Egyptian pyramids: Encyclopedia II - Egyptian pyramids - Construction

Egyptian pyramids - Construction

The techniques used to construct Egypt's pyramids are thought to have initially been developed by trial and error^[7], and then further evolved based on local economics, resources, and other considerations, over the thousand year pyramid-building phase of Egyptian civilization.

Recently-discovered worker's tombs have shown how pyramids were made and how important workers were: the pyramid workers were paid craftsmen, not slaves, and they had their own city at Giza.

During the earliest period, in the Third and Fourth Dynasties, pyramids were constructed wholly of stone. In the Fifth Dynasty the physical scale of pyramids was much reduced, and poor quality limestone replaced granite as the chief building material. In–filling with loose rubble was also used for the first time. This enabled pyramids to be built with fewer resources over much shorter periods.

During the Middle Kingdom pyramid construction techniques changed again. Most pyramids built at this time were little more than mountains of mud brick encased in a veneer of polished limestone. In several cases, later pyramids were built on top of natural hills to further reduce the volume of material needed in their construction.

Paradoxically, the materials and methods of construction used in the earliest pyramids have ensured their survival in a generally much better state of preservation than is the case with the pyramid monuments of later pharaohs.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Construction", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki