Why did ancient civilization build pyramids?

[MR.Blueprint]

Both why and how haven't been passed down.

because most ancient civilizations were wiped out somehow so that information got loss

[kmt_sesh]

Of course it's to the point. At least close enough tothe point that we can say we probably

know how they moved giant statues many centuries after the pyramids were built on level

ground.

This tells us absolutely nothing at all about how or why great pyramids were built.

Shame, shame, cladking. Caught in the act again. You're forgetting the Dynasty 4 Giza tomb of Meresankh in which a large statue is shown being moved on a sledge. These statues would've weighed as much as the average pyramid stone.

[cladking]

Shame, shame, cladking. Caught in the act again. You're forgetting the Dynasty 4 Giza tomb of Meresankh in which a large statue is shown being moved on a sledge. These statues would've weighed as much as the average pyramid stone.

I've not forgotten it.

I maintain that the means to move a weight is not relevant to a means to move 2 1/2 million

of them all in the same place.

[MR.Blueprint]

I've not forgotten it.

I maintain that the means to move a weight is not relevant to a means to move 2 1/2 million

of them all in the same place.

Time

seems to be the answer to all our unsolved questions

[MR.Blueprint]

What is so unremarkable about the pyramidal shape that we should dismiss a

6 1/2 million ton pile as existing because it was "buildable"? Many shapes were probably "buil-

dable" but we mostly just have pyramids.

What is it about the shape that makes it the only thing that might be built? It could be far easier

to dam a river with 6 1/2 million tons and far more profitable.

Pyramids exist but that doesn't mean they are tombs, temples, or hard to build.

We dont have mostly pyramids

i thought we only have 3 pyramids

they are jus the most famous

ancient civilization have numerous great structure

those triangle pyramids are an egypt thing

other structures are in other places

[desert palm tree]

Bennu bird who fly to to its pyramid, climb " the height of holiness " in humility, is at valley or foot of pyramid and mountain.

"Not to cut your hair. . . not to fight among themselves." is a sonic sound , a "still small voice " heard at Holy mount, but familiar to mankind with louder noise above man's ear nerves expressed in sickness and problems.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Abba mudda

[acute]

I remember from many years back, a suggestion that razor blades will stay sharper in a pyramid. If this is true, maybe the Egyptians were aware of this preserving effect, and that's why they used the pyramid shape for their tombs.

[Tutankhaten-pasheri]

I remember from many years back, a suggestion that razor blades will stay sharper in a pyramid. If this is true, maybe the Egyptians were aware of this preserving effect, and that's why they used the pyramid shape for their tombs.

This "theory" came from newage people some years back, along with siting in replica pyramids playing with crystal balls and going Ommmmmmmm.....

[kmt_sesh]

This "theory" came from newage people some years back, along with siting in replica pyramids playing with crystal balls and going Ommmmmmmm.....

You think you're joking?

A friend of mine went to Egypt a few years back with a tourist group. Half of them were "crystal people"—loony New Age types. Neither my friend nor her companions had any say in this, so they were stuck with the loonies the entire time. They actually assembled inside the King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid, and chanted.

One of my friend's companions chuckled out loud at this sight, which didn't sit well with the crystal people. One of them crossly said to my friend's companion: "You have offended the goddess!"

If you ask me, the New Age loonies should go in their own, private groups, if they go to Egypt at all.

Sheesh.

[cormac mac airt]

You think you're joking?

A friend of mine went to Egypt a few years back with a tourist group. Half of them were "crystal people"—loony New Age types. Neither my friend nor her companions had any say in this, so they were stuck with the loonies the entire time. They actually assembled inside the King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid, and chanted.

One of my friend's companions chuckled out loud at this sight, which didn't sit well with the crystal people. One of them crossly said to my friend's companion: "You have offended the goddess!"

If you ask me, the New Age loonies should go in their own, private groups, if they go to Egypt at all.

Sheesh.

Someone should have asked "Which one?".

cormac

[kmt_sesh]

Someone should have asked "Which one?".

cormac

That's the funny thing. These loony crystal people really had no reasonable understanding whatsoever of the ancient civilization into which they were delving. This is typical of New Age types. They just wanted to stand around and chant while holding their crystals aloft, as they tried to commune with "the goddess."

Next thing you know, they'll try to hold human sacrifices and dump one or two of their acolytes into the sarcophagus.

Edited April 10, 2013 by kmt_sesh

[SHaYap]

That's the funny thing. These loony crystal people really had no reasonable understanding whatsoever of the ancient civilization into which they were delving. This is typical of New Age types. They just wanted to stand around and chant while holding their crystals aloft, as they tried to commune with "the goddess."

Next thing you know, they'll try to hold human sacrifices and dump one or two of their acolytes into the sarcophagus.

I would totally volunteer for that trip boss

[+DieChecker]

I thought that ancient peoples built pyramids because it is the most enduring way to build a large tall structure. Just as the people of Europe and the Mississippian culture built hills (pyramids?) of earth. Because it was strong and tall and fairly easy.

Later smaller pyramids were built in aethetic imitation of the larger pyramids.

Almost all pyramids that I can think of were temples or tombs. Or monuments. I can't think of a single pyramid that had a functional purpose, such as a grainary or a miltary fort.

[Dragonwind]

Almost all pyramids that I can think of were temples or tombs. Or monuments. I can't think of a single pyramid that had a functional purpose, such as a grainary or a miltary fort.

That can still be a very functional direction in the same way massive monuments of today serve a functional value - whether it be economic, cultural or tourist. Think about the Eifell tower - it was built as a temporary structure for an expo. It's still stands today. Perhaps the first world expo was in ancient egypt perhaps the pyramids were built to be temporary haha.

Many pyramids are not found to contain actual human remains, so perhaps they were symbolic tombs? That's a lot of effort to build a tomb with no body in it. If people had an aptitude in the past to build gigantic tombs for one leader why does it not continue into modern times? There are not many massive tombs built for important people on the same scale as egypt. We don't see vast tombs for medieval kings and queens. We don't carry out gigantic construction projects to burry contemporary world leaders. The great south american and asian pyramids were primarily temples. However we do honor leadership (politics) and culture in many gigantic expressions. For example Mt Rushmore, statue of liberty, parliamentary triangles, forbidden palace. Also the evolution of monotheism in the middle east after ancient egypt's legacy may have swung building design away from honoring a 'human king' or host of proto 'polytheist' gods towards temples that celebrated 'one god'.

The idea they are solely tombs (no pun intended) doesn't completely rest well with me. I sort of imagine ancient egypt to be like modern day Hong Kong, Dubai, New York etc - highly influenced by trade, wealth, culture, innovation and urbanism. Highly populated and rich. Perhaps their primary function was something more sublime - drama. Real estate drama. Spiritual drama. They are dramatic structures then and now. That creates wealth far beyond what a tomb can acheive. A reflection and expression of the resource rich Nile, it's strategic trade setting, religous ideals and population mass. In many structures today there is an emphasis on 'real estate value': Can a building be utilized profitably from tennants? Can a building attract tourists and attention (or followers/workers)? Is a building going to raise the value of surrounding property? Will it help stimulate economic growth? Whilst ancient egypt doesn't have the complex real estate dynamics of today it did have the basic properties of economic wealth, resource wealth and population wealth. That's something rarely talked about with the great pyramids - their relationship with wealth and population growth.

Today the construction industry is steam rolled by bankers and developers. Building designers and engineers mostly prepare documentation and create a structures aesthetic or integrity. But a buildings purpose almost always comes from the financial/political backer. Beneath the exterior of egyptian mythology, lrage blocks of stone, supernatural motifs and proto religion is basic politics and trade.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Dragonwind

[dekker87]

i don't claim to be any expert in this at all...i just find pyramids interesting...in their global presence if nothing else...

anyway....it's always appeared to me that of all manmade above earth structure the pyramid would survive longer than anything else and stand up the elements...including extreme winds...earthquakes....explosions...water...far better than any other....

[dharma warrior]

Until we actually know how they were built then your statements are nothing but assumption

and opinion. What is so unremarkable about the pyramidal shape that we should dismiss a

6 1/2 million ton pile as existing because it was "buildable"? Many shapes were probably "buil-

dable" but we mostly just have pyramids.

What is it about the shape that makes it the only thing that might be built? It could be far easier

to dam a river with 6 1/2 million tons and far more profitable.

Pyramids exist but that doesn't mean they are tombs, temples, or hard to build.

The fact that I stated that "I believe" should be evidence that I was stating an opinion.

The only thing that I find unremarkable about pryamids is the fact that different cultures would employ similar building techniques.

