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THIS WILL TELL US ALL ABOUT EGYPT.

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The history of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early prehistoric settlements of the northern Nile valley to the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. The pharaonic period, the period in which Egypt was ruled by a pharaoh, is dated from the 32nd century BC, when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified, until the country fell under Macedonian rule in 332 BC.

Note

For alternative 'revisions' to the chronology of Egypt, see Egyptian chronology.

Egypt's history is split into several different periods according to the ruling dynasty of each pharaoh. The dating of events is still a subject of research. The conservative dates are not supported by any reliable absolute date for a span of about three millennia. The following is the list according to conventional Egyptian chronology.

The Nile has been the lifeline for Egyptian culture since nomadic hunter-gatherers began living along it during the Pleistocene. Traces of these early people appear in the form of artefacts and rock carvings along the terraces of the Nile and in the oases.

Along the Nile in the 12th millennium BC, an Upper Paleolithic grain-grinding culture using the earliest type of sickle blades had replaced the culture of hunting, fishing, and hunter-gatherers using stone tools. Despite evidence indicating human habitation and cattle herding in the southwestern corner of Egypt near the Sudan border before the 8th millennium BC, the idea of an independent bovine domestication event in Africa must be abandoned because subsequent evidence gathered over a period of thirty years has failed to corroborate this.

Archaeological evidence has attested that population settlements occurred in Nubia as early as the Late Pleistocene era and from the 5th millennium BC onwards, whereas there is "no or scanty evidence" of human presence in the Egyptian Nile Valley during these periods, which may be due to problems in site preservation.

The oldest-known domesticated cattle remains in Africa are from the Faiyum c. 4400 BC. Geological evidence and computer climate modeling studies suggest that natural climate changes around the 8th millennium BC began to desiccate the extensive pastoral lands of North Africa, eventually forming the Sahara by the 25th century BC.

Continued desiccation forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the Nile more permanently and forced them to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. However, the period from 9th to the 6th millennium BC has left very little in the way of archaeological evidence.

A Gerzeh culture vase decorated with gazelles, on display at the Louvre.

The Nile valley of Egypt was basically uninhabitable until the work of clearing and irrigating the land along the banks was started. However, it appears that this clearance and irrigation was largely under way by the 6th millennium. By that time, Nile society was already engaged in organized agriculture and the construction of large buildings.

At this time, Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and also constructing large buildings. Mortar was in use by the 4th millennium. The people of the valley and the Nile Delta were self-sufficient and were raising barley and emmer, an early variety of wheat, and stored it in pits lined with reed mats. They raised cattle, goats and pigs and they wove linen and baskets. Prehistory continues through this time, variously held to begin with the Amratian culture.

Between 5500 BC and the 31st century BC, small settlements flourished along the Nile, whose delta empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

The Tasian culture was the next to appear; it existed in Upper Egypt starting about 4500 BC. This group is named for the burials found at Deir Tasa, a site on the east bank of the Nile between Asyut and Akhmim. The Tasian culture is notable for producing the earliest blacktop-ware, a type of red and brown pottery painted black on its top and interior.

The Badari culture, named for the Badari site near Deir Tasa, followed the Tasian; however, similarities cause many to avoid differentiating between them at all. The Badari culture continued to produce the kind of pottery called blacktop-ware (although its quality was much improved over previous specimens), and was assigned the sequence dating numbers between 21 and 29. The significant difference, however, between the Tasian and Badari, which prevents scholars from completely merging the two, is that Badari sites are Chalcolithic while the Tasian sites remained Neolithic and are thus considered technically part of the Stone Age.

Mesopotamian king as Master of Animals on the Gebel el-Arak Knife, dated to the Naqada II period circa 3300-3200 BC, Abydos, Egypt. Louvre Museum, reference E 11517. This work of art both shows the influence of Mesopotamia on Egypt at an early date, and the state of Mesopotamian royal iconography during the Uruk period.[9][10]

The Amratian culture is named after the site of El-Amrah, about 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Badari. El-Amreh was the first site where this culture was found unmingled with the later Gerzeh culture. However, this period is better attested at Nagada, and so is also referred to as the "Naqada I" culture. Black-topped ware continued to be produced, but white cross-line ware, a type of pottery decorated with close parallel white lines crossed by another set of close parallel white lines, began to be produced during this time. The Amratian period falls between S.D. 30 and 39. Newly excavated objects indicate that trade between Upper and Lower Egypt existed at this time. A stone vase from the north was found at el-Amreh, and copper, which is not present in Egypt, was apparently imported from the Sinai Peninsula or perhaps Nubia. Obsidian and an extremely small amount of gold were both definitively imported from Nubia during this time. Trade with the oases was also likely.

The Gerzeh culture ("Naqada II"), named after the site of el-Gerzeh, was the next stage in cultural development, and it was during this time that the foundation for ancient Egypt was laid. The Gerzeh culture was largely an unbroken development out of the Amratian, starting in the Nile Delta and moving south through Upper Egypt; however, it failed to dislodge the Amratian in Nubia. The Gerzeh culture coincided with a significant drop in rainfall and farming produced the vast majority of food. With increased food supplies, the populace adopted a much more sedentary lifestyle, and the larger settlements grew to cities of about 5000 residents. It was in this time that the city dwellers started using adobe to build their cities. Copper instead of stone was increasingly used to make tools and weaponry. Silver, gold, lapis lazuli (imported from Badakhshan in what is now Afghanistan), and Egyptian faience were used ornamentally, and the cosmetic palettes used for eye paint since the Badari culture began to be adorned with reliefs.

By the 33rd century BC, just before the First Dynasty of Egypt, Egypt was divided into two kingdoms known from later times as Upper Egypt to the south and Lower Egypt to the north. The dividing line was drawn roughly in the area of modern Cairo.

Stela of the Second Dynasty Pharaoh Nebra, displaying the hieroglyph for his Horus name within a serekh surmounted by Horus. On display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The historical records of ancient Egypt begin with Egypt as a unified state, which occurred sometime around 3150 BC. According to Egyptian tradition, Menes, thought to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt, was the first king. This Egyptian culture, customs, art expression, architecture, and social structure were closely tied to religion, remarkably stable, and changed little over a period of nearly 3000 years.

Egyptian chronology, which involves regnal years, began around this time. The conventional chronology was accepted during the twentieth century, but it does not include any of the major revision proposals that also have been made in that time. Even within a single work, archaeologists often offer several possible dates, or even several whole chronologies as possibilities. Consequently, there may be discrepancies between dates shown here and in articles on particular rulers or topics related to ancient Egypt. There also are several possible spellings of the names. Typically, Egyptologists divide the history of pharaonic civilization using a schedule laid out first by Manetho's Aegyptiaca, which was written during the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the third century BC.

