Old Kingdom and Pyramid Builders Found in 1898 by Quibell and Green in the Temple of Horus at Hierakonpolis Tomb of King Djer (ca. 3000 BC) Umm el-Qaab Chronology 3100 – 2686 BC Early Dynastic (Dynasty 0 – 2) 2686 – 2181 BC Old Kingdom (Dynasty 3 – 6) 2181 – 2025 BC First Intermediate Period (Dyn. 7 – 10) 2025 – 1700 BC Middle Kingdom (Dyn. 11 – 13) 1700 – 1550 BC Second Intermediate Period (Dyn. 14 – 17) 1550 – 1069 BC New Kingdom (Dyn. 18 – 20) 1069 – 664 BC Third Intermediate Period (Dyn. 21 – 25) 664 – 332 BC Late Period (Dyn. 26 – 31) 332 – 30 BC Ptolemaic Period (Selected) Old Kingdom Rulers Third Dynasty • Djoser/Netjerikhet (ca. 2630-2611 BC) Fourth Dynasty • Sneferu (ca. 2575-2551 BC) • Khufu (ca. 2251-2528 BC) • Khafre (ca. 2520-2494 BC) • Menkaure (ca. 2472-2467 BC) All Creative Commons (Selected) Old Kingdom Rulers Fifth Dynasty • Userkaf (ca. 2465-2458 BC) • Sahure (ca. 2458-2446 BC) clevelandart.org • Unas (ca. 2356-2323 BC) Sixth Dynasty metmuseum.org • Teti (ca. 2323-2150 BC) • Pepi I (ca. 2289-2255 BC) • Pepi II (ca. 2246-2152 BC) brooklynmuseum.org What is a pyramid? - Gigantic tombstone - Glorified storage unit - Stairway to heaven - Representation of massive cultural development - Economic driving force Limestone: poorer quality blocks for internal structure, fine quality for outer casing stones Basalt: floors of mortuary temple Granite: red granite preferred for casing of burial chambers, sarcophagi, temple walls Diorite and gneiss: statues and vessels Travertine/Egyptian alabaster: vessels Khufu’s Pyramid Fun Facts The Horizon of Khufu Composed of 2,300,000 blocks of limestone Stones were transported from as far away as Aswan (532 miles south) for the project It took about 20 years for the pyramid to be built, finished 2566 BC It’s been calculated that one block was laid every two minutes 20 – 30,000 men worked at the site on 3 month assignments Legends, Explorers and Scientists Ancient Legend leads to Modern Misconception • 550 years after Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure built their pyramids on Giza plateau, they were being dismantled and included as rubble core in the pyramid of Amenemhat I (ca. 1990-1960 BC) • Westcar Papyrus (ca. 1780-1640 BC) and Herodotus (ca. 430 BC) paint Khufu and his forefathers in particularly bad light • Manetho (ca. 280 BC) – Khufu wrote the “Sacred book” Strabo (ca. 25 BC) – reported a movable stone that would allow access to Khufu’s pyramid Josephus (ca. 70 AD) – included pyramid building as part of the labor of Hebrews One Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights • Written in Arabic during Islamic “Golden Age” 8-14th centuries AD • Translated into English, 1706-1721 AD • The Breach of al-Mamun (ca. 820 AD) • Quarrying the pyramids (12th century AD), Abd al-Latif and Emir Karakoush (reign of Salah al-Din 1138-1193 AD) Legends spur on Exploration “Then Surid (Khufu) ordered the building of the pyramids, had the sciences recorded in them, and had the treasures and pieces of sculpture put into them. Finally, he set an idol to guard each of the three pyramids… After his death, Surid was buried in the Eastern Pyramid (Khufu), his brother, Hujib, in the Western one (Khafre), and Hujib’s son, Karuras in the Pied Pyramid (Menkaure)”. More secret chambers and hidden secrets… Exploration leads to Science Nationalism in Ancient and Modern Egypt Battle OVER the Pyramids Germany France England Pyramid Pioneers • John Greave, Professor of Astronomy at Oxford (1646) • Vivant Denon, Napoleon (ca. 1800) • Belzoni and Caviglia (ca. 1818) • Howard Vyse (1835-1837) • Lepsius (1840s) and Mariette (1853-1881) • Petrie (1881-1900) • Reisner (1902-1932) The Giza Archive ; www.giza.fas.harvard.edu Vyse, Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837 Aswan Granite Quarry Giza Limestone Quarry Hatnub Alabaster Quarry smithsonianmag.com; Photo: Pierre Tallet Journal of Merer, found by Pierre Tallet in 2013 Oldest papyrus in the world Found on the Red Sea coast, Wadi el- Jarf Records expeditions to Tura to get casing blocks for the pyramid in final year of Khufu’s reign Records expeditions to Sinai for copper and turquoise Found in rock-hewn garages with boats, rope and diorite hammers Bust of Ankhkaf, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Abydos Early Dynastic • Abydos (ca. 3100 – 2650 BC) • Tomb U-j, 1st Dynasty burials including Narmer, Djer, Den, Semerkhet and Qa’a (ca. 2920 – 2770 BC) at Umm el Qa’ab • Valley enclosures of Khasekhemwy, Peribsen, Djer, Djet and Merneith (ca. 2900 – 2650 BC) Pre-Pyramid Timeline • Early Dynastic • Saqqara (ca. 2900 – 2575 BC) • Mastabas of rulers or court officials ?? Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara (ca. 2630-2611 BC) Step Pyramid Complex of Djoser Pyramids Texts Oho! Oho! Rise up, O Teti! Take your head, collect your bones, Gather your limbs, shake the earth from your flesh! Take your bread that rots not, your beer that sours not, Stand at the gates that bar the common people! The gatekeeper comes out to you, he grasps your hand, Takes you into heaven, to your father Geb. He rejoices at your coming, gives you his hands, Kisses you, caresses you, Sets you before the spirits, the imperishable stars... The hidden ones worship you, The great ones surround you, The watchers wait on you, Hail, daughter of Anubis, above the hatches of heaven, Comrade of Thoth, above the ladder's rails, Open Unas's path, let Unas pass! If you fail to ferry Unas, He will leap and sit on the wing of Thoth, Then he will ferry Unas to that side! Pyramids at Giza (ca. 2550-2470 BC) .