Actually there are many more mounds and cairns than prymids

You have an incredible grasp of the obvious.

[cladking]

The fact that I stated that "I believe" should be evidence that I was stating an opinion.

The only thing that I find unremarkable about pryamids is the fact that different cultures would employ similar building techniques.

Actually there are many more mounds and cairns than prymids

You have an incredible grasp of the obvious.

Thank you.

It seems the obvious is the most overlooked aspect of most pyramid building.

[wimfloppp]

clobhair cean said it all.they were built so they could reach the sky.

[dekker87]

That can still be a very functional direction in the same way massive monuments of today serve a functional value - whether it be economic, cultural or tourist. Think about the Eifell tower - it was built as a temporary structure for an expo. It's still stands today. Perhaps the first world expo was in ancient egypt perhaps the pyramids were built to be temporary haha.

Many pyramids are not found to contain actual human remains, so perhaps they were symbolic tombs? That's a lot of effort to build a tomb with no body in it. If people had an aptitude in the past to build gigantic tombs for one leader why does it not continue into modern times? There are not many massive tombs built for important people on the same scale as egypt. We don't see vast tombs for medieval kings and queens. We don't carry out gigantic construction projects to burry contemporary world leaders. The great south american and asian pyramids were primarily temples. However we do honor leadership (politics) and culture in many gigantic expressions. For example Mt Rushmore, statue of liberty, parliamentary triangles, forbidden palace. Also the evolution of monotheism in the middle east after ancient egypt's legacy may have swung building design away from honoring a 'human king' or host of proto 'polytheist' gods towards temples that celebrated 'one god'.

The idea they are solely tombs (no pun intended) doesn't completely rest well with me. I sort of imagine ancient egypt to be like modern day Hong Kong, Dubai, New York etc - highly influenced by trade, wealth, culture, innovation and urbanism. Highly populated and rich. Perhaps their primary function was something more sublime - drama. Real estate drama. Spiritual drama. They are dramatic structures then and now. That creates wealth far beyond what a tomb can acheive. A reflection and expression of the resource rich Nile, it's strategic trade setting, religous ideals and population mass. In many structures today there is an emphasis on 'real estate value': Can a building be utilized profitably from tennants? Can a building attract tourists and attention (or followers/workers)? Is a building going to raise the value of surrounding property? Will it help stimulate economic growth? Whilst ancient egypt doesn't have the complex real estate dynamics of today it did have the basic properties of economic wealth, resource wealth and population wealth. That's something rarely talked about with the great pyramids - their relationship with wealth and population growth.

Today the construction industry is steam rolled by bankers and developers. Building designers and engineers mostly prepare documentation and create a structures aesthetic or integrity. But a buildings purpose almost always comes from the financial/political backer. Beneath the exterior of egyptian mythology, lrage blocks of stone, supernatural motifs and proto religion is basic politics and trade.

thought provoking post.

imagine if some great cataclysm hit the planet and the only thing left in 10,000 years were a few remnants of the 'great' buildings of today....what would the sentient beings of the future make of the statue of liberty...the eiffel tower...the lourve...the brandenburg gate.....etc etc etc - essentially 'useless' buildings with no purpose other than...well decoration and statement of power i suppose....

[kmt_sesh]

That can still be a very functional direction in the same way massive monuments of today serve a functional value - whether it be economic, cultural or tourist. Think about the Eifell tower - it was built as a temporary structure for an expo. It's still stands today. Perhaps the first world expo was in ancient egypt perhaps the pyramids were built to be temporary haha.

Many pyramids are not found to contain actual human remains, so perhaps they were symbolic tombs? That's a lot of effort to build a tomb with no body in it. If people had an aptitude in the past to build gigantic tombs for one leader why does it not continue into modern times? There are not many massive tombs built for important people on the same scale as egypt. We don't see vast tombs for medieval kings and queens. We don't carry out gigantic construction projects to burry contemporary world leaders. The great south american and asian pyramids were primarily temples. However we do honor leadership (politics) and culture in many gigantic expressions. For example Mt Rushmore, statue of liberty, parliamentary triangles, forbidden palace. Also the evolution of monotheism in the middle east after ancient egypt's legacy may have swung building design away from honoring a 'human king' or host of proto 'polytheist' gods towards temples that celebrated 'one god'.