Prior to the unification of Egypt, the land was settled with autonomous villages. With the early dynasties, and for much of Egypt's history thereafter, the country came to be known as the Two Lands. The pharaohs established a national administration and appointed royal governors.

Funeral practices for the elite resulted in the construction of mastabas, which later became models for subsequent Old Kingdom constructions such as the step pyramid, thought to have originated during the Third Dynasty of Egypt.

Greywacke statue of the pharaoh Menkaure and his queen consort, Khamerernebty II. Originally from his Giza temple, now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty (2686-2181 BCE). The royal capital of Egypt during this period was located at Memphis, where Djoser (2630-2611 BCE) established his court.

The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached their zenith under the Fourth Dynasty. Sneferu, the dynasty's founder, is believed to have commissioned at least three pyramids; while his son and successor Khufu ( Greek Cheops) erected the Great Pyramid of Giza, Sneferu had more stone and brick moved than any other pharaoh. Khufu, his son Khafre (Greek Chephren), and his grandson Menkaure (Greek Mycerinus) all achieved lasting fame in the construction of the Giza pyramid complex.

Egypt's expanding interests in trade goods such as ebony, incense such as myrrh and frankincense, gold, copper and other useful metals compelled the ancient Egyptians to navigate the open seas. Evidence from the pyramid of Sahure, second king of the dynasty, shows that a regular trade existed with the Syrian coast to procure cedar wood. Pharaohs also launched expeditions to the famed Land of Punt, possibly the Horn of Africa, for ebony, ivory and aromatic resins.

During the Sixth Dynasty (2345-2181 BCE), the power of pharaohs gradually weakened in favor of powerful nomarchs. These no longer belonged to the royal family and their charge became hereditary, thus creating local dynasties largely independent from the central authority of the pharaoh. Internal disorders set in during the incredibly long reign of Pepi II Neferkare (2278-2184 BCE) towards the end of the dynasty. His death, certainly well past that of his intended heirs, might have created succession struggles and the country slipped into civil wars mere decades after the close of Pepi II's reign. The final blow came when the 4.2 kiloyear event struck the region in the 22nd century BC, producing consistently low Nile flood levels. The result was the collapse of the Old Kingdom followed by decades of famine and strife.

Pottery model of a house used in a burial from the First Intermediate Period, on display at the Royal Ontario Museum.

After the fall of the Old Kingdom came a roughly 200-year stretch of time known as the First Intermediate Period, which is generally thought to include a relatively obscure set of pharaohs running from the end of the Sixth to the Tenth and most of the Eleventh Dynasties. Most of these were likely local monarchs who did not hold much power outside of their nome. There are a number of texts known as "Lamentations" from the early period of the subsequent Middle Kingdom that may shed some light on what happened during this period. Some of these texts reflect on the breakdown of rule, others allude to invasion by "Asiatic bowmen". In general, the stories focus on a society where the natural order of things in both society and nature was overthrown.

It is also highly likely that it was during this period that all of the pyramid and tomb complexes were looted. Further lamentation texts allude to this fact, and by the beginning of the Middle Kingdom mummies are found decorated with magical spells that were once exclusive to the pyramid of the kings of the Sixth Dynasty.

By 2160 BC, a new line of pharaohs, the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties, consolidated Lower Egypt from their capital in Heracleopolis Magna. A rival line, the Eleventh Dynasty based at Thebes, reunited Upper Egypt, and a clash between the rival dynasties was inevitable. Around 2055 BC, the Theban forces defeated the Heracleopolitan pharaohs and reunited the Two Lands. The reign of its first pharaoh, Mentuhotep II, marks the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.

An Osiris statue of Mentuhotep II, the founder of the Middle Kingdom

A guardian statue which reflects the facial features of the reigning king, probably Amenemhat II or Senwosret II, and which functioned as a divine guardian for the imiut. Made of cedar wood and plaster c. 1919-1885 BC[19]

The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the 39th regnal year of Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty, roughly between 2030 and 1650 BC. The period comprises two phases, the Eleventh Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes, and then the Twelfth Dynasty, whose capital was Lisht. These two dynasties were originally considered the full extent of this unified kingdom, but some historians now consider the first part of the Thirteenth Dynasty to belong to the Middle Kingdom.

The earliest pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom traced their origin to two nomarchs of Thebes, Intef the Elder, who served a Heracleopolitan pharaoh of the Tenth Dynasty, and his successor, Mentuhotep I. The successor of the latter, Intef I, was the first Theban nomarch to claim a Horus name and thus the throne of Egypt. He is considered the first pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty. His claims brought the Thebans into conflict with the rulers of the Tenth Dynasty. Intef I and his brother Intef II undertook several campaigns northwards and finally captured the important nome of Abydos. Warfare continued intermittently between the Thebean and Heracleapolitan dynasties until the 39th regnal year of Mentuhotep II, second successor of Intef II. At this point, the Herakleopolitans were defeated and the Theban dynasty consolidated their rule over Egypt. Mentuhotep II is known to have commanded military campaigns south into Nubia, which had gained its independence during the First Intermediate Period. There is also evidence for military actions against the Southern Levant. The king reorganized the country and placed a vizier at the head of civil administration for the country. Mentuhotep II was succeeded by his son, Mentuhotep III, who organized an expedition to Punt. His reign saw the realization of some of the finest Egyptian carvings. Mentuhotep III was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV, the final pharaoh of this dynasty. Despite being absent from various lists of pharaohs, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments.

Statuette of Merankhre Mentuhotep, a minor pharaoh of the Sixteenth Dynasty, reigning over the Theban region c. 1585 BC.

The Thirteenth Dynasty proved unable to hold onto the long land of Egypt, and a provincial family of Levantine descent located in the marshes of the eastern Delta at Avaris broke away from the central authority to form the Fourteenth Dynasty. The splintering of the land most likely happened shortly after the reigns of the powerful Thirteenth Dynasty Pharaohs Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep IV c. 1720 BC.

While the Fourteenth Dynasty was Levantine, the Hyksos first appeared in Egypt c. 1650 BC when they took control of Avaris and rapidly moved south to Memphis, thereby ending the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties. The outlines of the traditional account of the "invasion" of the land by the Hyksos is preserved in the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, who records that during this time the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis, the founder of the Fifteenth Dynasty. More recently, however, the idea of a simple migration, with little or no violence involved, has gained some support. Under this theory, the Egyptian rulers of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties were unable to stop these new migrants from traveling to Egypt from the Levant because their kingdoms were struggling to cope with various domestic problems, including possibly famine and plague. Be it military or peaceful, the weakened state of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasty kingdoms could explain why they rapidly fell to the emerging Hyksos power.

