyone agrees on where in the pyramid he may have been interred. Zahi Hawass has expressed doubt that the King’s Chamber was the tomb of Khufu, which he thinks may still lie undisturbed within the pyramid.

Access to the pyramid is gained through the Thieves’ Entrance, a rough-hewn cave dug out by robbers more than eleven centuries ago, which leads into the original descending passageway. This in turn leads to a narrow 130 foot-long ascending passageway which is 3½ to 4 feet high, and extremely steep. This passageway lets out in the Grand Gallery, a 30-foot high passageway that continues along at a 29 degree incline, and opens into the King’s Chamber.

The Grand Gallery inside Khufu's Pyramid (Photo by Keith Payne)

Inside the King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid (Photo by Keith Payne)

The King’s Chamber is lined with red granite, and the sarcophagus inside is hewn from a single block of the same. To date, two rooms besides the King’s Chamber have been found. The middle chamber is called the Queen’s Chamber, although there is no evidence it had anything to do with any of Khufu’s queens, who have their own pyramids. Its true function is unknown. The third chamber was never completed and may have originally been planned to hold the sarcophagus, but again, there is no way to be certain.

Jean-Pierre Houdin has argued that all three chambers were intended for the burial of the king, but at different times. From the outset, he contends, Hemienu wanted to make certain that the king had a suitable burial chamber, and the primary goal of the pyramid is the King’s Chamber. But Hemienu knew that completion of the King’s Chamber, the final resting place for Khufu, was a while off, so the pyramid was built with contingency burial chambers.

The underground tomb was built first and left in the rough—if needed it could be finished fairly quickly. If the king should die during the first ten years of construction he could be buried in the underground tomb. The Queen’s Chamber was then built as a more fitting temporary grave, and would have allowed Hemienu to test some of the techniques he would be using in the much grander King’s Chamber. Finally, the King’s Chamber was completed. It was fortunate the underground and middle chambers were never required, but Hemienu left nothing to chance.

Khufu's Sarcophagus--or was it? (Photo by Keith Payne)

Khufu’s valley temple, causeway, and mortuary temple (pyramid complex) are all but gone, with only a few basalt paving stone left to delineate their outline. His cult pyramid was recently located to the southeast of his pyramid, but the most exciting discovery was a perfectly preserved and fully intact funeral barge. (For more on the funeral barge see my feature article on the Giza Plateau here.)

The only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World (Photo by Keith Payne)

Em Hotep! » Pyramids

Khufu Reborn: One Year Later

The Hidden History of Egypt with Terry Jones: Video Review

See Also

Who Built the Pyramids? Part 1: The Lost City of the Pyramid Builders

The headlines said it all

The Slave Hypothesis

Slaves in Egypt

The Bak Hypothesis

Djoser’s Step Pyramid: The Gem of Saqqara

Pharaoh Djoser

The Enclosure Wall

The Entrance and Colonnade

The Southern Court

The Heb Sed Court

The Southern Tomb and Chapel

The House of the North and the House of the South

The Mortuary Temple

The Serdab

The Step Pyramid

The Subterranean Network of the Step Pyramid

The Step Pyramid Complex Today

Further Reading

Why Might Zahi Hawass be Blogging About Dashur?

New Theory on the Great Pyramid

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Teti

Pharaoh Teti

The Pyramid of Teti

Further Reading

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Unas

Pharaoh Unas

The Pyramid of Unas

Further Reading

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Userkaf

Pharaoh Userkaf

Userkaf’s Pyramid

Further Reading

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu

Pharaoh Khufu

The Great Pyramid of Khufu

(For some potential answers, be sure to read the Em Hotep! exclusive series, Hemienu to Houdin)

Further Reading