**Introduction to Napoleon and the Pyramids**
Napoleon Bonaparte, when he arrived in Egypt with his army, experienced a sense of awe at the pyramids of Giza. Although he initially felt like the center of history, when he stood before the pyramids – structures that had existed for 4,000 years – he realized that he was only a small part of the flow of time.
**History of Pyramid Exploration and Mining**
In the past, several rulers, including an Arab Caliph, attempted to excavate the treasures of the Khufu pyramid. After months of chiseling, they found only dust, as the builders had not left any valuables inside. To appease the workers, the Caliph’s official secretly placed some gold coins in the pyramid. Later, the white stones outside the pyramid were removed to build a mosque in Cairo.
**Pyramids in Greek and Roman Culture**
For the Greeks and Romans, pyramids were also symbols of antiquity. Herodotus, the “father of history,” wrote about pyramids in the fifth century BC, 22 centuries before the pyramids were built.
**Purpose and misconceptions**
The Khufu Pyramid is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and is the only one still standing. It was originally thought to have been built by slaves, but modern research has shown that it was built by teams of well-paid craftsmen. The pyramid’s primary purpose was believed to be as a resting place for the pharaoh, although mummies have rarely been found inside.
**Scale and construction challenges**
The Khufu Pyramid was originally 146 meters high and had a base area of 230×230 meters. The structure was built from 1.5 million limestone blocks and 88,000 tons of granite, with the largest block weighing 30 tons. It is estimated that it took about 20 years to build – an incredible amount considering the complexity of the project.
**Questions about construction techniques**
The ancient Egyptians had no modern machinery, using only manual tools such as hammers, chisels, and ropes. They ground stones with other stones – a process that required dozens of people and took a long time. The construction of such huge structures with such high precision is still a question that has not been satisfactorily answered.
The Khufu Pyramid is a great work not only in scale but also in technology and culture. It has survived for millennia and is a testament to the talent and patience of ancient people. Although the pharaohs and kings have turned to ashes, the pyramids still stand tall, defying time and captivating visitors from all over the world.
**Abridged version:**
The pharaoh in ancient Egyptian culture was considered essential to survival – he ensured that the sun rose, the Nile rose, and the crops grew. The lives of the people depended entirely on these natural conditions, and religion gave them a sense of control through rituals. Although the priests knew that these rituals did not actually affect nature, they gave people confidence.
The Egyptians lived in rhythm with natural cycles and believed in life after death, symbolized by the god Osiris. To ensure that their souls had a place to return to, they developed mummification techniques and built solid tombs. Pharaohs were buried with their possessions and statues of soldiers, while ordinary people were sometimes buried in desert sand.
The construction of pyramids was a national project, such as the Pyramid of Khufu, with a foundation of local limestone and an outer layer of white limestone from the opposite bank of the Nile. The transportation and construction process was meticulous, with complex systems of ramps and scaffolding. The pyramid’s interior features chambers and corridors reinforced with granite from Aswan, 900 km away.
The construction site involved the entire nation’s resources, with thousands of workers and craftsmen. Archaeologists are still excavating, uncovering more details about how the ancient Egyptians completed these massive structures.
**Background and people involved in the pyramids:**
– Taylor, a famous scholar, did not actually study the Bible and never visited Egypt. However, he is considered a pioneer in the field of pyramid studies.
– Taylor’s first admirers were a British religious group that believed that the British were one of the twelve tribes of Israel, based on the similarity between the Egyptian unit of measurement and the British unit of inch.
**Other theories about the pyramids:**
– **Charles Taze Russell**, founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, believed that the pyramids were built by God to provide refuge for the righteous after the Day of Judgment.
– **Ignatius Donnelly**, an American politician and writer, theorized that the Atlanteans built the pyramids because of their advanced technology. – The 1970s and the New Age movement brought about a surge in mystical theories about pyramids, such as the idea that pyramids could slow down the aging process or help plants grow faster.
– **Erich von Däniken**, author of the book *”Chariots of the Gods?”* (1968), is famous for his theory of ancient aliens. He believes that pyramids were navigation systems for spaceships and that the Egyptians were incapable of building them.
**Archaeological evidence and challenges to mystical theories:**
– Despite many unscientific hypotheses, archaeology has found real evidence: tools, traces of built settlements with developed infrastructure. – In 1993, a robot was sent into the passages of the Khufu Pyramid, discovering that they were not ventilation systems as previously assumed, but rather channels representing the Pharaoh’s soul.
– In 2017, a team of scientists from Japan, France and Egypt discovered a large cavity above the Great Library of the Khufu Pyramid, opening up new discussions about the pyramid’s true purpose.
**Conspiracy theories about the origin and use of the pyramid:**
– Some believe that the Khufu Pyramid is on the same axis as other structures such as Easter Island, Angkor Wat and Inca monuments.
– Other theories include that the pyramid is a cosmic signal transmitter, a timekeeping device of ancient civilizations, or a power station operating on an unknown principle. – Some people also believe that Egyptian hieroglyphs could depict helicopters and advanced weapons.
**Progress and misconceptions about ancient people’s abilities:**
– The author points out that we often underestimate the abilities of ancient people and think that they could not have built complex structures without the help of aliens. This reflects a bias toward continuous progress in human history.
– He also compares this mistake to previous cases, such as when 19th-century archaeologists thought that the Romans had water temples, only to discover that they were just toilets with drainage systems.
**New discoveries and the possibility of changing current understanding:**
– The author notes that science is constantly evolving, and it is possible that in the future, we will find evidence that will make current theories about pyramids obsolete, as has happened in history.
**Funny Conclusion:**
– The author ends by mentioning that Elon Musk once tweeted that the pyramids were built by aliens. He admits that he doesn’t have a definitive answer about the purpose of the pyramids, but leans toward the theory that aliens may have been involved in the construction process.