The Hyksos princes and chieftains ruled in the eastern Delta with their local Egyptian vassals. The Fifteenth Dynasty rulers established their capital and seat of government at Memphis and their summer residence at Avaris. The Hyksos kingdom was centered in the eastern Nile Delta and central Egypt but relentlessly pushed south for the control of central and Upper Egypt. Around the time Memphis fell to the Hyksos, the native Egyptian ruling house in Thebes declared its independence and set itself up as the Sixteenth Dynasty. Another short lived dynasty might have done the same in central Egypt, profiting from the power vacuum created by the fall of the Thirteenth Dynasty and forming the Abydos Dynasty. By 1600 BC, the Hyksos had successfully moved south in central Egypt, eliminating the Abydos Dynasty and directly threatening the Sixteenth Dynasty. The latter was to prove unable to resist and Thebes fell to the Hyksos for a very short period c. 1580 BC. The Hyksos rapidly withdrew to the north and Thebes regained some independence under the Seventeenth Dynasty. From then on, Hyksos relations with the south seem to have been mainly of a commercial nature, although Theban princes appear to have recognized the Hyksos rulers and may possibly have provided them with tribute for a period.

The Seventeenth Dynasty was to prove the salvation of Egypt and would eventually lead the war of liberation that drove the Hyksos back into Asia. The two last kings of this dynasty were Seqenenre Tao and Kamose. Ahmose I completed the conquest and expulsion of the Hyksos from the Nile Delta, restored Theban rule over the whole of Egypt and successfully reasserted Egyptian power in its formerly subject territories of Nubia and the Southern Levant. His reign marks the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom.

Golden mask from the mummy of Tutankhamun

This was a time of great wealth and power for Egypt. Some of the most important and best-known pharaohs ruled at this time, such as Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut is unusual as she was a female pharaoh, a rare occurrence in Egyptian history. She was an ambitious and competent leader, extending Egyptian trade south into present-day Somalia and north into the Mediterranean. She ruled for twenty years through a combination of widespread propaganda and deft political skill. Her co-regent and successor Thutmose III ("the Napoleon of Egypt") expanded Egypt's army and wielded it with great success. However, late in his reign, he ordered her name hacked out from her monuments. He fought against Asiatic people and was the most successful of Egyptian pharaohs. Amenhotep III built extensively at the temple of Karnak including the Luxor Temple, which consisted of two pylons, a colonnade behind the new temple entrance, and a new temple to the goddess Maat.

During the reign of Thutmose III (c. 1479-1425 BC), pharaoh, originally referring to the king's palace, became a form of address for the person who was king.

One of the best-known 18th Dynasty pharaohs is Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to Akhenaten in honor of the god Aten. His exclusive worship of the Aten, sometimes called Atenism, is often seen as history's first instance of monotheism. Atenism and several changes that accompanied it seriously disrupted Egyptian society. Akhenaten built a new capital at the site of Amarna, which gives his reign and the few that followed their modern name, the Amarna Period. Amarna art diverged significantly from the previous conventions of Egyptian art. Under a series of successors, of whom the longest reigning were Tutankhamun and Horemheb. Under them, worship of the old gods was revived and much of the art and monuments that were created during Akhenaten's reign was defaced or destroyed. When Horemheb died without an heir, he named as his successor Ramesses I, founder of the Nineteenth Dynasty.

Egypt and its world in 1300 BC.

Colossal depictions of Ramesses II at one of the Abu Simbel temples.

Ramesses I reigned for two years and was succeeded by his son Seti I. Seti I carried on the work of Horemheb in restoring power, control, and respect to Egypt. He also was responsible for creating the temple complex at Abydos.

A period of anarchy at the end of Twosret's short reign saw a native reaction to foreign control leading to the execution of Bay and the enthronement of Setnakhte, establishing the Twentieth Dynasty.

The last "great" pharaoh from the New Kingdom is widely considered Ramesses III, the son of Setnakhte who reigned three decades after the time of Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 BC). In Year 8 of his reign, the Sea People invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles. He claimed that he incorporated them as subject people and settled them in Southern Canaan, although there is evidence that they forced their way into Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states in this region such as Philistia after the collapse of the Egyptian Empire. He was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypt's Western Delta in his Year 6 and Year 11 respectively.

The heavy cost of these battles slowly exhausted Egypt's treasury and contributed to the gradual decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. The severity of these difficulties is stressed by the fact that the first known strike action in recorded history occurred during Year 29 of Ramesses III's reign, when the food rations for the Egypt's favoured and elite royal tomb-builders and artisans in the village of Deir el-Medina could not be provisioned. Something in the air prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground and also arrested global tree growth for almost two full decades until 1140 BC. One proposed cause is the Hekla 3 eruption in Iceland, but the dating of that event remains in dispute.

Portrait of "Black Pharaoh" Taharqa, Louvre Museum reconstruction

After the death of Ramesses XI, his successor Smendes ruled from the city of Tanis in the north, while the High Priests of Amun at Thebes had effective rule of the south of the country, whilst still nominally recognizing Smendes as king. In fact, this division was less significant than it seems, since both priests and pharaohs came from the same family. Piankh, assumed control of Upper Egypt, ruling from Thebes, with the northern limit of his control ending at Al-Hibah. (The High Priest Herihor had died before Ramesses XI, but also was an all-but-independent ruler in the latter days of the king's reign.) The country was once again split into two parts with the priests in Thebes and the pharaohs at Tanis. Their reign seems without other distinction, and they were replaced without any apparent struggle by the Libyan kings of the Twenty-Second Dynasty.

Egypt has long had ties with Libya, and the first king of the new dynasty, Shoshenq I, was a Meshwesh Libyan, who served as the commander of the armies under the last ruler of the Twenty-First Dynasty, Psusennes II. He unified the country, putting control of the Amun clergy under his own son as the High Priest of Amun, a post that was previously a hereditary appointment. The scant and patchy nature of the written records from this period suggest that it was unsettled. There appear to have been many subversive groups, which eventually led to the creation of the Twenty-Third Dynasty, which ran concurrent with the latter part of the Twenty-Second Dynasty. The country was reunited by the Twenty-Second Dynasty founded by Shoshenq I in 945 BC (or 943 BC), who descended from Meshwesh immigrants, originally from Ancient Libya. This brought stability to the country for well over a century. After the reign of Osorkon II the country had again splintered into two states with Shoshenq III of the Twenty-Second Dynasty controlling Lower Egypt by 818 BC while Takelot II and his son (the future Osorkon III) ruled Middle and Upper Egypt.

