The Great Pyramid of Khufu

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The Great Pyramid of Khufu

• by
• Jonathan Margrave

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Site Preparation

• True north is located at the site and the corner
  of the pyramid is positioned.
• The outlines of the pyramids base are marked.
• A religious ceremony is conducted to bless the
  site of the future pyramid.
• The pyramid site is leveled to the bedrock.

3
Quarry

• Blocks weigh approximately 2.5 tons apiece.
• Workers used copper tools, such as chisels,
  drills and saws and harder stone tools to quarry
  the rough stone blocks.
• Rough stone blocks, core blocks, are used to
  create the core of the pyramid.

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Growing Ever Higher

• Teams of approximately 20 workers pulled the
  blocks into position, the blocks were aligned and
  then set into place.
• Once the base course of blocks is set, ramps of
  mud and timber are constructed to get the blocks
  to the second level.
• Workers then haul the blocks up the ramp and move
  them into place.
• After each course is completed, the ramp is
  widened and expanded to reach the next level.
• A capstone is placed on top of the the pyramid.
  The capstone is a smaller pyramid with a
  protruding piece that fits into an indentation on
  top of the pyramid, thus keeping the capstone
  firmly in place.

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Inner Chambers

• Inner rooms, tunnels, stairways that lead to
  dead-ends, and chambers are constructed with
  granite blocks as the pyramid gets higher and
  higher.
• A burial chamber is constructed for the king.
• The kings sarcophagus is placed in the burial
  chamber, prior to roof
• of the chamber being built.
• The burial chamber walls are decorated with
  stories written in hieroglyphics.

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Finishing The Exterior

• Packing blocks are carefully cut and fit onto
  steps of the pyramid.
• The outer casing blocks made of limestone are
  fitted to the packing blocks.
• Limestone casing blocks are precisely cut and
  placed on outer casing blocks. The casing blocks
  are polished, giving the pyramids sides a clean,
  flat appearance.

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Comprehension Questions

• What part does religion play in the preparation
  on the pyramid site?
• How much do the core blocks weigh?
• How many workers, per team, were needed to haul
  the blocks into place?
• What kinds of features are constructed inside the
  pyramid?
• What material are the outer casing blocks made of?

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Works Cited

• Content Standards for California
  Schoolshttp//www.cde.ca.gov/standards/
• www.touregypt.net
• www.guardians.net/egypt/pyramids/GP-plan1.htm
• http//www.unmuseum.org/kpyramid.htm
• http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/build
  ers.html
• http//www.egyptspyramids.com/html/article.html
• http//www.site-ology.com/egypt/RELIG.HTM
• www.virtualogy.com

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Fun Facts

• The core blocks weighed 2.5 tons, or
  approximately the weight of 25 refrigerators.
• At 481 feet, Khufus pyramid was the tallest man
  built structure for over 4,000 years.
• Khufus pyramid is now 449 ½ feet, having lost 31
  ½ feet when casing blocks were removed.
• The limestone casing blocks were removed to pave
  the streets of Cairo.
• The base of the pyramid is so big that nearly 10
  football fields (complete with end zones) would
  fit on the base of the pyramid.
• It is estimated that the builders used over
  2,000,000 core blocks. But the builders had
  some tricks, they filled some areas with sand or
  some other fill material.