The idea they are solely tombs (no pun intended) doesn't completely rest well with me. I sort of imagine ancient egypt to be like modern day Hong Kong, Dubai, New York etc - highly influenced by trade, wealth, culture, innovation and urbanism. Highly populated and rich. Perhaps their primary function was something more sublime - drama. Real estate drama. Spiritual drama. They are dramatic structures then and now. That creates wealth far beyond what a tomb can acheive. A reflection and expression of the resource rich Nile, it's strategic trade setting, religous ideals and population mass. In many structures today there is an emphasis on 'real estate value': Can a building be utilized profitably from tennants? Can a building attract tourists and attention (or followers/workers)? Is a building going to raise the value of surrounding property? Will it help stimulate economic growth? Whilst ancient egypt doesn't have the complex real estate dynamics of today it did have the basic properties of economic wealth, resource wealth and population wealth. That's something rarely talked about with the great pyramids - their relationship with wealth and population growth.

Today the construction industry is steam rolled by bankers and developers. Building designers and engineers mostly prepare documentation and create a structures aesthetic or integrity. But a buildings purpose almost always comes from the financial/political backer. Beneath the exterior of egyptian mythology, lrage blocks of stone, supernatural motifs and proto religion is basic politics and trade.

I've struggled for years to find a modern (or relatively modern) society or culture to compare to pharaonic Egypt, and have never been successful. I've also tried to do this to show people how the vast majority of modern cultures (i.e., nations, countries, societies, religions) are nothing at all like pharaonic Egypt. The most powerful of modern despots and dictators make a poor comparison to ancient Egyptian kings, and although a number of modern religions were affected and influenced in ancient times by the pharaonic religion, no religion as it exists today is at all that similar to ancient Egypt's.

I drone on like this to emphasize the point that we can rarely use our own societies to understand ancient Egyptian society. No ruler of a modern country is considered by his people or subjects to be as divine and in commune with the divine as ancient Egyptian kings were. We do not build massive tombs for our modern leaders for many reasons, including the fact that we do not see them as directly in commune with God or gods and the fact that most modern rulers belong to religions which would abhor such costly and extravagant monuments.

Understanding an ancient Egyptian pyramid as a tomb is more complicated than one might think. It requires us to divorce ourselves from our own ideas and attitudes and to come at the situation with the mind of an ancient Egyptian, in so far as such is possible (it is, to a point). Simply put, an Egyptian pyramid was a hell of a lot more than just a structure in which to stick a dead body. The religious and cultural implications behind Egyptian pyramids were significantly more sophisticated than our modern mausoleums and crypts. The ancient Egyptians believed that for the world to continue and for order and stability to flourish, the king had to be properly interred and, moreover, serviced and tended to beyond the death of his physical body. This was as true for Khufu as it was for the great pharaohs buried in their elaborate cliff-cut tombs a thousand years later in the New Kingdom.

The absence of human remains doesn't really mean anything, aside from the fact that tomb robbers were highly successful in their activities. Few pharaonic tombs, royal or private, have been found intact by archaeologists.

[AlnilamPhiSiriusly]

clobhair cean said it all.they were built so they could reach the sky.

SACRED KNOWLEDGE - SOLVING ANCIENT MYSTERIES PART 4.

'Coral Castle is a lime stone monument that sits in "Homestead" Florida. The builder of Coral Castle "Edward Leedskalnin" claimed to know the secrets of the ancient builders and he proved it by building coral castle.

The secret is magnetism and anti-gravity'.

'He built a magnetic device to nullify or heavily reduce the weight of those enormous stones, so he could easily set them into place, if not levitate them. He left clues for us, and we can also find these same clues / symbology in the Norman Hall (Grand Masonic Lodge) in Philadelphia.

The secrets of magnetism are encoded in the artwork designs. The freemasons have kept these secrets forever, but the times of secrecy are now over. The global awakening has begun and we need to rewrite our history books. They're not telling the truth. Wake to this fact'

[cladking]

I've struggled for years to find a modern (or relatively modern) society or culture to compare to pharaonic Egypt, and have never been successful. I've also tried to do this to show people how the vast majority of modern cultures (i.e., nations, countries, societies, religions) are nothing at all like pharaonic Egypt. The most powerful of modern despots and dictators make a poor comparison to ancient Egyptian kings, and although a number of modern religions were affected and influenced in ancient times by the pharaonic religion, no religion as it exists today is at all that similar to ancient Egypt's.