25th Dynasty

After the withdrawal of Egypt from Nubia at the end of the New Kingdom, a native dynasty took control of Nubia. Under king Piye, the Nubian founder of Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, the Nubians pushed north in an effort to crush his Libyan opponents ruling in the Delta. Piye managed to attain power as far as Memphis. His opponent Tefnakhte ultimately submitted to him, but he was allowed to remain in power in Lower Egypt and founded the short-lived Twenty-Fourth Dynasty at Sais. The Kushite kingdom to the south took full advantage of this division and political instability and defeated the combined might of several native-Egyptian rulers such as Peftjauawybast, Osorkon IV of Tanis, and Tefnakht of Sais. Piye was succeeded first by his brother, Shabaka, and then by his two sons Shebitku and Taharqa. Taharqa reunited the Two Lands of Northern and Southern Egypt and created an empire that was as large as it had been since the New Kingdom. Pharaohs such as Taharqa built or restored temples and monuments throughout the Nile valley, including at Memphis, Karnak, Kawa, and Jebel Barkal. It was during the 25th Dynasty that the Nile valley saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom.

However, during this period Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC) campaigned against the Egyptians and drove them back over the Sinai. In 567 BC he went to war with Pharaoh Amasis, and briefly invaded Egypt itself.

Egyptian soldier of the Achaemenid army, circa 470 BCE. Xerxes I tomb relief.

Achaemenid Egypt can be divided into three eras: the first period of Persian occupation, 525-404 BC (when Egypt became a satrapy), followed by an interval of independence, and the second and final period of occupation, 343-332 BC.

Cambyses' successors Darius I the Great and Xerxes pursued a similar policy, visited the country, and warded off an Athenian attack. It is likely that Artaxerxes I and Darius II visited the country as well, although it is not attested, and did not prevent the Egyptians from feeling unhappy.[clarification needed ]

Artaxerxes III (358-338 BC) reconquered the Nile valley for a brief period (343-332 BC). In 332 BC, Mazaces handed over the country to Alexander the Great without a fight. The Achaemenid empire had ended, and for a while Egypt was a satrapy in Alexander's empire. Later the Ptolemies and then the Romans successively ruled the Nile valley.

Ring with engraved portrait of Ptolemy VI Philometor as Pharao (3rd-2nd century BCE). Louvre Museum.

Following Alexander's death in Babylon in 323 BC, a succession crisis erupted among his generals. Perdiccas ruled the empire as regent for Alexander's half-brother Arrhidaeus, who became Philip III of Macedon, and Alexander's infant son Alexander IV of Macedon. Perdiccas appointed Ptolemy, one of Alexander's closest companions, to rule Egypt in the name of the joint kings. However, as Alexander's empire disintegrated, Ptolemy soon established himself as ruler in his own right. Ptolemy successfully defended Egypt against an invasion by Perdiccas in 321 BC and consolidated his position in Egypt and the surrounding areas during the Wars of the Diadochi (322-301 BC). In 305 BC, Ptolemy took the title of Pharaoh. As Ptolemy I Soter ("Saviour"), he founded the Ptolemaic dynasty that was to rule Egypt for nearly 300 years.

The later Ptolemies took on Egyptian traditions by marrying their siblings, had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian religious life. Hellenistic culture thrived in Egypt well after the Muslim conquest. The Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent Egypt. Ptolemy's family ruled Egypt until the Roman conquest of 30 BC.

Baines, John and Jaromir Malek (2000). The Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt (revised ed.). Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-8160-4036-0.

Booth, Charlotte (2005). The Hyksos Period in Egypt. Shire Egyptology. ISBN 978-0-7478-0638-7.

Clayton, Peter A. (1994). Chronicle of the Pharaohs. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-05074-3.

Edgerton, William F. (1951). "The Strikes in Ramses III's Twenty-Ninth Year". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 10 (3): 137-145. doi:10.1086/371037. JSTOR 542285. S2CID 161088513.

Gillings, Richard J. (1972). Mathematics in the Time of the Pharaohs. New York: Dover. ISBN 978-0-262-07045-4.

Herodotus ii. 55 and vii. 134

Kemp, Barry (1991). Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-01281-2.

Romer, John (2012). A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-1-84614-377-9.

Shaw, Ian (2003). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-500-05074-3.

Wilkinson, R. H. (2000). The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-05100-9.

Wilkinson, R.H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-05120-7.

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The history of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early prehistoric settlements of the northern Nile valley to the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. The pharaonic period, the period in which Egypt was ruled by a pharaoh, is dated from the 32nd century BC, when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified, until the country fell under Macedonian rule in 332 BC.

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Without the Nile River, all of Egypt would be desert. Only about an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain falls throughout Egypt each year. But each summer, the river rises because of rains at its source far to the south in Ethiopia. Floods cover the river's valleys, leaving sediments needed for trees, plants, and crops to grow.

Egypt is often divided into two sections: Upper Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north. The sections are named this way because the Nile flows from south to north. The river empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

Southern Egypt's landscape contains low mountains and desert. Northern Egypt has wide valleys near the Nile and desert to the east and west. North of Cairo, the capital, is the sprawling, triangular Nile River Delta. This fertile land is completely covered with farms.

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About 90 percent of Egyptians are Muslim, which means they are followers of the Islamic religion. About 10 percent of Egyptians are Copts, one of the oldest branches of the Christian religion. Egypt's population is growing rapidly. This puts strains on Egypt's resources, since most people live in a narrow strip of land along the Nile River. Having so many people in such a small area can cause overcrowding, from schools to apartment buildings to hospitals. Children are highly valued in Egypt, especially in rural areas where they help on family farms. Children are also expected to look after their parents in their old age.

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Egypt is home to a wide variety of animals and plants, including jackals, gazelles, crocodiles, and cobras. The best places to see Egypt's wildlife are in its more than 20 protected regions, which include oases, deserts, mountains, coastal areas, river islands, and wetlands.

Egyptians have always been close to the natural world. The ancient Egyptians left paintings and carvings of large animals like elephants, hippos, leopards, and cheetahs. These animals were once common in Egypt, but they are now rare or extinct because of hunting and habitat loss.

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Egypt's geography, population, history, and military strength have made it highly influential in the region. Egypt is a democratic republic, although some critics claim that it is not truly democratic. Until 2005, there was never more than one presidential candidate to vote for.

Along with oil and gas exports, Egypt's tourism industry remains a key part of its economy. Visitors flock to the country to see ancient monuments like the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx.

