How To Build A Pyramid
Have you ever wondered how the Great Pyramids of Giza were built? Or how the Egyptians mummified the dead? Or, even simpler, how they lived their daily lives? Well, according to David Macaulay in the book Pyramid, life was fairly simple. Most Egyptians were farmers. Since the Nile flooded for a time from July to November, farmers were drafted for pyramid building since farming was impossible. Pyramids were constructed for a pharaoh so that when he dies, he is mummified and put into a sarcophagus inside the pyramid along with everything else that belonged to him including is pets, servants, and possibly even his wife. But in order for a pharaoh to get his desired afterlife, he has to go through a series of mummification steps. Most importantly, he has to has a pyramid in which to rest while his ka traveled back and forth between earth and the other world.
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Most of the stone used for the pyramid was limestone. The better quality stone (compared with the limestone that was around the site) came from the quarry across the river Tura. They used mallets, chisels, dolerite balls, hammers, etc., to cut and shape the stone block. After each block was cut down to size, a gang that was assigned to the block, used ropes and heavy timber levers to first roll the block onto a wooden sled and then tie it down. The first step in the completion of a pyramid for the pharaoh, was to choose a site on the west bank of the Nile. Within two months a complex similar to Giza was completed and was shown to the pharaoh. The structure consisted of three parts. The innermost section was the step-like central core. Second, were the packing blocks, which rested on the steps around the core. Third, were the outer casing blocks laid against the packing stones. All three layers were constructed