Pyramids

The pyramids were not built by slaves, but farmers who during the rainy season could not cultivate their land because the Nile had flooded, so they built the pyramids for their masters.

The pyramids, as history relates, were built as tombs for Egyptian kings, the belief being a man's body had to be preserved and protected so his soul could live forever.

At Giza the great pyramid of the Cheops, was built by Pharaoh Cheops for himself as a tomb about the year 2600 B.C. The material used was mainly Mokattam limestone. 100,000 men took twenty years to set 2.3 million stone blocks, each weighing 2 1/2 tons, one upon the other. Originally the height of the pyramid was 481 1/2 ft.. Stooping, we climbed up through a narrow corridor into the King's Chamber, in which an empty, broken granite sarcophagus stands.

The Chephren Pyramid, built by King Chephren about 2650 B.C. is only some four feet lower than the Great Pyramid. The pyramid of Mycerinus is the smallest of the three pyramids, being barely 200 ft. high. It was built by King Mycerinus about 2600 B.C.