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The first people to live on the banks of the Nile were hunters and fishermen, who settled there over 8,000 years ago. They learned to grow crops and raise animals, and they began to build villages and towns. They traded with their neighbors and learned to sail boats. By 3000 B.C., a civilization was established.

Around 3100 B.C., the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were unified under a powerful king, later called a pharaoh. These kings built huge pyramids, temples, and other monuments. They also conquered other lands.

By 1000 B.C., Egypt had split into smaller parts and the kingdom was in decline. Strong neighbors attacked and took over Egyptian territory. In 31 B.C., Egypt fell under Roman control. In A.D. 640, Muslim warriors took over Egypt and founded the modern capital, Cairo. They ruled for several centuries. In the 16th century, Egypt became part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

European powers played an increasing role in Egypt starting in the late 18th century. In 1882, the British invaded and occupied Egypt. The British wanted control of the Suez Canal, which linked the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and greatly shortened the sailing trip from Asia to Europe. Egypt gained full independence from Great Britain in 1952 and took control of the Suez Canal in 1956.

Egypt and other neighboring Arab countries fought a series of wars with the Jewish state of Israel into the 1970s. In 1979 Egypt and Israel signed a peace agreement.

In 2011, a popular uprising toppled Egypt's long-time president, Hosni Mubarek. The country has held several democratic elections since 2011, but the role of the military in government remains strong.

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Egypt Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Without the Nile River, all of Egypt would be desert.

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1. “One should do nothing with a false heart.” – Proverb

2. “A man with two ears can be supported by two words.” – Proverb

3. “Examine what is said, not him who speaks.” – Proverb

59+ MYSTICAL EGYPT QUOTES & SAYINGS!

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If you are looking for some of the best Egypt quotes, sayings, and proverbs, you’re in the right place!

Below, you will find a wide range of quotes about Egypt that are truly enchanting, mystical, wise, and mysterious!

Side note: If I have missed any iconic or must have Egypt quotes, please share them in the comments and I will be sure to include them in future updates!

59+ MYSTICAL EGYPT QUOTES & SAYINGS!

1. “One should do nothing with a false heart.” – Proverb

2. “A man with two ears can be supported by two words.” – Proverb

3. “Examine what is said, not him who speaks.” – Proverb

4. “In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” – Terry Pratchett

5. “There is nothing new in Egypt. Egyptians are making history as usual.” – Silvio Berlusconi

6. “Name yourself in your heart and know who you are.” – Normandi Ellis

7. “A thing of beauty is never perfect.” – Proverb

8. “Love is inseparable from knowledge.” – St. Macarius of Egypt

9. “Man know yourself… and you shalt know the gods.” – Proverb

10. “Egypt has great potential because of the latent power of its human capital.” – Ahmed Zewail

11. “Whoever lets himself be led by heart will never lose his way.” – Proverb

12. “Do a good deed and throw it into the sea.” – Proverb

13. “Egypt is a large, complex, very important country.” – Hillary Clinton

14. “When we look back at the Mayans or ancient Egypt, we look at their art.” – Robert Wilson

15. “All things are possible. Who you are is limited by who you think you are.” – Book of the Dead

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If you are looking for some of the best Egypt quotes, sayings, and proverbs, you're in the right place! 😺

Below, you will find a wide range of quotes about Egypt that are truly enchanting, mystical, wise, and mysterious!

Side note: If I have missed any iconic or must have Egypt quotes, please share them in the comments and I will be sure to include them in future updates! 😃

59+ Mystical Egypt Quotes & Sayings!

1. "One should do nothing with a false heart." - Proverb

2. "A man with two ears can be supported by two words." - Proverb

3. "Examine what is said, not him who speaks." - Proverb

4. "In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." - Terry Pratchett

5. "There is nothing new in Egypt. Egyptians are making history as usual." - Silvio Berlusconi

6. "Name yourself in your heart and know who you are." - Normandi Ellis

7. "A thing of beauty is never perfect." - Proverb

8. "Love is inseparable from knowledge." - St. Macarius of Egypt

9. "Man know yourself... and you shalt know the gods." - Proverb

10. "Egypt has great potential because of the latent power of its human capital." - Ahmed Zewail

11. "Whoever lets himself be led by heart will never lose his way." - Proverb

12. "Do a good deed and throw it into the sea." - Proverb

13. "Egypt is a large, complex, very important country." - Hillary Clinton

14. "When we look back at the Mayans or ancient Egypt, we look at their art." - Robert Wilson

15. "All things are possible. Who you are is limited by who you think you are." - Book of the Dead

16. "He who understands music understands the cosmos." - Proverb

17. "He who does not cherish life, does not deserve to be among the living." - Luis Marques

18. "Egypt is full of dreams, mysteries, memories." - Janet Erskine Stuart

19. "One who marries for love alone will have bad days but good nights." - Proverb

20. "Egypt is not a country we live in but a country that lives within us." - Pope Shenouda III

21. "The Egyptian tomb was the outcome of the Mesopotamian influence and followed from the religious crisis the country had undergone." - Stephen Gardiner

22. "My dad was a surgeon in Egypt. He was a general surgeon. As a little boy I always admired what he was doing, and I wanted to do surgery." - Magdi Yacoub

23. "My body is but wax and wick for flame. When the candle burns out, the light shines elsewhere." - The Book of the Dead

24. "Lord, give me strength and ability to understand when I can heal, but give me the wisdom to understand when my profession is useless." - Prayer of a Doctor in Ancient Egypt

25. "Leaving Egypt and the people I loved so much, and the environment I liked, was definitely worth it, because I also have great love for medicine and science." - Magdi Yacoub

26. "It has been aptly said that all Egypt is but the façade of an immense sepulchre." - Amelia Blanford Edwards

27. "Egypt gave birth to what later would become known as 'Western Civilization,' long before the greatness of Greece and Rome." - John Henrik Clarke

28. "The mountain was in labour and Jove was afraid but it brought forth a mouse." - King of Egypt Tachos

29. "He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress." - Anwar Sadat

30. "Exuberance is a good stimulus towards action, but the inner light grows in silence and concentration." - Proverb

31. "Survival was more than the preservation of life. It was tenacity in the face of ruin, an unbroken resolve in the midst of defeat, a glimmer of hope in the maelstrom, and peace despite the wreckage." - Jocelyn Murray

32. "The people of Egypt are an intelligent people with a glorious history who left their mark on civilization." - Fidel Castro

33. "Egypt is coming back - is becoming - is going to become, you know, a center of excellence for the region and maybe for the rest of the world." - Hesham Qandil

34. "True teaching is not an accumulation of knowledge; it is an awakening of consciousness which goes through successive stages." - Proverb

