Did walls spark the birth of the pyramids?

[Lionel]

Egypt’s ancient pyramids are probably a byproduct of a decision to build walls around the tombs of kings, a leading expert on early Egyptian royal burials said Wednesday.Günter Dreyer, director of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, said he based his theory on similarities between Egypt’s first pyramid, built at Saqqara south of Cairo for the Pharaoh Zozer in about 2650 B.C., and the structure of the tomb of one of his immediate predecessors.The Saqqara pyramid, known as the Step Pyramid because of its unique shape, began as a flat mound about 25 feet (8 meters) high, built over the burial chamber of the pharaoh.At the slightly earlier tomb of the Pharaoh Khasekhemwy, at the old royal cemetery at Abydos in southern Egypt, German excavators found evidence of a similar flat mound covering the central part of the underground burial complex.The walls in the central part of the tomb were compacted to about twice the thickness and half the height of the walls to the sides, suggesting a heavy weight had once stood on top, Dreyer told Reuters in an interview.

Khasekhemwy’s complex also had one of the niched enclosure walls which later became a distinctive feature of the dozens of pyramids built along the western edge of the Nile Valley for hundreds of years to come, he said.But in the Abydos example, the enclosure wall was much further from the tomb than in the case of Saqqara.

View: Full Article | Source: MSNBC

[geeohn]

I thought the pyramids were builded with rocks stacked on top on one another.

[Lionel]

I thought the pyramids were builded with rocks stacked on top on one another.

Correct