The Building of the Great Pyramid

boats

After they were used in real life, they were buried next to the pyramid to be used by the pharaoh in his afterlife.

King Nermer

Also known as King Menes. He united upper and lower Egypt into one country.

King Djoser

He built the first pyramids 500 years after Nermer's reign.

October and November

Months of emergence in ancient Egypt.

King Sneferu

He conquered many lands around Egypt and expanded the empire.

August and September

Months of inundation in ancient Egypt

ramps

Some historians believe that the ancient Egyptians used these to get stones to higher levels of the pyramid. They think they could have used one straight ramp or several spiraling ramps.

Giza

The site of the three greatest pyramids in all of Egypt.

sarcophagus

The stone out coffin of the pharaoh.

food, clothing and shelter

The workers assigned to work on the pyramids were given these three forms of payment for their work.

tomb robbers

These criminals were the cause of much looting of the tombs for their riches. King Tut's tomb was one of the few tombs that was left untouched and nothing was stolen.

minerals

These were ground up and used in paint to give them colors. White was obtained from chalk and blue was obtained from azurite.

offerings and sacrafices

These were offered to the gods to try and gain their favor.

cedar and papyrus

These were the two main materials used in boat construction.

sleds and logs

These were used to drag the stones from the quarries to the barges.

barges

These were used to transport the rocks from the quarries to the building site.

The parents

They chose the bride for their son. This is called an arranged marriage.

three months

This is how long, during the inundation, that farmers were expected to work on government building projects for pharaoh.

red

This is the color in which most Egyptian tomb art was outlined in. Corrections were made in black.

20 years

This is the number of years it is believed to have taken to build Khufu's pyramid at Giza.

quarries

This is the term for the sites where stones were found and cut.

gangs

This is the term used to describe the groups of men working on the same project in ancient Egypt.

leopard

This is the type of animal skin commonly worn by ancient Egyptian priests.

red granite

This is the type of stone used to line the inside of the tomb, for the door and roof. It was quarried in Aswan and shipped to the site.

white limestone

This is the type of stone used to line the outside of the pyramid. It was quarried in Tura and barged to the site. I could be polished and would shine brightly in the sun.

pole star

This star was used, along with a circular wall, to locate true north and south at it moved across the sky.

opening of the mouth ceremony

This was the important ceremony that was conducted by a priest that was believed to bring life back to the mummy.

First born son

This was the most important child of the pharaoh because he would become ruler when pharaoh died.

vizier

This was the title of the top adviser to pharaoh. He helped him with all planning and decisions.

God

The pharaoh was seen as this. This is one reason why everyone obeyed his rules.