35. "In Egypt, for instance, the first printing press was set up only in 1798, by Frenchmen who were part of the abortive attempt by Napoleon Bonaparte to capture the country." - Daron Acemoglu

36. "The night sky in Egypt is a swirling mass of stars so bright and numerous the sky seems to tremble with the ice-blue weight of them." - Rosemary Mahoney

37. "You are my country, Desdemona. ... My Egypt. My hot, harrowing desert and my cool, verdant Nile, infinitely lovely and unfathomable and sustaining." - Connie Brockway

38. "Just think, that this race of Black men, today our slave and the object of our scorn, is the very race to which we owe our arts, sciences, and even the use of speech!" - Count Constantine de Volney

39. "The style of ancient Egyptian art is transcendently clear, something 8-year-olds can recognize in an instant. Its consistency and codification are one of the most epic visual journeys in all art, one that lasts 30 dynasties spread over 3,000 years." - Jerry Saltz

40. "The kingdom of heaven is within you; and whosoever shall know himself shall find it." - Proverb

41. "Be thou incapable of change in that which is right, and men will rely upon thee. Establish unto thyself principles of action; and see that thou ever act according to them. First, know that thy principles are just, and then be thou." - Akhenaton

42. "Know the world in yourself. Never look for yourself in the world, for this would be to project your illusion." - Proverb

43. "The people of Egypt, are the greatest people of earth; and they deserve a Nobel Prize for Peace. To all Egyptians: Be proud to be Egyptian." - Heinz Fischer

44. "I saw all the devil's traps set upon the earth, and I groaned and said: "Who do you think can pass through them?" And I heard a voice saying: "Humility." - Antony of Egypt

45. "We pray for this beloved country, Egypt, for God to protect her safety, security, stability; to protect her unity and more so, her image." - Pope Theodoros II

46. "Egypt, the Egypt of antiquity, at a later time, exercised a mysterious fascination over me. I recognized a picture of it immediately, without hesitation and astonishment, in an illustrated magazine." - Pierre Loti

47. "To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom; and he that increaseth his riches, increaseth his cares; but a contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not." - Akhenaton

48. "It has been aptly said that all Egypt is but the façade of an immense sepulchre." - Proverb

49. "You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven, the guards asked two questions. Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not. 'Have you found joy in your life?' 'Has your life brought joy to others?" - Morgan Freeman from the movie The Bucket List

50. "Although I was raised in Canada and the U.K., my roots are in Egypt through my father, in a family line that stretches back generations and runs along the Nile, from the concrete of Cairo to the coast of Alexandria." - Shereen El Feki

51. "If you look at the Nile on a map of Egypt, you don't think it has moved very much, but the river is very violent and has moved over time." - Sarah Parcak

52. "Today the traveller on the Nile enters a wonderland at whose gates rise the colossal pyramids of which he has had visions perhaps from earliest childhood." - James Henry Breasted

53. "The black nation of Egypt is the only country that has a science named after its culture: Egyptology" - Malcolm X

54. "An honest observer of the evolution of conditions in Egypt would discover that terrorism is an alien phenomenon, strange to our values and heritage." - Hosni Mubarak

55. "Make thyself a craftsman in speech, for thereby thou shalt gain the upper hand." - Ancient Tomb Transcription

56. "If thou be industrious to procure wealth, be generous in the disposal of it. Man never is so happy as when he giveth happiness unto another." - Akhenaton

57. "We choose to believe in Ma'at. We create order out of chaos, beauty out of ugly randomness. That's what Egypt is all about." - Rick Riordan

58. "Khem was an ancient name for the land of Egypt; and both the words alchemy and chemistry are a perpetual reminder of the priority of Egypt's scientific knowledge." - Manly Hall

59. "There is a positive and personal relationship between the Egyptian people and the Syrian people." - Mohammed Morsi

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59+ Mystical Egypt Quotes & Sayings! 🥇 [+ Images!]

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If you are looking for some of the best Egypt quotes, sayings, and proverbs, you're in the right place! 😺 Below, you will find a wide range of quotes about Egypt that are truly enchanting, mystical, wise, and mysterious!

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The INCREDIBLE Ancient Engineering That Built the Pyramids

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Tutankhamun's Treasures (Full Episode) | Lost Treasures of Egypt

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Egypt, country located in the northeastern corner of Africa. Egypt's heartland, the Nile River valley and delta, was the home of one of the principal civilizations of the ancient Middle East and, like Mesopotamia farther east, was the site of one of the world's earliest urban and literate societies. Pharaonic Egypt thrived for some 3,000 years through a series of native dynasties that were interspersed with brief periods of foreign rule. After Alexander the Great conquered the region in 323 bce, urban Egypt became an integral part of the Hellenistic world. Under the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty, an advanced literate society thrived in the city of Alexandria, but what is now Egypt was conquered by the Romans in 30 bce. It remained part of the Roman Republic and Empire and then part of Rome's successor state, the Byzantine Empire, until its conquest by Arab Muslim armies in 639-642 ce.

Until the Muslim conquest, great continuity had typified Egyptian rural life. Despite the incongruent ethnicity of successive ruling groups and the cosmopolitan nature of Egypt's larger urban centres, the language and culture of the rural, agrarian masses-whose lives were largely measured by the annual rise and fall of the Nile River, with its annual inundation-had changed only marginally throughout the centuries. Following the conquests, both urban and rural culture began to adopt elements of Arab culture, and an Arabic vernacular eventually replaced the Egyptian language as the common means of spoken discourse. Moreover, since that time, Egypt's history has been part of the broader Islamic world, and though Egyptians continued to be ruled by foreign elite-whether Arab, Kurdish, Circassian, or Turkish-the country's cultural milieu remained predominantly Arab.

Egypt eventually became one of the intellectual and cultural centres of the Arab and Islamic world, a status that was fortified in the mid-13th century when Mongol armies sacked Baghdad and ended the Abbasid caliphate. The Mamluk sultans of Egypt, under whom the country thrived for several centuries, established a pseudo-caliphate of dubious legitimacy. But in 1517 the Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamluks and established control over Egypt that lasted until 1798, when Napoleon I led a French army in a short occupation of the country.

The French occupation, which ended in 1801, marked the first time a European power had conquered and occupied Egypt, and it set the stage for further European involvement. Egypt's strategic location has always made it a hub for trade routes between Africa, Europe, and Asia, but this natural advantage was enhanced in 1869 by the opening of the Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The concern of the European powers (namely France and the United Kingdom, which were major shareholders in the canal) to safeguard the canal for strategic and commercial reasons became one of the most important factors influencing the subsequent history of Egypt. The United Kingdom occupied Egypt in 1882 and continued to exert a strong influence on the country until after World War II (1939-45).