I drone on like this to emphasize the point that we can rarely use our own societies to understand ancient Egyptian society. No ruler of a modern country is considered by his people or subjects to be as divine and in commune with the divine as ancient Egyptian kings were. We do not build massive tombs for our modern leaders for many reasons, including the fact that we do not see them as directly in commune with God or gods and the fact that most modern rulers belong to religions which would abhor such costly and extravagant monuments.

Understanding an ancient Egyptian pyramid as a tomb is more complicated than one might think. It requires us to divorce ourselves from our own ideas and attitudes and to come at the situation with the mind of an ancient Egyptian, in so far as such is possible (it is, to a point). Simply put, an Egyptian pyramid was a hell of a lot more than just a structure in which to stick a dead body. The religious and cultural implications behind Egyptian pyramids were significantly more sophisticated than our modern mausoleums and crypts. The ancient Egyptians believed that for the world to continue and for order and stability to flourish, the king had to be properly interred and, moreover, serviced and tended to beyond the death of his physical body. This was as true for Khufu as it was for the great pharaohs buried in their elaborate cliff-cut tombs a thousand years later in the New Kingdom.

The absence of human remains doesn't really mean anything, aside from the fact that tomb robbers were highly successful in their activities. Few pharaonic tombs, royal or private, have been found intact by archaeologists.

Our current belief is we understand the ancient Egyptians. There is little enough fact and

enough interpretation underlying this belief that it might be in error. This is why so many people

reject the current belief.

It seems to me that if two Egyptologists can't agree on such basic things as the meaning of the

"eye of horus" and the other phrases used in that era that anything we believe about the ancients

is necessarily tentative. There are too many mysteries to understand them in their own terms. Of

course trying to understand them in our terms isn't productive as is obvious. No matter how many

people believe the great pyramids are tombs the fact remains that only circumstantial evidence for

it exists. It can be interpreted to be substantial circumstantial evidence but it's still only circunstantial.

[Quaentum]

SACRED KNOWLEDGE - SOLVING ANCIENT MYSTERIES PART 4.

'Coral Castle is a lime stone monument that sits in "Homestead" Florida. The builder of Coral Castle "Edward Leedskalnin" claimed to know the secrets of the ancient builders and he proved it by building coral castle.

The secret is magnetism and anti-gravity'.

[media=]

[/media]

'He built a magnetic device to nullify or heavily reduce the weight of those enormous stones, so he could easily set them into place, if not levitate them. He left clues for us, and we can also find these same clues / symbology in the Norman Hall (Grand Masonic Lodge) in Philadelphia.

The secrets of magnetism are encoded in the artwork designs. The freemasons have kept these secrets forever, but the times of secrecy are now over. The global awakening has begun and we need to rewrite our history books. They're not telling the truth. Wake to this fact'

Here we see him using the anti-gravity device known as pulleys to levitate the block into place

[The_Spartan]

I still dont understand.

There is clear evidences that the AE started their Pyramid Building with Mastabas.

When the AE stacked Mastabas on top of each other as with the Step Pyramid of Djoser, they got a proto-Pyramid.

Trying to get more Pyramidical resulted in the odd looking Bent Pyramid.

Then came the Red Pyramid/North pyramid of Dahshur, by which time the AE had pefected the full pyramidical Shape.

Then came the culmination with the Great Pyramids of Giza and elsewhere.

So, were the aliens or the Atlanteans involved in the construction of the Mastabas, The Step Pyramid or the Bent Pyramid or the Red Pyramid or anything pyramidical in shape???

The AEs experimented and progressed with the pyramidical shape.

As to why they built it, wasting their time, slaving to build huge monuments to their kings is the result (my opinion) of something of a God-King Adoration, which the royalty and the priesthood would have naturally exploited to the hilt.

[Harte]

SACRED KNOWLEDGE - SOLVING ANCIENT MYSTERIES PART 4.

'Coral Castle is a lime stone monument that sits in "Homestead" Florida. The builder of Coral Castle "Edward Leedskalnin" claimed to know the secrets of the ancient builders and he proved it by building coral castle.

The secret is magnetism and anti-gravity'.

'He built a magnetic device to nullify or heavily reduce the weight of those enormous stones, so he could easily set them into place, if not levitate them.

Well, yes, electromagnetism and antigravity.

He used an electric winch or counter the effects of gravity.

The winch used is shown in many of his pics.

Not exactly "sacred knowledge."

Harte