In 1952 a military coup installed a revolutionary regime that promoted a combination of socialism and Pan-Arab nationalism. The new regime's extreme political rhetoric and its nationalization of the Suez Canal Company prompted the Suez Crisis of 1956, which was only resolved by the intervention of the United States and the Soviet Union, whose presence in the Mediterranean region thereafter kept Egypt in the international spotlight.

During the Cold War, Egypt's central role in the Arabic-speaking world increased its geopolitical importance as Arab nationalism and inter-Arab relations became powerful and emotional political forces in the Middle East and North Africa. Egypt led the Arab states in a series of wars against Israel but was the first of those states to make peace with the Jewish state, which it did in 1979.

Egypt's authoritarian political system was long dominated by the president, the ruling party, and the security services. With opposition political activity tightly restricted, decades of popular frustration erupted into mass demonstrations in 2011. The uprising forced Pres. Hosni Mubarak to step down, leaving a council of military officers in control of the country. Power was transferred to an elected government in 2012, and a new constitution was adopted at the end of the year. This elected government, however, was toppled a year later when the military intervened to remove the newly elected president, Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, following a series of massive public demonstrations against his administration. (For a discussion of unrest and political change in Egypt in 2011, see Egypt Uprising of 2011.)

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the "gift of the Nile." Indeed, the country's rich agricultural productivity-it is one of the region's major food producers-has long supported a large rural population devoted to working the land. Present-day Egypt, however, is largely urban. The capital city, Cairo, is one of the world's largest urban agglomerations, and manufacturing and trade have increasingly outstripped agriculture as the largest sectors of the national economy. Tourism has traditionally provided an enormous portion of foreign exchange, but that industry has been subject to fluctuations during times of political and civil unrest in the region.

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Egypt | History, Map, Flag, Population, & Facts

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Egypt, country located in the northeastern corner of Africa. Egypt's heartland, the Nile River valley and delta, was the home of one of the principal civilizations of the ancient Middle East and was the site of one of the world's earliest urban and literate societies. Learn more about Egypt in this article.

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HOW MANY BLOCKS DID THEY USE TO BUILD THE PYRIMDS

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HOW MANY BLOCKS DID THEY USE TO BUILD THE PYRIMDS

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During the construction, the pyramid builders used approximately 144,000 casing stones that were polished and flat to an accuracy of 1/100th of an inch, about 100 inches thick and weighing approximately 15 tons each. This is how they may have done it. The size of the Great Pyramid of Giza

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We've wondered for decades how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. Countless theories have been proposed trying to explain just how this ancient civilization managed to erect the only ancient wonder of the world still standing today. Experts calculate that the ancient Egyptians used around 2.3 million stones weighing on average 3 tons to build the Great Pyramid.

So, how were the Pyramids built?

The truth is we don't know.

Despite the fact that the building process of the Great Pyramid of Giza remains a historical enigma, experts have come up with a few theories on how the Pyramid may have been built.

In this article, we explore three of the most startling theories that might explain how the Egyptians did it.

The construction of the pyramid is estimated to have started around 2580 BCE and was finished in around 2560 BCE.

During the construction, the pyramid builders made use of approximately 144,000 casing stones that were polished and flat to an accuracy of 1/100th of an inch, about 100 inches thick and weighing approximately 15 tons each.

This is how the may have done it.

The Great Pyramid of Egypt: How They Were Really Built?

A very interesting documentary posted on YouTube may shed some light on th building process of the Great Pyramid.

The theory is woven around one of the greatest resources available to the Egyptians at that time: Water.

If limestone blocks were dragged up a mud brick ramp to be placed at the top of the Great Pyramid, where is the evidence of this huge ramp? How could materials such as wooden rollers and mud bricks take the strain put on them by tons of stone?

Check out the videos:

A Refreshing Theory

Another video posted on YouTube by John Heisz from "I Build It" offers a new theory on how the pyramids of Egypt may have been built, and how the ancient builders moved and stacked 2.3 million stones massive rocks on top of each other, forming a massive pyramid.

Describing the video and the entire process on his website, Mr. Heisz explains: "I'm basing this on what I know about moving big things and the boundless ingenuity of a highly dedicated workforce.

Many would like to believe that some lost technology was used, and I'm not saying that's not possible, but it discounts what us humans can accomplish when properly motivated."

Here's the video:

Make sure to check out the blog post written by John Heisz detailing the entire process.

Water, Water, and a bit of Sand

Several studies have been penned down trying to solve the mystery behind the building process of the Great Pyramid.

One particular study, published in 2014 in Physical Review Letters sheds insight on the building process.

The paper's authors suggest the ancient Egyptians used a massive workforce to haul massive stones across the desert. But they did so using water.

The ancient Egyptians are thought to have poured water in front of the massive blocks of stone that were being hauled in order to stiffen the sand, making it easier to transport across the desert.

"It turns out that wetting Egyptian desert sand can reduce the friction by quite a bit, which implies you need only half of the people to pull a sledge on wet sand, compared to dry sand," revealed one of the authors of the paper, Daniel Bonn, a physics professor at the University of Amsterdam in an article published by Live Science.

But not only that, the Egyptians may have built massive channels into the desert originating on the Nile River.

According to experts, there is evidence to support the idea that the ancient Egyptians built waterways that channeled the Nile's water directly towards the site of the pyramids' construction.

It is believed that the ancient builders would load the massive stones onto boats and transport them from the quarries towards the construction site.

Then, using ramps and a massive labor force, they would transport the stones onto the construction site piece by piece.

Interestingly, archeologist Pierre Tallet discovered in 2013 a fragment of a papyrus journal belonging to a man called Merer, who is thought to have been in charge of transporting building materials to the construction site of the Pyramid at Giza using boats.

Merer supposedly oversaw a team of around 40 people who were in charge of opening waterways in order to divert water from the Nile to the Pyramids.

The journal also details trips from Tira to Giza, and how they transported the massive stones.

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Here Are 3 Startling Theories on how the Giza Pyramids Were Built - Curiosmos

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We've wondered for decades how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. Countless theories have been proposed trying to explain just how this ancient civilization managed to erect the only ancient wonder of the world still standing today. Experts calculate that the ancient Egyptians used around 2.3 million stones weighing on average 3 tons to build the Great Pyramid.

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WHAT KIND OF STONE DID THEY USE TO BUILD THE PYRIMIDS?

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WHAT KIND OF STONE DID THEY USE TO BUILD THE PYRIMIDS?

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Limestone was one of the materials used to build the Pyramids of Giza. It formed the bulk of the materials used in the construction of the pyramids and rough limestone was utilized in the core of the pyramid. White limestone, which is finer, was used to coat the interior walls and as the main material for the outer casing.

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Giza lies outside of Cairo, Egypt, and is home to one of the most iconic structures of early civilization on earth, the Pyramids of Giza. These magnificent pyramids are the most famous of all of Egypt's pyramids, largely because of the scale of their construction, which occurred from about 2550 to 2459 BC. This period was the time when human civilization was not developed especially in masonry. The Pyramids of Gaza are the oldest among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The materials used to build the pyramids included limestone, pink granite, basalt, and mud bricks.

Limestone

Limestone was one of the materials used to build the Pyramids of Giza. It formed the bulk of the materials used in the construction of the pyramids and rough limestone was utilized in the core of the pyramid. White limestone, which is finer, was used to coat the interior walls and as the main material for the outer casing. The low-grade limestone that was used in the core of the pyramids is found huge quantities in Egypt, and it was found near the building sites during the pyramid construction era. Workers extracted the stone in blocks by marking out crevices with just enough room for them to be cut into blocks and transported to the sites. Tools used in this case included chisels, pickaxes, and hammers made from granite.

The fine white limestone for the interior décor and the mortuary temples was slightly hard to extract and had to be sourced further away from the building sites. This type of limestone was found deeper beneath the soil surface in regions including the West bank of the Nile in the hills of Muqattam in the present day regions of Maasara and Tura. The workmen would excavate the soil and dig tunnels to reach the deposits which would be as deep as 160 feet below the surface. Huge pieces of stone were then dug up to be divided into blocks which were then transported on wooden sledges towed by oxen on a path paved with mud from the Nile to make movement easier to the construction site.

Pink Granite

The granite was used in conjunction with limestone to cover the interior walls of the pyramids though much more sparingly since it was distributed in several parts of South of Egypt and was not as close as the limestone quarries were to the building sites. Pink granite is thought to have been mined in Aswan which had some quarries.

Basalt

Basalt is also known as alabaster and it was often used to cover the floor of the pyramid. It was extracted from open pits or underground deposits, particularly from an Oligocene flow where there was once a lake that connected to the Nile. During this time the basalt was transported on the lake and into the Nile to its shores where it was moved to the construction site of the pyramids.

Mud Bricks

Mud bricks were perhaps the most common building material in all of Egypt. In the pyramids it was used to build the walls, these were fired in an oven as a measure to make them last longer.

Significance

Like the Eiffel Tower of France and the Colosseum in Rome, the Pyramids of Giza are a defining landmark in Egypt and an important part of the culture of the people of Egypt. The impressive architecture that began years ago is proof of the heights of human achievement of the past.

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what tools were used to build the pyramids

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What Materials Were Used To Build The Pyramids Of Giza?

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Giza lies outside of Cairo, Egypt, and is home to one of the most iconic structures of early civilization on earth, the Pyramids of Giza. These magnificent pyramids are the most famous of all of Egypt's pyramids, largely because of the scale of their construction, which occurred from about 2550 to 2459 BC.

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The low-grade limestone that was used in the core of the pyramids is found in huge quantities in Egypt, and it was found near the building sites during the pyramid construction era. Workers extracted the stone in blocks by marking out crevices with just enough room for them to be cut into blocks and transported to the sites.

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Giza lies outside of Cairo, Egypt, and is home to one of the most iconic structures of early civilization on earth, the Pyramids of Giza. These magnificent pyramids are the most famous of all of Egypt's pyramids, largely because of the scale of their construction, which occurred from about 2550 to 2459 BC. This period was the time when human civilization was not developed especially in masonry. The Pyramids of Gaza are the oldest among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The materials used to build the pyramids included limestone, pink granite, basalt, and mud bricks.

Limestone

Limestone was one of the materials used to build the Pyramids of Giza. It formed the bulk of the materials used in the construction of the pyramids and rough limestone was utilized in the core of the pyramid. White limestone, which is finer, was used to coat the interior walls and as the main material for the outer casing. The low-grade limestone that was used in the core of the pyramids is found huge quantities in Egypt, and it was found near the building sites during the pyramid construction era. Workers extracted the stone in blocks by marking out crevices with just enough room for them to be cut into blocks and transported to the sites. Tools used in this case included chisels, pickaxes, and hammers made from granite.

The fine white limestone for the interior décor and the mortuary temples was slightly hard to extract and had to be sourced further away from the building sites. This type of limestone was found deeper beneath the soil surface in regions including the West bank of the Nile in the hills of Muqattam in the present day regions of Maasara and Tura. The workmen would excavate the soil and dig tunnels to reach the deposits which would be as deep as 160 feet below the surface. Huge pieces of stone were then dug up to be divided into blocks which were then transported on wooden sledges towed by oxen on a path paved with mud from the Nile to make movement easier to the construction site.

Pink Granite

The granite was used in conjunction with limestone to cover the interior walls of the pyramids though much more sparingly since it was distributed in several parts of South of Egypt and was not as close as the limestone quarries were to the building sites. Pink granite is thought to have been mined in Aswan which had some quarries.

Basalt

Basalt is also known as alabaster and it was often used to cover the floor of the pyramid. It was extracted from open pits or underground deposits, particularly from an Oligocene flow where there was once a lake that connected to the Nile. During this time the basalt was transported on the lake and into the Nile to its shores where it was moved to the construction site of the pyramids.

Mud Bricks

Mud bricks were perhaps the most common building material in all of Egypt. In the pyramids it was used to build the walls, these were fired in an oven as a measure to make them last longer.

Significance

Like the Eiffel Tower of France and the Colosseum in Rome, the Pyramids of Giza are a defining landmark in Egypt and an important part of the culture of the people of Egypt. The impressive architecture that began years ago is proof of the heights of human achievement of the past.

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what tools were used to build the pyramids

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What Materials Were Used To Build The Pyramids Of Giza?

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Giza lies outside of Cairo, Egypt, and is home to one of the most iconic structures of early civilization on earth, the Pyramids of Giza. These magnificent pyramids are the most famous of all of Egypt's pyramids, largely because of the scale of their construction, which occurred from about 2550 to 2459 BC.

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The stones themselves were mined from a quarry just south of the pyramid, and researchers believe that their journey across the desert was made easier by wetting the sand first. But that only explains how the stones got from one location to another, not how they were then lifted high into the air and deposited in an enormous triangle.

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We May Finally Know How the Pyramids Were Built

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Scientists have discovered new evidence that may explain how these iconic structures were built.